SEWANEE, Tenn. - Centre Swimming kicked off the 2026-27 season on Friday night with a duel against SAA rival, Sewanee. The action was tight throughout, but ultimately the Tigers got the best of the Colonels in both the men's and women's competition. Sewanee won the men's meet, 105-100, while the Tigers women also beat the Colonels, 109-96.

The night started with the 400 medley relay. Centre's women finished 2nd (A), 3rd (B), and 4th (C), while the men's top 4 teams finished 2nd through 5th. Sarah Feild picked up the first win of the meet for the Colonels as she dominated the 1000 free in a time of 11:19.76. Her teammate, Sarah Russell Leonard, finished 2nd in a time of 11:30.45. Vreni Reichard came home in 4th place. Brady Miller took 2nd place in the men's 1000.

Avery Hutchison was the high finisher in the women's 200 free, placing 3rd, just ahead of Brynlee Trippett. Tucker Wilson was the high finisher for the men as he swam 3rd in a time of 1:48.67, just 0.54 seconds off the win. The next win of the day came courtesy of freshman, Georgia Crisp. She took home the win in the women's 50 free in a time of 25.46 to beat Caroline Short by 0.13 seconds. Crisp and Short would pick up more team points in the 100 fly by finishing 2nd and 4th, respectively. Andrew Moss debuted with a solid 2nd place in the 50 free, while Jackson Campbell swam 5th.

The 200 IM belonged to the Centre Men. The Colonels swept the top 4 spots to load up on the team points. Gavin Schoeling led the way in a time of 2:01.31. Jameson Seraphine was right behind in 2nd, just 0.45 off Schoeling. Jake Holmes and Mason McCallum were 3rd and 4th. Jackson Pillow swam 6th.

To no surprise, Jack Liau cruised to a win in the 100 fly. The veteran won in a time of 51.97 seconds, more than a full second ahead of runner-up, Tucker Wilson. Liau would pick up another win later in the night as he took home the 100 breaststroke title by more than 4 seconds. Liau was the only competitor to go sub-1 minute in the race.

In the women's 100 free, the Colonels took 4 of the top 6 spots. Avery Hutchison swam 2nd, followed by Katie Bridwell in 3rd. Vreni Reichard and Helen-Claire Murphy finished 5th and 6th.

The night closed out with the 400 free relays as a preview for Saturday's relay meet at Sewanee. The Colonels took 1st place on both sides. The "A" team of Logen Black, Gavin Schoeling, Jake Holmes, and Andrew Moss took the win in a time of 3 minutes, 17.42 seconds for a nearly 2-second margin of victory. The women's "A" team was even more dominant. The group of Addie Savage, Avery Hutchison, Georgia Crisp, and Caroline Short swam a time of 3:45.66 to win by nearly 8 seconds.

The Colonels will stay south to compete in the annual Sewanee Relays on Saturday, starting at 1:00pm.