SHREVEPORT, La. - In a day where five seniors were recognized for all of their contributions to Centenary swimming, the Gents knocked off Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference-rival Austin College, 103-86, while the Ladies tied the 'Roos with 79 points apiece.
The meet got off to a fast start, with a strong senior contingent helping the Ladies and Gents win both 200 medley relays. The Ladies quartet of freshman Jesse Hageman, sophomore Jessi Jordan, junior Elena Ring, and senior Caitlyn Faulhaber won the event by more than 14 seconds (2:00.01). On the men's side, freshman Nick Braby teamed up with seniors Anthony McDonald, Roberto Roig-Perez, and Mason Kay to win the relay with a time of 1:42.24.
However, the Ladies trailed by seven points going into the final event of the meet, the 200 freestyle relay, needing a win to force a tie. The team of Faulhaber, Hageman, Ring, and junior Rebecca Dunn did just that with a time of 1:50.27, just 0.27 seconds faster than the 'Roos. An all senior final relay on the men's side of Zach Harrison, Kay, Roig-Perez, and McDonald won the relay by more than five seconds, touching the wall in 1:31.96.
The most thrilling finish of the meet came in the longest event of the day, the men's 1,000 freestyle. Trailing by nearly a second going into the final 50, junior Harrison Folse made up ground and out-touched James Curtis of Austin College by a slim margin of 0.05 seconds. Folse touched the wall in 11:23.90.
The Gents took the top three spots in the 200 free with sophomore Eddie Dyess (1:54.54), Braby (1:56.07) and sophomore Jordan St. Pierre (1:57.15). Faulhaber claimed victory in the 50 free by more than a second with a time of 26.03.
Jordan took top honors in the 200 IM for the Ladies with a time of 2:28.69.
Centenary swept the 100 butterfly events with Ring winning by nearly nine seconds (1:05.23) on the women's side, while junior Blake Smith (54.56) won on the men's side.
In his final regular season 100 freestyle of his collegiate career, Harrison won by more than three seconds ahead of Smith, clocking in at 49.49.
Hageman took the 100 backstroke with a time of 1:08.31 for the Ladies. Dyess completed a double-win day in individual events for the Gents in the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:11.58.
In the final individual event of the meet, the 100 breaststroke, Jordan won for the Ladies with a time of 1:16.64. Meanwhile, McDonald and junior Paul Ahluwalia finished 1-2 on the men's side with times of 1:03.44 and 1:06.37, respectively.
The Ladies and Gents swimming teams return to action February 14-17 for the annual SCAC Championships.
