CINCINNATI, Oh. – The Bellarmine University men's and women's swim teams opened 2026 with a dual at Xavier University over the weekend, collecting five gold medals.

It was a tough battle in the pool as Xavier topped Bellarmine on both the men's and women's sides, but the Knights never gave in, claiming 15 top three finished with five gold medals.

Standout freshman Ahmet Efe Inceoglu collected two more first place finishes to lead the effort for Bellarmine, winning the 200 freestyle (1:40.27) and the 100 freestyle (45.79).

Fellow freshmen Yael Bojalil and Joao Kirchgassner also turned in a first-place finish for the men, with Bojalil touching the wall first in the 500 freestyle (4:44.64) and Kirchgassner winning the 200 breaststroke (2:06.78)

For the women, sophomore Ava Jones turned in the top finish, winning the 100 freestyle in 54.29.

Six other women turned in a third-place finish as well in freshman Kaja Vaadal (1000 free, 11:01.58), sophomore Lily Epley (50 free, 24.98), sophomore Micaela Godfrey (400 IM, 4:37.21), sophomore Annie Leibold (200 butterfly, 2:12.37), junior Lily Wolfe (500 free, 5:23.44) and senior Erin Dall'Agnol (200 breaststroke, 2:27.57).

For the men, junior Evan Dickson joined Inceoglu as the only other Knight to finish in the top three twice, turning in a second-place run in the 200 freestyle (1:43.22) and a third-place finish in the 500 free (4:46.83). Additionally, seniors Cason Henderson and Sam Jones both finished second in a race as Henderson did so in the 200 butterfly (1:55.17) and Jones in the 1000 freestyle (9:47.55).

Up next, Bellarmine will make its final road trip of the season on Saturday, January 24 for a dual at Northern Kentucky University.

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