SAVANNAH, Ga. — On Friday and Saturday, Milligan University swimming programs opened their 2026-27 seasons in Savannah, Ga., where they met up with the SCAD-Savannah Bees and the Berry College Vikings. The Buffaloes' men split their head-to-head matchups, toppling Berry (171-124) but falling to the Bees (161-125), while the MU women dropped their tilt with Berry (156-154) and their battle with SCAD (236-67).

The two-day event began with the women's 400 Yard Medley Relay, in which the Buffaloes' top group (Mia Windham, Emily Newman, Madison Akbari, Emily Dubes) placed third out of nine squads and managed a 4:10.53 time. The "B" team, including Emily Haas, Jocelyn Waits, Ava Rojas and Abigail Jackson placed fifth in 4:18.99. 

On the men's side, Paxton Smith, Elijah Holliman, Christoph Haenel and Gellert Szedlak placed as the runners up. Their mark of 3:24.43 was just under three seconds off the eventual winning time by SCAD.

Next up was the 200 Yard Freestyle, which resulted in a top-five finish on the women's side for Newman, who managed a 2:01.25 clip to place fifth. Peyton Brady (9th), Dubes (11th) and Abigail Maniace (12th) also raced for Milligan.

For the men, two top-five placers were from the Buffaloes' contingent. Holliman (3rd, 1:41.54) and Szedlak (5th, 1:48.37) were those two swimmers. Colin Burnette (10th) and River Rockholt (11th) also took part in the event.

Rojas and Katelyn Williams competed in the women's 400 Individual Medley, as they finished fourth and fifth, respectively.

It was Nathaniel Schmidt who ended up in the top three for the men in that discipline, clocking in at 4:14.14 to take third spot. Nathan Lindsey (7th) and Nathaniel Halloran (8th) were also involved in the race for Milligan.

The women's 100 Butterfly saw Akbari finish fifth with a time of 1:01.56, while Rojas concluded the race in 10th place.

Milligan's first win of the weekend came in the men's 100 Butterfly, where Haenel touched the wall in 49.81 seconds to outpace all competition. Reef Parman ended the race in third, managing a time of 51.48. Right behind him was Sergio Tudor, the fourth-place finisher, cruising to a 52.06 clip. Wyatt Pierce also placed seventh for the Buffs, while Brody Henning ended up in 13th.

The sprint race, the 50 Yard Freestyle, was next. For the women, Akbari was a top-five placer with a time of 25.92 seconds. Haas and Waits placed seventh and eighth, while Jackson (13th), Calli Venzon (16th) and Tessa Schwartz (17th) also took part in the event.

Milligan's men claimed second and third-place finishes from Haenel (20.06) and Smith (20.88), respectively. Additionally, Pierce concluded the day in 13th and Tudor placed 15th.

Following that was the 100 Breaststroke, in which the MU women claimed a pair of finishers in the top five. Newman (2nd, 1:11.56) and Brady (5th, 1:14.39) filled those spots, while Williams (7th), Venzon (8th) and Schwartz (9th) rounded out the list of Milligan participants.

The second Buffaloes victory of the day was by Holliman in the men's 100 Breaststroke. He tallied a 57.02-second clip as the only sub-one-minute time at the event. Parman (1:03.49) placed fourth for Milligan, while Rockholt came in eighth.

In the 100 Backstroke, the women were led by Windham, who finished third in 1:00.71. Haas (9th), Dubes (10th), Waits (15th), Jackson (18th) and London Droddy (19th) rounded out the list of Milligan participants.

Smith placed third for the men in 53.09 seconds to lead the way. Burnette (8th), Lindsey (9th) and Halloran (10th) also swam in the event for MU.

Rojas and Rosalee Wenhame placed fourth and fifth, respectively, in the women's 1000 Yard Freestyle. 

Schmidt swam in the long-distance event for the men, placing fifth.

At that point, the meet moved back to the 200 Yard Freestyle Relay. Dubes, Maniace, Newman and Akbari teamed up to finish third in 1:44.37 for Milligan. It was the quartet of  Haas, Windham, Waits and Brady who finished up in sixth.

The men pulled out the victory in their relay, as Smith, Holliman, Szedlak and Haenel clocked in at 1:23.53 to outpace SCAD's top outfit by 23 hundredths of a second. Tudor, Halloran, Rockholt and Pierce finished sixth as the members of the "B" squad.

Next was the 200 Yard Medley Relay. Milligan's Windham, Newman, Akbari and Dubes completed a 1:55.23 swim to finish in third place. Haas, Brady, Rojas and Waits placed sixth.

On the men's side, Smith, Holliman, Tudor and Haenel finished second with a time of 1:32.84. The "B" squad (Burnette, Parman, Pierce and Szedlak) ended up in fifth with a 1:39.32 clip.

Newman represented the Lady Buffs well in the 500 Yard Freestyle, clocking in at 5:27.82 to earn a top-three result in third place. Wenhame also swam in the event for MU, placing seventh.

Schmidt and Halloran completed their 500 Yard Freestyle races in seventh and eight places, respectively, for the men.

The 200 Yard Individual Medley saw Windham place fourth for the Buffs' women, concluding the race in 2:21.01. Williams also raced, placing seventh.

In the top two spots of the men's 200 Yard IM, Holliman (1:52.01) was dominant to take the triumph, while Parman (1:59.06) followed as the runner up. Rockholt raced to an eighth-place finish, as well.

Haas (6th), Windham (9th) and Wenhame (13th) all took part in the women's 200 Yard Backstroke.

Smith ended up second for the men in that race, completing a 1:55.22 mark. In addition, Lindsey (6th) and Burnette (7th) raced for Milligan.

It was Dubes (9th), Akbari (10th), Haas (12th), Jackson (19th) and Waits (21st) who swam as part of the women's 100 Yard Freestyle event.

For the men, Szedlak (6th), Tudor (9th), Pierce (13th), Rockholt (16th) and Burnette (22nd) competed at that distance and stroke.

In the women's 200 Yard Butterfly, Rojas (2nd, 2:25.71) and Williams (4th, 2:31.89) swam for Milligan. 

The men's event saw the Buffs claim four of the top five times, including Haenel's 1:53.35, which won the race. Parman, who swam a 1:56.81, finished third. Schmidt (4th, 1:58.38) and Szedlak (5th, 2:09.99) rounded out the top five. Henning also competed, placing in eighth.

Newman (2nd, 2:35.13) and Brady (3rd, 2:40.05) paced the Buffaloes' women in the 200 Yard Breaststroke, while Venzon placed sixth as an individual.

For the men, as the only Milligan performer, Holliman won the race with a time of 2:01.57 to all competition by nearly three seconds.

The 400 Yard Freestyle Relays would conclude the weekend, as the top MU women's group (Akbari, Newman, Haas, Dubes) placed fourth in 3:49.55. Windham, Waits, Brady and Williams concluded the event in sixth, overall.

Smith, Szedlak, Holliman and Haenel completed their collective swim in 3:07.57 to take second place. Pierce, Burnette, Halloran and Tudor finished sixth as a squad.

The next time Milligan will enter competition in the pool will be at home on Oct. 23 against the King University Tornado inside Steve Lacy Fieldhouse. The meet is set to begin at 5 p.m. that evening.

RESULTS