Runnin' Bulldogs' Rally Comes Up Short in 159.5-134.5 Dual Meet Loss at Davidson on Saturday
January 19, 2014 | Swimming
Davidson, N.C. - Sophomore Luke Denman won two individual events, as did fellow second-year Runnin' Bulldog Nathan Lile, but GWU's rally came up just short in a 159.5-134.5 loss to CCSA rival Davidson on Saturday.
The Wildcats took the lead early when a disqualification resulted in Davidson's 'A' relay team getting a 1st place finish. Davidson's 'B' team took 2nd in the event, giving the host team an emphatic start and putting the Gardner-Webb men in an early hole.
Gardner-Webb got a big swim from a momentum standpoint in the next event, the 1,000 free, as sophomore Luke Denman raced to a 1st place finish and a season best time of 9:42.97. Fellow sophomore Andy
Watts added a 4th place finish (9:56.36) in the key event.
GWU kept its momentum going with a win in the 200 free, getting a 1st place finish from Hal McKay. McKay, who hit the wall at 1:46.17, was followed by 3rd-place finisher Nicholas Dyer, another Runnin' Bulldog freshman, who added points by finishing at 1:46.45.
Connor Bos (Holland, Mich.) placed 2nd in the 100 back, and Brandon Searle (Melbourne, Fla.) finished 3rd for valuable points in the event. The pair achieved times of 52.82 and 54.29, respectively, but Davidson's 1st and 3rd place finishers in the event helped the Wildcats pull away further.
Davidson captured 1st, 3rd, and 4th place in the 100 breast, as Gardner-Webb's Jordan Denmark (Raleigh, N.C.) broke up the Wildcat trio with a 2nd place finish and time of 59.06 in a big points event for the host team.
Gardner-Webb got those points back dramatically in the 200 fly, getting a come-from-behind win in the event from sophomore Nathan Lile to place 1st with a time of 1:55.45. GWU also captured 3rd and 4th in the event, thanks to Tate Warden (1:57.48) and Cody Meyers (1:58.17), to counter the points lost an event earlier.
GWU went 1-3-4 again in the 50 free, led by senior Cole Hickey's 1st place effort. Hickey, who timed in at 21.83 in the event, was joined by 3rd place finisher Matt Anderson (21.89) and 4th place finisher McKay (22.33) as point-scorers in the event for GWU.
Davidson responded an event later with a 1-2 finish in the 100 free, although Gardner-Webb's Nicholas Dyer finished fast to tie the Wildcats' Brandon Kegley for 2nd in the event, leading the Runnin' Bulldogs in the event with a time of 48.25. Hickey (48.51) and freshman Andrew Linzie (49.59) added points for GWU.
Gardner-Webb closed the meet with wins in the 200 back (Lile, 1:54.12), 500 free (Denman, 4:40.98), and 200 IM (Denmark, 1:55.73), but the strong finish fell just short as the Wildcats did enough down the stretch to hang on to its lead.
The Runnin' Bulldogs return to the pool for its Senior Day meet at home against College of Charleston. The two-day meet starts at 6:00 p.m. Friday, January 31 before resuming on Saturday, February 1 at 11:00 a.m.
