Nike Swim Camp at Wingate University

In 2021, Hennessy helped the Wingate women finish sixth and the Bulldog men place seventh at NCAAs. Eighteen student-athletes qualified for the NCAA championships. Both teams finished second in the 2021 Bluegrass Mountain Conference meet.

In the summer of 2021, a program-best 27 Wingate swimming student-athletes were named Scholar All-Americans by the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA). Both WU swimming squads were named Scholar All-America teams by the same organization.

In 2020, the Bulldogs had 26 student-athletes post 68 CSCAA All-American swims (52 first team honors, 16 honorable mentions). Both WUSWIM teams earned silver medals in the 2020 Bluegrass Mountain Conference meet. Twenty-five student-athletes were named CSCAA Scholar All-Americans.

Hennessy is responsible for Wingate’s recruitment efforts on the men’s side. In addition to his WU coaching duties, Hennessy leads the AquaDog youth team. He provides coordination assistance with pool rentals, pool memberships and aquatics in general.

In 2019, Wingate had 16 first team All-American swims and 35 honorable mention All-American swims at the NCAA meet in Indianapolis. Both Bulldog teams finished second in the Bluegrass Mountain Conference (BMC) championship meet in Charlotte.

In 2018, Wingate was the co-host for the NCAA Division II national championship meet at the Greensboro Aquatic Center. The Bulldogs defended their national championship in the women’s 800 Freestyle Relay at the 2018 NCAA meet. Earlier, both Wingate teams finished second in the 20th annual BMC championship meet in Charlotte.

In 2017, the Wingate women finished third at the NCAA national meet. The Bulldog men jumped 10 places on the team leader board from their 2016 appearance, scoring 198 points to finish sixth at the 2017 NCAA event. Both Wingate teams claimed second place at the BMC meet in Charlotte.

Hennessy returned to his alma mater after spending six years with the Coast Guard Blue Dolphins in Virginia. During his time at Wingate, Hennessy was a four-year letter winner for the Bulldogs and head coach Kirk Sanocki. He was an All-Bluegrass Mountain Conference (BMC) swimmer and a Scholar All-American, as named by the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA). Hennessy earned a bachelor’s degree in environmental biology with a psychology minor during his time at Wingate.

Hennessy began coaching with the Coast Guard Blue Dolphins (CGBD) on a part-time basis in 2008 before his elevation to full-time status in 2010. In his time with the CGBD, he served as assistant head age-group coach, head age-group coach and most recently as the head senior coach from 2013 until 2016.

During his time with the CGBD, Hennessy’s swimmers consistently placed at the top of their region and state meets. His swimmers have set numerous team records and Virginia Swimming records. They have gone on to qualify for Sectionals and Junior Nationals. Hennessy also assisted with the development and training of the CGBD Olympic Trials qualifiers in 2012 and 2016. He also has experience coaching summer league teams and high school teams.

In the summer of 2021, a program-best 27 Wingate swimming student-athletes were named Scholar All-Americans by the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA). Both WU swimming squads were named Scholar All-America teams by the same organization.

In 2020, Sanocki and his staff coached 26 student-athletes to 68 CSCAA All-American swims (52 first team honors, 16 honorable mentions). Both WUSWIM teams claimed silver medals in the 2020 Bluegrass Mountain Conference meet. Twenty-five student-athletes were named CSCAA Scholar All-Americans.

In 2019, the Wingate women finished seventh at the NCAA national championship meet in Indianapolis. On the men’s side, the Bulldogs claimed 17th place on the 2019 NCAA leader board. Individually, Wingate had 16 first team All-American swims and 35 honorable mention All-American swims at the NCAA meet in Indianapolis. The Bulldogs finished second in the BMC meet.

Sanocki has coached Wingate student-athletes to 534 All-American swims and 44 national championships. Thirty-three Bulldogs have earned CoSIDA Academic All-America® at-large team honors (18 men, 15 women). In 2019, Wingate was the only NCAA or NAIA school with three Academic All-America® men’s swimming student-athletes: Niklas Martin, Giacomo Viazzo and Markus Furst. Viazzo earned Academic All-America® laurels three times, while Furst and Martin were honored two times each.

The Bulldogs are perennial recipients of the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Scholar All-America team awards. The Wingate women’s swimming team has received CSCAA SAA team honors in 40-of-40 semesters during Sanocki’s tenure. In 2021, a program-best 27 Bulldogs received individual CSCAA Scholar All-American laurels, surpassing the 25 student-athletes recognized in 2020.

In 2018, Wingate University was the co-host for the NCAA Division II national championship meet at the Greensboro Aquatic Center. The Bulldogs did not disappoint, as the men took seventh place and the women claimed eighth place. Wingate defended its national championship in the women’s 800 Freestyle Relay at the 2018 NCAA meet.

The WU 800 Freestyle Relay championship quartet returned intact for 2018: Hanna Van Horen, Abby Kosic, Maria Madsen and Alex Divelbiss. Earlier, both Wingate teams finished second in the 20th annual Bluegrass Mountain Conference championship meet in Charlotte.

In June of 2018, Viazzo and Martin were named Google Cloud Academic All-America® men’s at-large team selections by CoSIDA. On the CSCAA team charts, the Wingate women posted a 3.56 GPA. Both WU swimming teams were recognized as Scholar All-America teams by the CSCAA. Fourteen Bulldogs were named Scholar All-Americans.

In 2017, the Wingate women finished third at the 2017 NCAA national meet. The 2017 meet marked the third consecutive year the Bulldogs have brought home team hardware (WU was third in 2015 and second in 2016). On the men’s side, the Bulldogs jumped 10 places on the team leader board from their 2016 appearance, scoring 198 points to finish sixth at NCAAs.

Wingate won the national championship in the women’s 800 Freestyle Relay at the 2017 NCAA meet. Divelbiss, Madsen, Van Horen and Kosic claimed gold medals at the 2017 NCAA event. Divelbiss was the Bluegrass Mountain Conference Swimmer of the Year and Swimmer of the Meet as the Bulldogs took second place in the league meet. The Wingate men were also second in the 2017 BMC event.

Wingate was the only NCAA Division II school with three swimming student-athletes on the 2017 Academic All-America® at-large teams (as selected by CoSIDA): Vika Arkhipova, Lucas Cuadros and Leif-Henning Kluver. On the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) team charts, the Wingate women posted a 3.49 GPA. The Bulldog men had a 3.36 GPA. Both WU swimming teams were recognized as Scholar All-America teams by the CSCAA in 2017.

The Wingate women’s swimming team finished a school-record second in the 2016 NCAA Division II national championship meet. Sanocki was named the NCAA Division II women’s swimming Coach of the Year by his peers. The Bulldog men finished 16th at the season-concluding meet, only 4.5 points behind number 15 Indianapolis.

The Bulldog women won six 2016 national titles (three relays, three individuals). Armony Dumur led the way with four gold medals (one individual, three relay). Vika Arkhipova won a relay gold medal (400 Medley Relay) and an individual gold medal (200 Backstroke).

Jessika Weiss won two relay gold medals, joining Arkhipova on the 400 Medley Relay and starting Wingate’s championship haul by swimming a leg on the 200 Medley Relay. Caitlin Coughlin earned a national title by playing a role on Wingate’s 200 Freestyle Relay quartet.

Wingate set NCAA Division II records on the way to victories in the 200 Medley Relay (1:39.90), the 400 Medley Relay (3:40.28) and the 200 Butterfly (52.52). Prior to the 2016 NCAA meet, both Wingate squads finished second at the 18th annual Bluegrass Mountain Conference championship meet.

Eighteen members of the WU swimming program were 2016 Scholar All-Americans, as named by the CSCAA. Both WU squads were named 2016 Scholar All-America teams by the CSCAA. The Wingate men qualified with a 3.45 cumulative team GPA, while the Bulldog women made the list with a 3.37 cumulative team GPA.

The Bulldog women’s swimming team finished third at the 2015 NCAA Division II swimming and diving championships. The Bulldog men finished 12th, one point behind 11th-place Delta State (Miss.). Wingate’s men finished 12th (or better) at the NCAA meet for 10 consecutive years. Both Bulldog teams finished second at the 17th annual Bluegrass Mountain Conference championship meet.

Armony Dumur helped the Bulldogs claim two national titles at the 2015 NCAA Division II swimming and diving championships. Individually, Dumur won the women’s 100 Butterfly with a new national record time of 52.42. Dumur and three teammates touched first in the women’s 400 Medley Relay with a new school record time of 3:40.28. Dumur set her third 100 Fly national record of the day with her relay time of 51.99.

In the 2015 NCAA 400 Medley Relay, Dumur’s teammates were Rita Koryukova, Olga Kosheleva and Sofia Petrenko. In addition to Dumur’s new 100 Butterfly national and school record (in the relay), both Kosheleva and Petrenko set new school records in the 100 Breaststroke (1:02.12) and 100 Freestyle (50.19), respectively.

Dumur became the third WU female to win an individual national title in 2015, joining diver Lindsey Taylor (2012) and swimmer Maria Vlashchenko (2008). The Bulldog 400 Medley Relay quartet was the first WU women’s relay team to earn a national crown. The Wingate men’s swimming program has 14 national championship swims, including three by 2012 Olympian Marko Blazevski.

Three Bulldogs received 2015 Academic All-America® at-large honors from CoSIDA: senior Issam Zeraidi was a men’s at-large first team selection, while teammate Lucas Cuadros was a second team choice. On the women’s side, Jasmine Arzadon was a women’s at-large third team pick.

In 2014, the Bulldog teams swept the Bluegrass Mountain Conference (BMC) titles for the second year in a row. The 2014 crown gave the Wingate men seven consecutive BMC titles, while the Bulldog women earned four BMC trophies (2011-14). Sanocki has received the Bob Busby Award for BMC Coach of the Year 11 times.

In the 2014 NCAA Division II swimming and diving championships, the Wingate women finished sixth with 230.5 points. Drury (Mo.) won for the fifth time in six years, compiling 486 points. The Bulldog men claimed eighth place with 221 points. Drury won for the 10th consecutive season, posting 569.5 points. Marko Blazevski won his third NCAA Division II national title in the 400 Individual Medley at the 2014 NCAA event. In 2014, seniors Blazevski, Reed Miller and Valerie Dembny were named to the Academic All-America® at-large teams for swimming.

Wingate sent a school-record 22 student-athletes to the 2013 NCAA national championship meet. The Bulldog women established a school record with 242.5 points at the 2013 NCAA meet. The Wingate men missed a third straight fifth-place finish by three points, as Wingate recorded 262 points. From 2009-13, only two teams finished in the NCAA men’s swimming top six each year…Wingate and perennial national champion Drury.

Sanocki was the 2012 NCAA Division II men’s swimming Coach of the Year, as selected by his peers in the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA). Sanocki helped the WU men tie for fifth place in the NCAA Division II national championship meet. Wingate had five national champions at the 2012 national championships.

On the national scene, Sanocki was appointed to the NCAA Division II swimming and diving committee in 2019. Previously, he served the second year of his two-year term as president of the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) in 2014. In 2010, the CSCAA elected Sanocki to this role. He served the organization in three two-year segments. The first two-year term was president-elect, while the final two years (2014-15, 2015-16) were past president.

Outside the pool, Sanocki and his teams host a national-recognized Special Olympics swimming venue every April. The Bulldogs received the NCAA Division II Community Engagement Award of Excellence in 2011, recognizing the long-running volunteer service project.

Sanocki has guided the Wingate University Bulldogs to 11 Bluegrass Mountain Conference championship titles (seven men’s titles, four women’s championships). He has earned the Bob Busby Award for BMC Coach of the Year 12 times. Sanocki resides in Charlotte with his wife Suzie and their four children: Carson, Cole, Lilly and Kendall. Lilly is a junior All-American on the WU women’s swimming team this year, while Carson is serving his first season as a graduate assistant coach.

KIRK SANOCKI BY THE NUMBERS

-Kirk Sanocki has coached Wingate student-athletes to 534 All-American swims
-Wingate has 44 national championship swims during his tenure (30 women, 14 men)
-At NCAAs, the Wingate women have earned second place once (2016) and third twice
-At NCAAs, the Bulldog men have earned fifth place once and sixth place five times
-Sanocki was named NCAA D2 national Coach of the Year twice (women 2016, men 2012)
-Sanocki has guided Wingate to 11 Bluegrass Mountain Conference titles
-Sanocki has earned the Busby Award BMC Coach of the Year 12 times
-Thirty-three (33) WUSWIM student-athletes have earned Academic All-America® at-large team honors from CoSIDA (18 men, 15 women)