The University of the Cumberlands Swim team has concluded their 2007-2008 season with much success to show for both the men and women. The men finished the season undefeated (13-0) while the women came close, but fell short to Centre College and resulted in a 13-1 record. To wrap up the entire season, the Patriot team traveled to San Antonio, TX to compete in the NAIA National Swimming and Diving Championships. The turnout for Cumberlands was well deserved as the women finished in fourth and the men in fifth.
Several awards were received by the Patriot Swimmers at the conclusion of the season, including All-American Status, Honorable Mention, and Academic All-American. Patriot standouts who received at least one of these awards include Jorge Ospina (Venezuela/FL), Conor Gfroerer (Waterloo, Ontario), Edward Von Hertsenberg (Cincinatti, OH), Trevor Lowe (Flagler Beach, FL), Meredith Dement (Chattanooga, TN), Brianna Chen (Harrisburg, NC), Andrzej Lenard (Opole, Poland), Sean Vibert (Birmingham, AL), Alex Robertson (Shreveport, LA), Carol Clayton (Woodstock, GA), Laurie Skaggs (Tullahoma, TN), and Joey Moore (Sioux Falls, SD).
In addition to the awards won, several of the swimmers broke team records for UC. Records broken are as follows:
Men’s 800 Freestyle Relay (6:53.40) – Jorge Ospina, Conor Gfroerer, Edward Von Hertsenberg, and Trevor Lowe.
Men’s 200 Medley Relay (1:36.14) – Conor Gfroerer, Ben Clayton (Princeton, KY), Jorge Ospina, and Edward Von Hertsenberg
Men’s 200 Freestyle Relay (1:26.36) – Edward Von Hertsenberg, J.T. Hargrove (Hopkinsville, KY), Eric Wenstrand (Elizabethtown, KY), and Jorge Ospina
Jorge Ospina – 500 Free (4:38.00), 100 Fly (50.21) and 200 Fly (1:51.26)
Trevor Lowe –1650 Freestyle (16:17.61)
Conor Gfroerer – 100 Back (53.11)
Women’s 200 Freestyle Relay (1:38.36) – Meredith Dement, Molli Young (Plano, TX), Staci Barada (Ashland, KY), and Laurie Skaggs
Alex Robertson – 400 IM (4:40.23)
Meredith Dement – 50 Freestyle (Lead-off Relay; 24.29) and 100 Freestyle (52.71)
This year the Patriots will say goodbye to Price Richardson (Corvallis, MT) and Laurie Skaggs due to graduation. Richardson is the son of Pete and Mary Richardson and he served the team as a backstroke swimmer. He will be graduated in May 2008 with degrees in Business and Math. Skaggs is the daughter of Charles and Ruth Anderson and she served the team as a sprint swimmer. She will be graduated in May 2008 with degrees in Biology and Chemistry. The team will greatly miss these swimmers as they mold to fill their places.
In conclusion of the season head coach Garry Nelson had this to say, "The 2007-2008 swim team did a great job this year. The team really focused on the National Championships and with added teams to NAIA swimming, it was a great finish. The men broke 13 new team records and the women broke five. Team records are always a reflection of how the team is moving forward. Top scores were Jore Ospina and Meredith Dement who are both freshmen swimmers. We have a great recruiting class coming in and we expect to break the top three teams next year. Much thanks to the Assistant Coach, Tasha Perry and volunteer Assistant Coaches, Duncan Mackie and Aaron McCormick. This has been a great year and we expect next year to continue to move us towards a National Championship".
