Wingate Claims SAC Men's and Women's Swimming Championship; Catawba Takes Second

ROCK HILL, S.C. (TheSAC.com) – Wingate University captured both the men's and women's team championships Saturday night as the 2026 SAC Swimming Championships came to a thrilling close. The Bulldogs secured the women's title by just 8.5 points and pulled away on the men's side to complete the sweep in a record-filled four-day meet.

Championship Night Highlights

Saturday's finals featured dominant distance performances, sprint fireworks and NCAA qualifying swims that capped one of the fastest championship meets in conference history.

Catawba's Fiona Byrne opened the evening with a victory in the women's 1650 freestyle (16:58.53), earning an NCAA B cut, while teammate Nazar Herashchenko added another gold for the Indians in the men's 1650 (15:23.80), also achieving a B standard.

In the women's 100 freestyle, Catawba senior Marit Reckmann claimed the title in 50.31 (NCAA B cut), closing out a standout championship performance.

Wingate sophomore Yassine Sebbata delivered one of the signature swims of the meet in the men's 100 freestyle, breaking the SAC meet record with a blazing 42.84 and achieving an NCAA Division II A cut.

The Bulldogs sealed the team title in the final event of the meet, winning the men's 400 freestyle relay in 2:54.27 (NCAA B cut) to punctuate their championship performance.

Final Team Standings (Through Event 36)

Women

1. Wingate University – 1826.5

2. Catawba College – 1818

3. Carson-Newman University – 1224.5

4. Lenoir-Rhyne University – 591

5. Mars Hill University – 504

Men

1. Wingate University – 1833.5

2. Catawba College – 1645

3. Carson-Newman University – 1327.5

4. Lenoir-Rhyne University – 591

5. Mars Hill University – 482

Championship Awards

Women

• Freshman of the Year: Mathilda Sandberg, Wingate

• Swimmer of the Meet: Megan Corcoran, Carson-Newman

• Coach of the Year: Matt Gearing, Catawba

Men

• Freshman of the Year: Jules Remy, Catawba

• Swimmer of the Meet: Gabriel Morales, Carson-Newman

• Coach of the Year: Kevin Hennessy, Wingate

Here are the total individual points earned during the championship meet by each of the award-winning swimmers (individual event points only):

Women

�� Mathilda Sandberg (Wingate) – Freshman of the Year

• 100 Butterfly – 1st place – 32 points

  thu final results

• 100 Breaststroke – 3rd place – 27 points

  fri final results

Total Individual Points: 59

�� Megan Corcoran (Carson-Newman) – Swimmer of the Meet

• 200 IM – 1st place – 32 points

  wed final results

• 400 IM – 1st place – 32 points

  thu final results

• 200 Butterfly – 1st place – 32 points

  fri final results

Total Individual Points: 96

Men

�� Jules Remy (Catawba) – Freshman of the Year

• 200 IM – 1st place – 32 points

  wed final results

• 400 IM – 1st place – 32 points

  thu final results

Total Individual Points: 64

�� Gabriel Morales (Carson-Newman) – Swimmer of the Meet

• 100 Backstroke – 1st place – 32 points

  fri final results

• 200 Butterfly – 1st place – 32 points

  full meet results

• 200 Backstroke – 2nd place – 28 points

  sat final results (1)

Total Individual Points: 92