Swimming Teams Open Season On Friday At Home

Shreveport - The Centenary swimming teams will begin their seasons on Friday as the Ladies and Gents face McMurry University in a Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference dual meet set for 6 p.m. inside the Centenary Fitness Center.

The teams will also compete against each other on Saturday at 10 a.m. Live video will be available for both meets at the link below:

VIDEO: https://www.ktalnews.com/gocentenary/watch-live-centenary-college-sports-2024-2025/

Thomas Radam begins his third season as head coach of the Centenary men's and women's swimming programs in 2024-25. Butch Jordan begins his 23rd year with the Centenary men's and women's swimming program in 2023-24.

Jordan, who begins his fourth season as assistant coach, served as head coach of the Maroon and White for 19 seasons, as he guided the Ladies and Gents since the inception of the program beginning with the 2001-02 season until the 2019-20 season. Jordan is no stranger to the swimming community as he has served as the head coach of the City of Shreveport Swim Team since 1975.

Curtis Melancon enters his second year with the Centenary Swim Program after a successful year for the Maroon and White in his assistant role.

The Ladies finished sixth at the SCAC Championships last season, recording 247 points to edge Austin College by one point, while the Gents finished seventh, tallying 161 points to finish well ahead of eighth-place St. Thomas (32 points).

Ladies Preview:

Sophomore Hannah Waddell (Shreveport, La.) capped off a stellar rookie season at the SCAC Championships by setting a new school record in the 200-yard breaststroke as she swam a time of 2:24.99. She also swam the second-fastest time in program history in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:06.51) and the eighth-fastest in the 200 IM (2:11.69). Waddell also recorded 10 individual wins during the season. She was also named to the SCAC Winter All-Sportsmanship Team. And named Centenary's "Female Newcomer of the Year" at the annual end-of-the-year athletics banquet in April.

Sophomore Reece Esser (Huntsville, Texas) had a stellar freshman season as the rookie captured nine individual wins, three relay wins, and one runner-up finish. She swam three of the fastest times in school history and each came at the SCAC Championships. She swam a time of 24.89 in the 50-yard freestyle, the seventh fastest time in program history, swam a time of 54.49 in a 100 Free split during a relay (10^th-fastest time), and swam the eighth-fastest time in school history in the 100 Butterfly with a time of 59.26. She made an immediate impact in her first collegiate meet as she recorded one individual victory, a pair of runner-up finishes, and two more top-five finishes and was appropriately named the SCAC Women's Swimmer of the Week. She was also named to the 2023-24 Winter SCAC Academic Honor Roll.

Junior Adriana de la Fuente (Baton Rouge, La.) is back this season after competing in all nine of the Ladies' meets last season. She was part of a team that won the 400 Free Relay in a time of 4:42.89 versus Millsaps on Jan. 10. The junior swam a trio of season-best times in the 50 Free (30.73), 100 Back (1:20.07), and the 200 breast (3:14.52) at the SCAC Championships. named to the 2023-24 Academic All-District® Women's Swimming & Diving Team by the College Sports Communicators, earning the prestigious honor for the first time in her career and was named to the 2023-24 Winter SCAC Academic Honor Roll.

Sophomore Stacy Brown (Baytown, Texas) competed in all nine meets last season and set three season-best times at the 2024 SCAC Championships in the 50 Free (28.74), 100 Free (1:02.16), and 200 Free (2:20.16). She was part of the Ladies' winning team in the 400 Free Relay on Jan. 10 vs. Millsaps.

Sophomore Cicely Jackson (Lafayette, La.) competed in seven meets last season and swam two season-best times at the SCAC Championships in the 500 Free (5:51.88) and the 100 Butterfly (1:11.82). She was also named to the 2023-24 Winter SCAC Academic Honor Roll.

Sophomore Kennadi St. Clair (Duncanville, Texas) competed in all nine meets in her rookie season and was part of the Ladies' winning team in the 400 Free Relay on Jan. 10 against Millsaps. She also swam three season-best times at the 2024 SCAC Championships in the 50 Free (29.16), 100 Free (1:04.84), and the 100 Breast (1:24.07).

Sophomore Sydney Welch (Moss Bluff, La.) competed in all nine meets last season and captured one relay win in the 400 Free Relay swimming a time of 4:42.89 on Jan. 10 against Millsaps. Welch was also named to the 2023-24 Winter SCAC Academic Honor Roll.

"We have had two strong recruiting years and though we have graduated 10 seniors over the same period, this season we will field the largest teams in the past six seasons for the Women's and Men's teams, respectively," said Radam.

We are counting on Hannah Waddell and Reece Esser (a multiple Top 10 Program History athlete) to lead the Ladies this season. This dynamic duo will offer us strength in all the strokes, with Reece championing the way in the Sprint events. All our freshmen Ladies – Bailey Allemeier (Altus, Okla.), Isabela Vasquez (Lafayette, La.), Ella Walton (Lafayette, La.) and Gillian Morrison (Bossier City, La.) will strongly support our returning sophomore class - Cicely Jackson, Kennadi St. Clair, Sydney Welch and Stacy Brown."

Gents Preview:

Sophomore Ubaldo Ayala (Hallsville, Texas) was impressive as a rookie after he burst onto the scene last season as he earned three top-10 finishes in his first weekend of action. He also recorded three individual wins - once in the 200 Breast on Oct. 28 vs. Millsaps (2:32.15), and twice on Jan. 10 vs. Millsaps in the 50 Back where he set a season-best time (28.51), and the 100 Breast (1:08.87).

Senior Antonio Barbee (Plaquemine, La.) returns for a fifth season after a stellar 2023-24 campaign in which he recorded six individual wins in the 200 Butterfly, 1000 Free, and 500 Free. Barbee also recorded a runner-up finish in the 100 Butterfly on Oct. 14 against McMurry with a time of 59.06.

Junior Jameson Feeney (Shreveport, La.) recorded two season-best times at the 2024 SCAC Championships as he swam a 1:06.14 in the 100 Breast, and a 4:52.16 in the 400 IM. Feeney was also named to the 2023-24 Academic All-District® Men's Swimming & Diving Team by the College Sports Communicators as he earned the honor for the first time in his career

Last season, the Gents finished second in five meets during the regular season and in their Jan. 10 home meet against Millsaps, they earned an impressive 14 individual top-10 finishes.

"On the Men's side, we should see our freshmen make an immediate and significant impact to our success in unprecedented ways. We have an impressive class of 10 Gents that is certainly a group of young men that will change the competitive landscape of this team this season and in the years to come!  The 10 newcomers are: Adam Stelly (Opelousas, La.), Sake Stroderd (Sulphur, La.), Trey White (Ball, La.), Noah Bannan (Mandeville, La.), Cade Campbell (Ruston, La.), Parker Randolph (Shreveport, La.), Kai North (Tyler, Texas), Jordan Jerigan (Temple, Texas), Jonah Matlock (Duncanville, Texas) and Hunter Hedges (Murphy, Texas).  

"Our schedule has our Ladies and Gents facing off with three of our SCAC partners – McMurry University, the University of Ozarks, and Austin College during the regular season," said Radam. "We will also step outside the conference and compete against Millsaps University, and for the first time in the past three years we will have the opportunity to swim the majority of our season dual meets at home in front of our own fans. This welcomed change will enable our athletes to race with greater confidence and compete more aggressively. We are hopeful that we will make significant improvements in both our in-conference and out-of-conference past records.

"We have an incredibly young team - 85% are either freshmen or sophomores. Our team captains are both sophomores - Hannah Waddell and Ubaldo Ayala, who was selected to represent Centenary at the upcoming NCAA Leadership Conference in Charlotte, NC this November. This coaching staff has the utmost confidence in Hannah and Ubaldo to lead our team to new heights in the SCAC.

"We also have four returning upper-level teammates - Adriana de la Fuente, Antonio "Tony" Barbee, Jameson Feeney, and fifth-year senior Daniel Lewis (Alexandria, La.) who will also be expected to contribute to our team by leading by their example and teaching and re-enforcing our team's culture of supporting and encouraging one another to become the Best Version Ever as an Athlete, Student, and Person.

"The outlook for both the Women's and Men's team this season is bright and truly inspiring. As a group, they have bought into one of the team's fundamental mantras – "Faster, Higher, Stronger …Together!"

"In a little over a month, our teams have a developed a chemistry that is undeniable – one of consistent support and encouragement for one another, especially during our most challenging and difficult workouts.  We will have a strong start to begin our season and continue to improve each subsequent dual meet. It is very evident to this coaching staff that as impressive as we may be this weekend, I can assure you the Women's and Men's teams we will take to the SCAC Conference Championships in February will be greater skilled, conditioned, prepared, and confident to race lights out, insanely F-A-S-T!".

Centenary will face the University of the Ozarks Eagles in a pair of conference dual meets on Oct. 18-19 in Clarksville, Ark. and finishes off the month with a dual meet at Millsaps on Oct. 26. The Ladies and Gents will hold their annual Alumni/Intrasquad meet on Saturday, Nov. 9.

Centenary will compete in three meets in the month of January beginning with the annual Austin College Invitational on Saturday, Jan. 11 in Sherman, Texas. Home meets on consecutive days against Millsaps (Jan. 17) and Austin College (Jan. 18) follow and the meet against the 'Roos on the 18^th will be Senior Day for the Ladies and Gents.

The SCAC Championships are set for Feb. 12-15 in Garland, Texas.

See the Ladies and Gents' complete season schedule here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/wswim/2024-25/schedule

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