Wingate teams are number 12 in Avidasports Performance Index

Harper Woods, Mich.----The Wingate University men’s and women’s swimming teams are ranked number 12 in the Avidasports Performance Index, released this week by CollegeSwimming.com. The Bulldogs are the top-ranked Blue Grass Mountain Conference team in both indexes.

The Avidasports Performance Index rates NCAA teams on two equally-weighted metrics – a team's rate of improvement over their season-best times and their overall ranking among other NCAA programs. The past weekend was the most significant of the 2010-11 collegiate season, as more than 36,000 races were swum across slightly more than 100 collegiate meets. Of those swims, a remarkable 341 of 551 teams exceeded their season-best times.

            A pair of Missouri programs posted the fastest times in Division II. The defending NCAA champion Drury women’s swims were ranked first overall, but the men were edged for the top spot by Missouri Science & Technology. When improvements were factored into the equation, the Bridgeport (Conn.) women and Grand Valley State (Mich.) men found themselves on top of the overall rankings. Bridgeport improved on its times by an average of 3.7 percent to lead the women, while GVSU’s 4.8 percent improvement over best times topped all Division II men’s programs.

Most recently, the Bulldog men’s and women’s swimming teams defended their titles at the Savannah College of Art and Design College Invitational Thursday through Saturday. The Wingate men posted 1246 points. BGMC rival (and host) SCAD was second with 1103 points. The Bulldog women accumulated 1217 points. The SCAD Bees were second with 871 points.

In 2010, the Wingate men won their third consecutive Blue Grass Mountain Conference championship and finished sixth in the NCAA Division II national championship meet. The Bulldog women were third in the BGMC event and 23rd in the NCAA meet. An astounding 17 Bulldogs (12 men, five women) earned All-American honors. Wingate won two national championships last year (Gus Chagas in the 200 Freestyle and the men’s 400 Freestyle Relay).

The Bulldog swimming teams are taking a break for fall semester final exams. In late December, Wingate will venture to sunny Florida for its annual training trip. The Bulldogs will compete in the Winter College Invitational (Daytona Beach, Fla.) on Jan. 5, 2011. The annual January event is hosted by Daytona State College.