BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. -– The Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs men and women's swimming teams returned to the pool on Friday afternoon to take on nationally ranked NCAA Division II school Wingate University.
The GWU men lost to the ninth ranked Bulldogs, 138.5-66.5, while the Runnin' Bulldogs women knocked off the 13^th ranked Wingate ladies, 120-85.
 
"The men swam against a very tough Wingate team that will probably end the year ranked in the top three in Division II," said head coach Mike Simpson. "They raced extremely well for being tired from our Florida trip. Competing against Wingate makes us better come February."
 
In men's action, Jordan Mintz won the 200 Yard Breaststroke event, narrowly missing a pool record with a time 2:05.92. Chase Mattingly also topped his competition in the 1000 Yard Freestyle event, the fourth competition of the afternoon. Mattingly turned in a time of 9:39.52, nearly 10 seconds faster than the second place finisher.
 
In the men's 50-yard Freestyle, Gardner-Webb's Zach Dingfield took second place, just 0.15 seconds behind the winner. Eli Coan finished just 0.2 seconds behind his teammate, giving GWU two of the top three finishing positions.
 
The Runnin' Bulldogs women's squad defeated Wingate, by 35 points thanks to a stellar afternoon from Lauren Oglesby. Oglesby, a senior from Woodstock, Georgia set a pool record in the 1000 Yard Freestyle with a final time of 10:21.39. Morgan VanderSchaaf finished second in the event with a time of 10:49.61.
 
"The girls fought hard for a well-deserved victory," Simpson stated. "This is always the toughest meet of the season coming right off training trip, but we had some big swims. Winning both relays was fantastic." 
 
In the 400 Yard Medley Relay, the Runnin' Bulldogs team of Lara Siebrecht, Whitney Peters, Jessi Stover and Lili Toth secured first-place with a time of 3:55.06, a mere three seconds quicker than the second place finishing team from Wingate.
 
The ladies also took the win in the 200 Yard Freestyle Relay. Kelsey Williams, Jennifer Jackson, Audrey Robinson and Charity Bennett recorded a time of 1:39.40, knocking off a foursome of swimmers from the host school by under two seconds.
 
Tessa Walsh, Mary Traylor and Toth also recorded victories in individual events. In the 200 Yard Butterfly, Walsh set a new pool record by finishing the race in 2:06.22. Traylor also broke the previous record with her runner-up effort in the event. Toth's win came in the 200 Yard Breaststroke.

Both teams will return to the pool next Saturday, January 20, at 10:00 a.m. against UNC Wilmington.