The Piedmont University men’s swim team cruised to a 197-74 win over Sewanee early Saturday afternoon.
Opening the meet and setting the tone, Eddie Choi, Erick Fortner, Luke Borgmann and Ross Coppedge dominated the 200 yard medley relay. The group won the event with a final time of 1:37.37.
Leandro Forero once again won the 1000 yard freestyle (10:20.68) in the second event of the dual and later won the 500 yard freestyle (5:02.36).
Choi, a freshman, picked up his first individual win of the day in the 200 yard freestyle (1:48.40), while fellow freshman Perry Westbrook finished second with a 1:51.99. Choi also secured a first-place finish in the 100 yard butterfly (55.34) later on in the meet.
In one of the closest races of the day, Fortner narrowly out touched the second place swimmer from Sewanee in the 100 yard breaststroke. His time of 1:00.57 placed him just ahead of second place by .49 seconds. He also picked up a close win in the 200 yard breaststroke (2:15.09), narrowly out placing Obed Miranda By just 1.63 seconds.
Borgmann grabbed an individual win as he and junior Glynn Morgan Competed in the 200 yard butterfly with the pair going 2:11.30 and 2:13.00.
Senior Ross Coppedge collected the win in the 50 yard freestyle with a 22.76. His time put him just .29 seconds ahead of sophomore Alex Pangelinan in second place (23.05). The Hazlehurst, Ga. native continued his winning ways, this time besting Forero in the 100 yard freestyle with a 50.30.
Freshman Murphy O’Brien dominated the 200 yard backstroke, winning the event in 2:03.05 by over five seconds.
Women’s bested Sewanee dual
The Piedmont University women’s swim team dropped their first road dual of the year at Sewanee by a score of 172-105.
The meet kicked off hot, as Caroline Massaro, Madison Nance, Tressie Polk, and Kelly Mashburn took second place in the 200 yard medley relay (1:59.00). The race went down to the wire as Piedmont finished just .66 seconds behind the Tigers team.
Mashburn picked up the first win for the Lady Lions on the day, winning the 200 yard freestyle (2:06.20). Fellow Lady Lion Sydney Addison finished just behind Mashburn with a 2:12.13.
The close swims continued as Massaro was narrowly out touched in the 100 yard backstroke (1:05.10), finishing just .23 second behind the winner from Sewanee. Nance also found herself in a tight race, finishing just .45 seconds behind first in the 100 yard breaststroke (1:15.05).
The freshman from Dalton, Georgia, continued to have a day as Mashburn won 100 yard freestyle with a time of 57.49.
Massaro put her name in the win column by taking the 200 yard backstroke (2:22.18).
To close out the dual, Piedmont’s Lauren Stone, Olivia Smith, Jenise Waithe, and Mashburn picked up a second-place finish in the 200 yard freestyle relay. The group turned in a time of 1:52.01, narrowly finishing behind the Sewanee winners.
Up next, the Lady Lions enjoy a long three-week break before traveling to Asheville, North Carolina, to take on Warren Wilson and Greensboro.
