Wheeling, W. Va. - A week ago, the Wheeling University Men's and Women's Swimming team opened the 2025-2026 season at the West Virginia University Games. They showed that they can compete against some of the top teams in the state of West Virginia, and they look to keep that momentum going as they dive into Mountain East Conference (MEC) play on Saturday. The team will travel to Frostburg State University for a tri-meet against the host Bobcats and West Virginia Wesleyan at 1 PM.
The Cardinals headed to the Mylan Park Aquatic Center last Saturday for their season opener as they took on the WVU Games. Both sides would show off their young rosters, and the freshmen swimmers did not disappoint as several made their season debuts. On the men's side, the Cardinals would take second among the eight teams in the field, including first among the NCAA DII teams in competition, scoring 430.5 points. They would end up placing two swimmers among the top 10 point scorers in the field, with one of those being in the top five of the event. On the women's side, the Cardinals would take third in their eight team, field, finishing just 29 points off the pace of Fairmont State for second in the field. They would have three in the top 25, including one of their new swimmers, as they started the season with a bang.
On the men's side, it would be Segmen Duygun leading the way off a big day in the distance events. He would take home one of the team's two bronze medals at the event, earning the honor in the 500-Yard Freestyle. Duygun swam the race in a time of 4:51.47, beating out the next closest MEC swimmer by just over seven seconds. He would add another top five finish in the 1000-Yard Freestyle, taking 5th with a time of 10:09.44, and earned the conference's Men's Swimmer of the Week honors for his efforts. The other bronze medal for the Cardinals came courtesy of Aris Dimakis, who took home the honor in the 100-Yard Backstroke. The freshman would swim the event in a time of 55.41, beating out teammate Meiko Schonekes by two seconds. He would round out the day with a 5th place finish in the 50-Freestyle (21.92) and a 7th place finish in the 200-Backstroke (2:08.24) to round out his big day.
On the women's side, it was Niki Chrysafi leading the way, scoring 489.1 points across nine events on the day. Chrysafi would play a big role in the team's relay success, being a part of all three relay teams in the pool. Her best performance came as the leadoff for the 400-Yard Medley relay team, where she helped the team finish 5th with a time of 1:02.99. Her top individual performance would come in the 200-Yard Backstroke, where she swam a time of 2:22.94 to take 7th overall. The other top performer for the Cardinals was senior Gabby Baiano, who picked up right where she left off in the distance events. Her top swim came in the 1000-Yard Freestyle, where she swam a time of 11:31.62 to finish 5th overall. She led the Cardinals at last year's MEC Championship event, and looks for similar success as she begins her 2025-2026 season.
As the Cardinals get set to begin their dual meet schedule on Saturday, they get a short taste of MEC play to kick things off. Last season, the Cardinals would burst onto the scene on both sides of the field, as they grew to their largest roster since the rebirth of the program. Both would sit as the second highest scoring teams in the conference, with the men putting up 572.35 points while the women put up 538.10 points during the season. As they get ready to star the 2025-2026 conference schedule, the men sit atop the conference in terms of points scored, putting up 504.80, while the women sit second in the conference behind Fairmont State at 443.0 points. With conference dual meets kicking off this week, both teams are looking to hold their top spots in the conference as they continue to lower their times.
The Matchups
Frostburg State: The Cardinals and Bobcats are meeting for the fifth time in program history on the women's side and the fourth time on the men's side Saturday. Frostburg State leads both all-time match-ups, going 4-0 against the women and 3-0 against the men. The Cardinals will be traveling to Frostburg State for the second and third time in program history, with the men averaging 57 points and the women averaging 87.5 points in the all-time series. The last meeting came on October 12th 2024, with the men falling 155-93 and the women falling 151-97. Former Cardinal Euan MacLeod would lead the way for the men, who won three different events, while former Cardinal Jade Miller led the women with two event wins.
West Virginia Wesleyan: The Cardinals and Bobcats are meeting for the 10th time against the women's team and the ninth time against the men's team. Wheeling leads both all-time match-ups, with the men going 6-2 and the women going 7-2 in all-time meetings. It has been a high scoring series all-time for the Cardinals, with the men averaging 108 points and the women averaging 117.89 points, with both teams holding winning streaks. The women have won the last three dual meets against West Virginia Wesleyan, while the men have won the last two. Their last meeting came on October 12th, 2024, with the men winning 171-31, and the women picking up a 174-54 victory at the event.
The Details
First swims for Saturday's tri-meet are scheduled for 1 PM inside the Bobcat Natatorium on the campus of Frostburg State University. You can watch the event live by clicking HERE.
