Wheeling, W. Va. - After a week off from competition, the Wheeling University Men's and Women's Swimming teams ((6-0, 2-0)(5-1, 1-1)) returns to Mountain East Conference (MEC) action. The Cardinals will travel down to Elkins, West Virginia on Saturday for dual meet action against Davis & Elkins at 1 PM. The Cardinals look to keep the good times rolling, as both programs keep building on their young talent pool.
Last time out, the Cardinals opened their home schedule as they battled Chatham and Bethany College inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center. It was a big day for both programs, with the Cardinals winning every race on the night across both genders. The men would earn wins of 168-4 over Bethany and 164-31 over Chatham, with six different swimmers taking first place on the night. The Cardinals had two different freshmen pick up multiple wins as the youth led the way. On the women's side, the Cardinals would win by scores of 137-7 over Bethany and 137-49 over Chatham. Like the men, the women would also win every event, with seven different women taking home first place titles. It added two more wins to both teams' seasons as they continue to push for the Malone Midseason Invite.
Leading the way on the men's side was freshman Aria Dimakis, who picked up three wins on the day, two individual and a relay victory. Dimakis would take on the short distance events, swimming in both the 50-Yard freestyle and the 100-Yard Individual Medley. His first win of the day came in the 50-Yard Freestyle, where he finished with a time of 22.43 seconds to beat out the field by .42 seconds. He would come back in the next race and would swim in the 100-Yard Individual Medley. He swam in a time of 56.16 seconds and led the Cardinals as they took the top three spots in the field. The other Cardinal with multiple wins was Archie Pigott, who finished with wins in the 100-Yard Breaststroke and the 200-Yard Individual Medley. Pigott would pick up his biggest win in the 200-Yard Individual Medley, where he swam a time of 2:02.13 to pick up a 16 second win in the field.
On the women's side, it was Niki Chrysafi leading the effort for the Cardinals picking up a pair of individual wins and three total wins. Chrysafi would take on both the 200-Yard Freestyle and the 100-Yard Backstroke, with the 200-Yard Backstroke kicking things off. She would swim the event with a time of 2:05.22, and beating the rest of the field by four seconds to start the day. She would come back in the 100-Yard Backstroke and put up a time of 1:01.57 to round out the day. Olivia Moyer was the other Cardinal with multiple wins, adding an individual win and a relay win. Moyer would take the title in the 100-Yard Butterfly, where she swam a time of 1:13.76 while also being part of the 200-Yard Freestyle Relay winning team.
As they head towards the annual midseason meet, the Cardinals will be taking on two more conference opponents along the way. They start with Davis & Elkins on Saturday, and add a match-up with Salem on Wednesday night in their final two meets to prepare. So far, both teams have found themselves near the top of the MEC standings on both sides of the race. The men find themselves sitting atop the conference standings, scoring 513.25 points, while the women are sitting third with an average of 467.35 points this season. Both teams will look to continue their growth in the pool while they continue to prepare for the 2025 Malone Midseason Invitational.
The Match-up
The Cardinals and Senators are meeting for the fourth time in program history, with Wheeling leading both all-time series at 3-1. It will be the third time that the teams have traveled to Elkins, West Virginia, with the teams splitting their previous two meetings. The women are averaging 140 points per match, while the men are averaging 135.25 points per game in the all-time series.
The last meeting between the two teams came on November 9th, 2024, with the men winning 162-81 and the women winning 146-108. Former Cardinal Jade Miller would lead the way for the women, picking up four individual event wins on the day. On the men's side, it was former Cardinal Euan MacLeod would set two pool records in the winning effort.
The Details
First swims for Saturday's dual meet is scheduled for 1 PM inside the George A. Myles Pool on the campus of Davis & Elkins. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE.
