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WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The Salem swim team opens its 2021-22 schedule on Saturday afternoon when the Spirits host Pfeiffer at the Salem Aquatic Center at 12 p.m.
Saturday marks the first Sun Coast Conference meet in program history for the Spirits, who joined the league in August. Salem College swim head coach Vavina Lapham made the official announcement on Thursday, August 12, marking the first-ever league affiliation in program history.
The Sun Coast Conference consists of nine programs, including Ave Maria, Keiser, Pfeiffer, South Georgia State, St. Thomas, Southern Virginia and Thomas University. Another league member, Indian River State College, will be joining for the 2022 season only and also serve as the host of the Sun Coast Conference end of season meet on February, 10-12, 2022.
In 2020, the women's conference title went to Keiser, which edged out South Georgia State by a score of 687-421.5. Pfeiffer finished third in the standings with 324 pints, followed by Thomas University and Warren Wilson.
IMPORTANT SPECTATOR NOTE: Salem College Department of Athletics would like to announce that there will be no external spectators allowed for the October 9, 2021 quad volleyball contest or swim meet. Salem Academy and College faculty, staff and students will be allowed to view the game in person and will be required to show their Salem ID. All contests will be live streamed and accessible to the public via our website.
WHAT'S AHEAD IN 2021-22: The Spirits compete in eight meets, including four at the Salem Aquatics Center, over the course of the slate.
The Spirits return to action on Saturday, October 30th when they host the trio of Greensboro, Southern Virginia and Roanoke. Competing for the second time in as many weekends, Salem makes the short trip to Greensboro to take part in the Guilford Invitational at the Greensboro Aquatic Center on November 6th.
The final meet in November takes place over a four-day stretch in Cary, N.C., when Salem takes part in the William Peace Invitational. The meet begins on Wednesday, November 17th and continues until Saturday, November 21st with events taking place each day.
The lone meet in December for Salem will take place at Greensboro on Saturday, December 4th at the Greensboro College campus.
The Spirits wrap up the regular season with a pair of home meets in January. The first of those is against William Peace, which is set for Wednesday, January 19th, and will be followed by a clash with Greensboro on Saturday, January 29th.
Those two meets will serve as the final warm up for the 2022 Sun Coast Conference Championship Meet that takes place on February 9-12. The meet is set for Fort Pierce, Florida on the campus of Indian River State College.
LOOKING AT SALEM'S 2021-22 ROSTER: The Spirits return to action after not competing in any sports during the 2020-21 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Salem brought back the swim program in 2019-20 after a nine-year hiatus and went on to earn 45 Top-3 finishes over the course of the season, including a single-season program-record eight from Olivia Kleven. Seven of those Top-3 performances were in relay events, including the 200 freestyle relay and 200 medley relay.
Salem's top returning senior on the 2021-22 squad, Allison Wakefield, earned three first-place finishes over the course of the 2019-20 season, including a pair of first-place outings in the 500-freestyle at the Guilford/Greensboro Dual (January 18, 2020) and Pfeiffer Dual (February 1, 2020). Wakefield, who is Salem's 2021-22 team captain, also earned a first-place finish in the 400-freestyle at the Pfeiffer Dual on November 9, 2019.
Wakefield will be joined on the team by two sophomores (Alexcina Wartski and Kylie Clark) and seven first year swimmers. Those six newcomers include Anna Fretwell, Abigail Hawkins, Sophia Lee, Ashley Linden, Tori Long and Olivia Nivens.
PFEIFFER PREVIEW: Saturday's meet also opens the season for the Pfeiffer swim team and marks the first of three October meets, which includes clashes with Sweet Briar (Oct. 16) and Columbia (Oct. 23) as well.
The Falcons will then take part in the Fall Frenzy, hosted by Queens College in Charlotte on November 19-21, to close out the 2021 calendar year. Pfeiffer then heads to a meet at William Peace on January 23, 2022 before hosting the Pfeiffer Invitational on January 29, 2022.
The Pfeiffer roster includes two seniors—Ada McClendon and Samira Wolf—as well as two juniors, one sophomore and four freshmen. The Falcons capped off the abbreviated 2020-21 slate with two victories against William Peace (W, 80-71) and Greensboro (104-10) on February 7th. Pfeiffer was also third in the William Peace Spring Invitational on March 20th, the final meet of the season.
HEAD COACH VAVINA LAPHAM'S THOUGHTS ON THE SEASON: "As we officially kick off our season, I am really looking forward to seeing the entire team progress over the course of the season. We have a bright and talented group of athletes that will carry us through this season into the championship finals."
