SSU swim programs host senior day dual meet against Pikeville; SSU bowling, SSU tennis hit road for contests

Along with the basketball programs at Shawnee State, the men's and women's swimming programs, the men's and women's bowling programs and the men's tennis program will all be in action over the weekend -- as the swimming programs honor seven seniors as part of Senior Day festivities Saturday afternoon when SSU faces Pikeville (Ky.) at 12 p.m. Saturday afternoon.

In addition to the men's and women's swimming programs, the men's and women's bowling and men's tennis programs will hit the road this weekend -- as the men's tennis program kicks off its season at NCAA Division I foe Eastern Kentucky for a 3 p.m. matchup Saturday afternoon, while the men's and women's bowling programs participate in back-to-back days with the women and men playing in the Lynne Jordan Memorial and Thomas N. Burriss Memorial Saturday and Sunday morning at 8:15 a.m.

Men's and Women's Swimming vs. Pikeville (Saturday, Jan. 25, 12 p.m., Warsaw Aquatic Center, Senior Day)

The final home meet of the 2024-25 season for the men's and women's swimming programs at Shawnee State will see the Bears honor seven seniors, including Emily Boggs, Evan Bower, Maggie Franks, Eric Green, Jose Enrique Rosado Lara, Jordan Patterson and Evan Siberell. The senior class ranges from individuals from Scioto County all the way to Mexico. Five of the seven SSU swimming honorees are from the Tri-State Area.

Shawnee State will be looking to duplicate the success of its last meet -- where the SSU men's and women's swimming programs each claimed victories in tri-meets over Midway and UPike last Saturday.

In that meet, Shawnee State's Malik Nelson made an early statement against his fellow Mid-South Conference counterparts.

Nelson, who swam a 21.52 in the 50 yard freestyle, posted a NAIA Provisional Cut of the 'B' variety by beating out the necessary mark of 21.90 by nearly four-tenths of a second -- and winning the event by nearly 1.4 seconds.

However, Nelson wasn't done there. The sophomore, who also competed in the 100 yard butterfly, made it 2-for-2 on individual events by posting a 53.09 to win the 100 butterfly by 3.8 seconds.

Along with Nelson, Siberell, Evan Ater and Katie McCafferty each won two events each -- as the quartet combined for eight of Shawnee State swimming's 16 event victories last Saturday.

Men's and Women's Bowling at Lynne Jordan Memorial, Thomas N. Burriss Memorial (Saturday and Sunday, Ken Bowl Lanes and Kingpin Lanes, Louisville, Ky.)

As with the swimming programs, both bowling squads will look to continue their climb.

The Shawnee State men officially sealed its first season with multiple event victories in program history -- as the men are coming off back-to-back triumphant performances with victories in the Greater Pittsburgh Collegiate Classic and the Western Pennsylvania Baker Classic on Jan. 11 and Jan. 12. As for the women, Shawnee State finished fourth in both events, scoring impressive top-half finishes with a youthful roster that's led by the consistent Olyvia Bittner and emerging freshman talent Onesti Evans.

Men's Tennis at Eastern Kentucky (3 p.m., Greg Adams Indoor Tennis Center, Richmond, Ky.)

The men's tennis program will get back to action under first year head coach Greg Geremia -- as Shawnee State opens up its season with a test against NCAA Division I Eastern Kentucky at the Greg Adams Indoor Tennis Center in Richmond, Ky.

Eastern Kentucky (1-5) scored a 6-1 victory over Northern Kentucky Wednesday. The Colonels lost to Cumberlands (Ky.) 4-3 in another match the same day.

Shawnee State sits at 1-2 for the year, having defeated Mount Vernon Nazarene, 4-3, to cap off the fall portion of the schedule back on Oct. 9.