Wheeling Dolphins Dive into 2025 with Lenoir-Rhyne Dual Meet Showdown!

Wheeling, W. Va. – Throughout the previous week, the Wheeling University Men’s and Women’s Swimming squads have been training in Clearwater, Florida as part of their annual Winter Training journey. As they return to Wheeling, the Cardinals are scheduled for a stop in Hickory, North Carolina where they will compete against Lenoir-Rhyne in dual meet competition at 10 AM. Both men’s and women’s teams have demonstrated robust performances in the initial half of the season, and they aim to maintain that achievement into the latter half. 

The last occasion both teams entered the pool was during the Malone Midseason meet, where they faced some of the top competitors from both the Mountain East Conference (MEC) and the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC). Each team concluded in sixth position within their respective rankings, with the women accumulating 667 points and the men obtaining 558.5 points. Collectively, the Cardinals had 11 individuals and relay teams achieve top five finishes during the three-day competition, including a second place position for each team. After experiencing a little less than two months away from competition, the Cardinals are eager to re-enter the pool with vigor as they embark on 2025. 

On the women’s side, Jade Miller led the charge, concluding with three individual top five placements and participating in a relay top five finish during the event. Her standout performance over the three days manifested on the second day when she secured both her second and third place finishes. Her premier performance was in the 400-Yard Individual Medley, where she claimed second place with a time of 4:47.78. The senior was merely six seconds shy of Gannon’s Emily Hodges for the top tie at the event, and improved upon her preliminary time by just under eight seconds. She followed that with a third place finish in the 200-Yard Backstroke, clocking a time of 2:10.18, missing first place by a mere four seconds. 

On the men’s side, freshman Euan MacLeod took the lead with a duo of top five individual finishes at the event and added three relay top five finishes during the day. He kicked off the event impressively, achieving his first individual top five in the 50-Yard Freestyle. This race would boil down to the final seconds, with MacLeod finishing at 20.72 seconds, earning him the silver medal. He would claim another medal on the last day of competition, participating in the 100-Yard Freestyle. MacLeod clocked 46.10 seconds, finishing behind a pair of swimmers from the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC). Additionally, he was a contributor to three top five relay finishes and continues to be a key figure for the team in his freshman season. 

The winter recess on campus has permitted the swimmers to partake in their winter training excursion, marking the second consecutive year the team has ventured to Florida. They are currently practicing at the Centennial Park Pool, where they can focus on different aspects of training than at their home facility. This also presents a chance for team bonding experiences as they prepare for the concluding two months of the 2024-2025 season. With three additional dual meets left on the itinerary, the Cardinals are aiming to sustain their early season accomplishments into 2025. 

The Matchup 

The Cardinals will be clashing with the Bears for the second time in the history of the program on Saturday, having initiated their all-time faceoff last season. Lenoir-Rhyne ended up securing a sweep over the Cardinals, triumphing in both the men’s and women’s categories. It marks the second consecutive season that the team is traveling to Lenoir-Rhyne for the event, following a similar stop during last year’s winter training trip. 

The previous encounter between the two squads occurred on January 5th, 2024, when Lenoir-Rhyne defeated the men 177-66 and the women 143-104. Among the women, Gabby Baiano and Jade Miller stood out with a win each in the 1650 Freestyle and the 100-Yard Backstroke. The men were led by Patrick Kirby, who secured victories in both the 100-Yard Freestyle and the 500-Yard Freestyle events to conclude the day. 

The Details 

The initial events for Saturday’s dual meet are slated for 10 AM at the Shuford Pool located on the campus of Lenoir-Rhyne University. To view the event live, please click HERE.