RESULTS
 
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – For the eighth straight year, the Queens University of Charlotte men's and women's swimming teams won the Bluegrass Mountain Conference Championships which concluded on Sunday at the Mecklenburg County Aquatic Center in Charlotte. The Royals were sensational again at the championships as the women totaled 1,963 points and the men recorded 1,950 points. In the final day, Queens took home eight victories, including three 'A' cut swims.
 
"Both teams did an excellent job working through the weekend one swim at a time knowing that we are focused on the NCAA Championships in a month," said Associate AD and Director of Swimming Jeff Dugdale.
 
The evening opened with the distance event in the 1,650-distance freestyle and the Royals placed three in the top four. Sophie Lange capped off an incredible conference championship with a first-place 'B' cut time of 16:35.80 which was six seconds faster than the next finisher. Amber Rydzewski and Rebecca Dany would finish third and fourth respectively with 'B' cut times.
 
After the completion of the distance swims, the Royals took on the 100-yard freestyle and dominated the event as four Royals participated. Danielle Melilli, Monica Gumina, and Cece Mayer finished in order at the top of the rankings. Melilli earned an 'A' cut time of 49.35 while Gumina and Mayer posted 'B' cut marks. Melilli finished just a second shy of breaking the conference record in the event. Kayla Tennant rounded out the dominant event with a 'B' cut time of 51.47.
 
In the 200-yard backstroke, Queens placed three in the top five earning 'B' cut times. Tova Andersson took the top spot with a final time of 1:59.14, Vladyslava Maznytska took third at 2:01.18, and Grayson Payne posted a fifth-place finish at 2:02.87.
 
Queens had a pair of women's swimmers in the 200-yard breaststroke, including Maike Jung and Sarah Brown. Jung earned a 'B' cut time at 2:16.64 which was good enough for a second-place finish. Brown would take sixth with a final time of 2:25.17.
 
The Royals women closed out the evening victorious in the 400-yard freestyle relay. Monica Gumina, Giulia Grasso, Cece Mayer, and Tova Andersson notched a 'B' cut time of 3:22.17.
 
On the men's side, Queens opened with the 1,650-yard freestyle and saw three Royals earned 'B' cut status. Aidan Henry grabbed second place with a time of 15:27.16 which was a tenth of a second off the leader. Luke Erwee and Mohamed Hegazy finished fourth and fifth respectively earning all-conference nods.
 
The 100-yard freestyle was one of the most dominant performances of the evening as Queens had two Royals earn 'A' cut times. Matej Dusa and Alex Kunert finished in the top two as Dusa won the event with a time of 42.85 and Kunert recorded a time of 43.02. Skyler Cook-Weeks and Kimani Gregory also turned in great swims with 'B' cut times.
 
In the 200-yard backstroke, Queens took the top three spots with 'B' cut marks. Finn Howard, Andreas Marz, and Alexander Bauch finished in order a second apart from each other. Yannick Plasil would also give the Royals a great swim with a final time of 1:52.12.
 
The 200-yard breaststroke saw the Royals place four in the top five spots. Jan Delkeskamp and Brian Copley took the top two spots in order with 'B' cut times and Declan Gleason and Balazs Berecz finished third and fourth.
 
In the final event of the evening, the Royal men's 400-yard freestyle relay team capped off the weekend with a victory and a 'B' cut time of 2:53.54. Alex Kunert, Luke Erwee, Matej Dusa, and Skyler Cook-Weeks paired up to dominate the event winning by four seconds.
 
"I want to thank Paddock Pools, OrendaTech, GMX7, Northwestern Mutual, and Exceptional Water Systems for their continued support and efforts making sure that we have an exceptional pool to train in," closed Dugdale.
 
The Royals will return to the pool next weekend for the Royals Open inside the Levine Aquatic Center. The weekend events will begin on Friday and conclude on Saturday. Following next weekend, Queens will prepare for the NCAA Championships will take place on March 9-12 in Greensboro, N.C.
 
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