THOMASVILLE — The Thomas University men’s and women’s swim teams have released their 2017-18 schedule, coach Malcolm Hosford announced Tuesday morning. The men’s team is coming off a seventh place finish at the 2017 NAIA national championships, while the women’s team placed 18th.
“We are excited to see what we can do this season,” Hosford said. “We have a lot of returning athletes who scored last year at nationals alongside some new guys who have a lot of potential to do great things. As long as everyone does their job and puts in the work, we will be successful as a team.”
TU’s men’s team returns three all-americans from a season ago — Perry Lindo, Alex Haymond and Vincent Lijoi.
On the women’s side, the Night Hawks return a pair of student-athletes — Medina Rincon and Jamie Haught — that competed in last season’s national championships.
The schedule features eight meets, including four dual meets and one home invitational, and a matchup with NCAA Division II powerhouse West Florida.
Following an intrasquad meet on Sept. 29 in the Butler-Mason Center, the Night Hawks host the TU Invitational on Oct. 14. Taking part in the meet are South Georgia State and Point. The South Georgia State women’s team finished second in the NJCAA last season, while the men’s team placed fourth.
Thomas travels to West Florida on Oct. 20 for a dual meet before taking part in the South Georgia State Invitational on Nov. 4. The Night Hawks take part in the three-day SCAD Savannah Invitational Nov. 30-Dec. 2 to close out the calendar year.
Hosford leads his team to South Georgia State for a second time when TU takes part in the college’s Sprint Meet on Jan. 6.
The Night Hawks follow with three straight dual meets. TU and Point battle in a meet hosted by the Skyhawks on Jan. 13. The Night Hawks travel to Keiser (Fla.) on Jan. 20 and South Georgia State on Feb. 11.
The three-day Last Chance meet takes place Feb. 16-18 in Columbus at the Columbus Aquatic Center, which also hosts the 2018 NAIA national championships from Feb. 28-March 3.
