Wheeling, W. Va. – After a strong opening to meet competition, the Wheeling University Men's and Women's Swimming teams get set for their first dual meet of the 2022-23 season. They head to Bethany for a non-conference meet on Friday, October 28th, as they continue to grow as individuals. The Cardinals picked up several top three finishes last week and look to continue to build on those efforts this week.
In their last meet, the Cardinals swam at a trip meet against Salem and fellow Mountain East Conference (MEC) opponent Notre Dame College. While the team scores weren't what the team wanted, the individual swimmers had big days. In total, the women took home two first place finishes and three third place finishes during the meet while the men took home one second place finish and two fourth place finishes on the day. The first and the last events of the meet were relay meets with the women competing in the 400 Yard Medley Relay and the 400 Yard Freestyle Relay. Both teams took home third place finishes in the meet as they continue to lower their times.
On the women's side, the Cardinals secured two first place finishes by two of their top upperclassmen. Senior Meredith Mandal got the day started, winning the 100 Yard Fly with a time of 1:03.45 as she picked up her first win of the season. The other gold medal winner for the Cardinals was Jade Miller, who won the 100 Yard Backstroke at 1:02.20. Both swimmers also took home third place finishes on the day as they led their team. Both Mandal and Miller had their share of successes last season, and they start out this year strong as they prepare for their mid-season meet at Oberlin.
On the men's side, junior Ethan Banks returned to the pool after dealing with an illness and came back in a big way. He competed in his signature 1000 Yard Freestyle and placed second overall with a time of 11:13.70 to start his season. He also competed in the 500 Yard Freestyle to round out the distance events, finishing fourth with a time of 5:26.60. Banks got his year off to a strong start and looks to continue being a leader for the team as he swims the distance events for the Cards.
As the 2022 portion of their schedule rolls on, the Cardinals continue preparations for the Oberlin Invitational November 17th through the 19th. They have two more duals before that meet as they compete against similar competition from around the area. They won't see any more conference opponents during that stretch, but they have gotten a taste of them over the first two events of the season as they get a taste of what they will face as 2023 comes around.
The Matchup
The Cardinals and Bison are meeting for the third time in program history with the all-time men's series sitting tied at 1-1 and the all-time women's series being led by the Cardinals at 2-0. The two teams met in a dual meet last season in the only home event for the Cardinals. The Women would win the event 70-21.
On the women's side, Meredith Mandal and Jade Miller picked up wins in the 100 Yard Breaststroke and the 100 Yard Backstroke. Former Cardinal Macie Miller and Maria Jones also picked up wins on the day. Ethan Banks led the way for the men with wins in all three events that he swam on the day.
The Details
Friday's dual meet is scheduled for Friday at 5 PM at Bethany University. Follow along with wucardinals.com all day for full coverage of the event.
