University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
Florida Gulf Coast *
Swimming & Diving Returns to Action at Florida Gulf Coast
12.16.2018 | Women's Swimming & Diving
FORT MYERS, Fla. – After a very successful Fall Frenzy Invite, the UNC Asheville swimming & diving team returns to the pool by squaring off with Coastal Collegiate Sports Association (CCSA) rival Florida Gulf Coast on Dec. 17 in Fort Myers, Fla.
BULLDOG BITES
Last Time Out - Fall Frenzy Invite
The Bulldogs were strong in the three-day meet in Charlotte, N.C., as they posted numerous lifetime and season bests in the Mecklenburg County Aquatic Center.
One of the biggest highlights of the invite was senior Morgan Rulevich breaking the 100 freestyle school record. As the leadoff leg in the 400 free relay, Rulevich clocked a 51.12 time, which bested the previous school record of 51.59 that she set at the CCSA Championships last year. Overall, the 400 relay team finished fifth.
On the first day of the Fall Frenzy Invite, Skylar Rogan earned a bronze medal, as she finished third in the 500 freestyle finals. Rulevich also earned a medal on the first day, as she finished third in the 50 free.
Rulevich again earned another medal, as she placed second in the 100 breaststroke on the second day of the invite. Madison Rogan placed fourth in the 400 IM, and UNC Asheville's A relay team placed fifth in the 200 medley relay. In the 800 free relay, the Asheville A team finished fourth, while the B team placed ninth.
On the final day of the meet, Rulevich claimed her second medal of the day, as she finished third in the 200 breaststroke. Catherine Allen and Madison Rogan swam fast in the 200 butterfly finals, as the duo finished fourth and fifth, respectively. Skylar Rogan clocked a season-best 17:03.66 mark in the 1650 freestyle, as she cruised to a fifth-place finish.
About the Meet
The road meet at FGCU will mark the fifth CCSA meet this year for the Bulldogs. They have gone head-to-head this season with Campbell, Georgia Southern, North Florida and Gardner-Webb. This will be the third road CCSA meet of the year for Asheville.
The dual meet will commence at noon at the FGCU Aquatics Center in Fort Myers, Fla.
The head-to-head meet marks the first time the two clubs have met in a pool since the 2016-17 season.
There are 14 total events, which includes two relays, 11 individual races and one diving event.
Order of Events
200 Medley Relay
1650 Freestyle
1m Diving - Full Diving Break
50 Backstroke
50 Breaststroke
100 Butterfly
50 Freestyle
10-MIN SWIMMING BREAK
100 Freestyle
100 Backstroke
100 Breaststroke
200 Freestyle
50 Butterfly
10-MIN SWIMMING BREAK
100 Individual Medley
200 Freestyle Relay
BARKING ABOUT THE BULLDOGS
CONTE EARNS PRESTIGIOUS NCAA POSTGRADUATE INTERNSHIP: A senior swimming and diving student-athlete, Elizabeth Conte will get to live out her passion with her new opportunity as one of just 30 to receive a prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Internship. The Chapel Hill, N.C. native will be working in NCAA Division I governance as part of her postgraduate internship. To learn more, please visit HERE.
NEW STRATEGIC PLAN: UNC Asheville athletics officially unveiled its newest strategic plan on Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018. The strategic plan entitled "Believe. Achieve. Thrive." is the road map for UNC Asheville athletics over the course of the next five years. The strategic plan outlines key areas of focus and growth in developing lifetime leaders from the most valuable resource that UNC Asheville athletics has in its student-athletes. To learn more about the strategic plan, please visit HERE (PDF).
NATIONAL CHAMPS: The nationally second-ranked UNC Asheville men's tennis doubles duo of Oli Nolan and Henry Patten secured a national championship on Sunday, Nov. 11, with a 6-2, 6-1 win over nationally 42nd-ranked Bjorn Thomson and Parker Wynn of Texas Tech in the championship match of the Oracle ITA National Fall Championships at the Surprise Tennis & Racquet Complex. In addition to the national championship win, Patten was also voted by the ITA Officials at the event to receive the Sportsmanship Award for the 2018 Oracle ITA National Fall Championships. The championship match win for Nolan and Patten was part of a tremendous fall of 2018 for the pairing. Nolan and Patten went undefeated playing together during the fall and won three titles including the national championship.
MORE THAN MAKING THE GRADE: For the 2017-18 athletic year, the UNC Asheville student-athletes showed their commitment to the classroom by finishing the academic year with a combined grade-point average of 3.142. Impressively, 72 percent (161 of 223) UNC Asheville student-athletes during the 2017-18 athletic year received Athletic Director Honor Roll recognition with a grade-point average of 3.0 or higher.
TWO-TIME SCHOLAR ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: For the second time in his career, UNC Asheville senior Blanton Gillespie was selected as a Big South Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Gillespie was chosen as the 2018 Big South Men's Cross Country Scholar-Athlete of the Year at the Big South Cross Country Championship presented by Musco Sports Lighting and UCS at the Ivey M. Redmon Sports Complex on Friday, Oct. 26. The honor is just the latest for Gillespie, who was named the 2018 Big South Outdoor Track and Field Scholar-Athlete of the Year in May of 2018.
BIG SOUTH WOMAN OF THE YEAR: UNC Asheville graduate Kayli Nichols was selected as the 2017-18 Big South Conference Woman of the Year. With degrees in German and Political Science and a minor in Spanish, Nichols graduated from UNC Asheville with a GPA of 3.974. During her senior campaign, she was named the Big South Outdoor Scholar-Athlete of the Year and the Big South Indoor Co-Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
BIG SOUTH MALE SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: On the same day that he started his new full-time position in the Corporate Analyst Development Program at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in Columbus, Ohio on July 11, 2018, former UNC Asheville men's basketball standout Kevin Vannatta was chosen as the 2017-18 Big South Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year. In addition to winning the Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year award for the conference, Vannatta was also chosen as the Division I-AAA Athletics Directors Association (DI-AAA ADA) Scholar-Athlete of the Year for men's basketball and as the Big South Men's Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year. The Upper Arlington, Ohio native was also selected to the 2017-18 Academic All-America® NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). An Accounting major at UNC Asheville, Vannatta graduated with a 3.94 grade-point average.
What's Next?
UNC Asheville will open the new year with a CCSA dual meet at UNC Wilmington on Saturday, Jan. 5. The meet in Wilmington, N.C. will start at 1 p.m. at the Seahawk Natatorium.
Players Mentioned
