WAUKESHA, Wis. - The Carroll University men's and women's swimming & diving teams opened the 2026-27 season in impressive fashion Saturday, earning a pair of dual-meet victories over North Central. The men's team claimed an 81-18 victory, while the women posted a 102-71 win to begin the season with a strong showing in the pool.

Men

Carroll's men were led by several standout performances throughout the meet.

Eli Griggs LeRoux turned in one of the top swims of the day, winning the 50-yard freestyle in 23.39 and added a second strong performance in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 53.88. Luke Jordan also shined for the Pioneers, posting team-leading swims in the 200-yard freestyle (1:58.14) and 100-yard backstroke (57.56).

Jonah Lotegeluaki delivered a strong season-opening performance of his own, swimming a 23.55 in the 50-yard freestyle and adding a 1:00.63 in the 100-yard butterfly. Gavin Buechel contributed across multiple events, recording times of 53.50 in the 100-yard freestyle, 24.38 in the 50-yard freestyle, and 2:15.54 in the 200-yard individual medley.

Distance swimmers Mannon Stern and Paden Moore helped bolster the Carroll lineup. Stern posted times of 11:57.87 in the 1000-yard freestyle and 5:42.20 in the 500-yard freestyle, while Moore swam a 5:54.50 in the 500 free and 1:04.37 in the 100-yard butterfly.

Additional strong performances came from Thomas Rynne, who clocked a 1:02.13 in the 100-yard backstroke and a 2:29.20 in the 200-yard individual medley, and Ben Miles, who recorded a 1:13.14 in the 100-yard breaststroke.

The Pioneers saw several swimmers post lifetime-best improvements, highlighted by Lotegeluaki's 1.43-second improvement in the 50 freestyle, Eli Griggs LeRoux's nearly three-second improvement in the 100 freestyle, and Moore's more than six-second improvement in the 500 freestyle.

Women

The Carroll women followed suit with a convincing victory over the Cardinals, fueled by depth and several quality performances throughout the lineup.

Ella Foster paced the Pioneers with one of the team's best swims of the meet, touching in 1:15.30 in the 100-yard breaststroke and posting a 2:28.79 in the 200-yard individual medley. Natalie Oldenburg added a strong effort in the backstroke with a 1:05.10 in the 100-yard back.

Abby Ziegler contributed in both freestyle and butterfly events, recording a 2:16.41 in the 200-yard freestyle and a 1:14.79 in the 100-yard butterfly. Lillian Jeleniewski added a pair of solid swims with times of 1:03.02 in the 100-yard freestyle and 2:24.98 in the 200-yard freestyle.

The distance group was particularly strong for Carroll. Carigan Tabor posted a 12:43.56 in the 1000-yard freestyle and a 6:12.66 in the 500-yard freestyle, while Magnolia Hugill followed with a 12:50.16 in the 1000 free. Addison Wherley also earned valuable points with a time of 12:54.82 in the event.

Kelly Gordon contributed in multiple disciplines with a 2:32.74 performance in the 200-yard individual medley and a 1:09.48 swim in the 100-yard butterfly. Mia Petersen added times of 29.25 in the 50-yard freestyle and 1:10.76 in the 100-yard butterfly.

Several Pioneers opened the season with personal-best improvements, including Foster, Jeleniewski, Tabor, Kenley Jacobs, Mackenzie Karbash, and Regan Mitchell, who trimmed more than 15 seconds from her previous best in the 500-yard freestyle.

Up Next

The meet marked a successful start to the season for both programs as the Pioneers collected numerous personal-best performances and began building momentum for the months ahead.

Carroll will next host its annual Blue & Orange Intrasquad meet during Homecoming festivities before returning to official competition on October 23 when the Pioneers travel to Beloit for their next dual meet.