Skip To Main Content

Asbury University

Official Site of Asbury University Athletics
.

Swimming

Women's Swimming Repeats as AAC Champions

KINGSPORT, Tenn. -- The Asbury University women’s swimming team won its second consecutive Appalachian Athletic Conference title on Saturday in Kingsport. 

The Eagles edged out Milligan 740-728 despite trailing by seven points entering Saturday. The men’s team finished strong and placed second, earning their second straight runner-up finish. 

.

Freshman Amber Schulte was named the AAC Co-Swimmer of the Year, while Head Coach Alex Keyser won the AAC Coach of the Year award.

.
.
.
Words can’t explain what this group means to me. This is by far the craziest year I’ve experienced in my 11 years as a head coach. We battled COVID and quarantine mid-January and in practices leading up to Conference. I was a little concerned if we had enough gas in the tank to make it through a three-day prelim/final meet. I knew no matter how the team felt, they would battle each swim. I was blown away at what they were able to accomplish. Alex Wu breaking his AAC Record in the 100 Butterfly, Amber Schulte breaking the school record in the 50 Freestyle, AAC Record and school record in the 500 Freestyle, Ronan Passman stepping up big with a school record in the 200 Breaststroke. I mean, wow!

We won every men’s individual event on Saturday night except for the 200 Backstroke. Elijah O’Connor stepped up and threw down his fastest 100 Freestyle to win. Alex, Tommy and Ian went 1-2-3 in the 200 Butterfly. It was crazy what they were able to do.

We went into this meet with the objective of winning. Milligan’s men fought hard and came out on top, but our guys didn’t give up and kept swimming fast. I didn’t pay attention to the scores during the meet Saturday night and when I saw our women were up going into the relay, I knew we just had to have safe starts on the 400 Freestyle Relay. The relay could have been faster, but we didn’t want to gamble winning the relay and having a false start and lose the meet.

This team has been through ups and downs this season and I’m so proud of how we ended the season. It was very disappointing that the NAIA canceled our National Championships, and we knew we had to end the season on a high note and that’s exactly what we did.
Head Coach Alex Keyser

Asbury won five individual titles on day three, giving them 10 event winners throughout the duration of the AAC Championships event. 

Schulte won her third event after being crowned the winner in the 1650 Freestyle. The Collerville, Tenn. native won the race with a time of 17:54 and nearly won the event by a full minute. 

Also winning the 1650 Freestyle was Haden Hebenstreit, who won his second AAC Championship event with a time of 16:41. 

Elijah O’Connor placed first in the 100 Free (47.74) and senior Ronan Passman won the 200 Breaststroke (2:03.43). 

Alex Wu won the 200 Butterfly at 1:52.86 as he shaved off nearly four seconds in the finals from his prelim time. 

Women’s Standings 

1.Asbury University 740

2.Milligan University 728

3.Brenau University 391

4.Columbia College 263

5.Union College 183

6.Wvu-Tech 167

7.Point University 163

8.St. Andrews University10

Men’s Standings 

1.Milligan University 818.5

2.Asbury University 754

3.Union College 497

4.Wvu-Tech 296

5.Point University 257.5

6.St. Andrews University 217