Baiano’s Double Victory Secures Wheeling a Clean Sweep in MEC Swimmer of the Week Awards!

Wheeling, W. Va. – The 2025 season commenced in the pool for the Wheeling University Women’s Swimming squad as they faced Lenoir-Rhyne over the weekend. Following the achievement of Wheeling University Men’s Swimmer Euan MacLeod, who secured the Mountain East Conference (MEC) Male Swimmer of the Week honor earlier on Monday, the Cardinals would sweep the Swimmer of the Week accolades, presented by The Healthplan, showcasing a formidable display by the ladies. Junior Gabby Baiano earned the MEC’s Women’s Swimmer of the Week title after acquiring a couple of victories against the Bears during the weekend.

The Cardinals spent the preceding week in Clearwater, Florida for their annual winter training retreat. That expedition concluded on Saturday, as the team made a stop in Hickory, North Carolina, to compete against Lenir-Rhyne. Although the scoreboard reflected a 104-82 defeat, the Cardinals still achieved several impressive individual victories, securing three gold medals throughout the day. The accomplishments were distributed across both long-distance and short-distance events. In the relays, the Cardinals added two second-place finishes in both the 200-Yard Medley Relay and the 200-Yard Freestyle Relay. Baiano secured two of those individual gold medals and was the first leg of the second-place Freestyle Relay team, concluding the day’s events.

Baiano’s triumph initiated right from the start, as she participated in the 500-Yard Freestyle to kick off the day. Baiano achieved her most significant victory of the day, surpassing the competition by eight seconds and finishing with a time of 5:29.43. In her next individual event, she transitioned to short distances, competing in the 200-Yard Freestyle. Once again, Baiano demonstrated her prowess, achieving a time of 2:03.34. After completing her individual races, Baiano concluded the day as a member of the team’s 200-Yard Freestyle Relay team. She ran the second leg of the event and clocked the fastest split among all swimmers at 27.20 seconds. She contributed to the team capturing a second-place finish with a total time of 1:52.29.

Baiano’s victory marks the second of the week for the Cardinals and represents the 29th occasion this season that a Cardinal student-athlete has received the conference player of the Week title. For Baiano, this was her second MEC Women’s Swimmer of the Week recognition of the season and the fifth award for the team in this campaign. It was also the second MEC Player of the Week title for the Cardinals this week, with Baiano joining Wheeling Men’s Swimmer Euan MacLeod, who achieved the MEC Male Swimmer of the Week distinction.

Gabby Baiano and the Wheeling Women’s Swimming squad will be back in action on Saturday, January 18th, when they host Fairmont State, with the first events commencing at 1 PM.