January 26-27, 2008

BRISTOL, Tenn.—The St. Andrews Presbyterian College men’s swim team picked up its second victory of their inaugural season on Sunday afternoon defeating Milligan College in a double-dual meet at King College. No. 13 nationally ranked Wingate University defeated the Knights a day earlier in the Wingate University Natatorium.

In Saturday afternoon’s Bluegrass Mountain Conference dual meet at Wingate, the Bulldogs posted wins in seven races for a 65-22 victory. The Knights bounced back the next day after making the long trip west to Tennessee by tallying 51 points at King College and defeating Milligan by three points.

SATURDAY: Wingate def. St. Andrews 65-22

For St. Andrews Presbyterian, freshman Dwight Richardson (Newport News, Va.) won two individual events. Richardson took the gold medal in the 50 Freestyle by tying his PR of 21.87 and then setting a PR in the 500 Freestyle (5:31.53). SAPC freshman Robb Vermillion (Williamsburg, Va.) was victorious in the 100 Breaststroke with a winning time of 1:09.66 (PR).

Vermillion and Richardson were members of the triumphant SAPC 200 Free Relay team. The Knight quartet touched first with a time of 1:46.64. Another member of the Knights’ victorious 200 Free Relay team Saturday was junior Mitch Cooper (Virginia Beach, Va.), one of the top cross country runners in the NCAA Division II Southeast Region. Freshman Joseph Hernandez (Hubert, N.C.) was the fourth member of the winning team.

Other highlights from the Wingate meet included Hernandez setting a PR in the 100 backstroke (1:10.35); Richardson breaking his PR in the 100 butterfly (56.82); Vermillion and senior Ian Burkett (Columbia, S.C.) each setting PR’s in the 50 freestyle with speeds of 27.88 and 28.92, respectively; Burkett added a PR in the 100 freestyle (1:06.51); Hernandez garnering a PR in the 200 freestyle (2:16.02); and Cooper setting personal benchmarks in the 100 (1:08.10) and 200 freestyle (2:37.82).

SUNDAY: King 95, St. Andrews 51, Milligan 48

Richardson helped St. Andrews edge the Buffaloes by finishing ahead of Milligan in both the 400 individual medley and 100 backstroke. In the Knights first ever 400 IM, Richardson set the SAPC benchmark time of 4:35.41 while finishing the 100 backstroke in 59.16.

Vermillion picked up two more wins in the 100 breaststroke with a speed of 1:12.64 while Hernandez earned points ahead of Milligan by finishing runner-up in the 500 freestyle (6:31.11). Hernandez also set a new PR in the 1000 freestyle (13:37.92).

SAPC won the 200 freestyle relay for the second straight day as the same foursome of Richardson, Vermillion, Cooper, and Hernandez finished the race in 1:46.62 to cap the weekend trip.

St. Andrews will compete in their first Bluegrass Mountain Conference Championships from Wednesday to Saturday, February 13-16 at Mecklenburg Aquatic Center in Charlotte, N.C.