The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women“s swimming & diving team finished second, and the men finished third, at this year's Horizon League Championships in the University of Illinois-Chicago Natatorium.

The Panther women got things going Wednesday by setting a school record in the 200-meter freestyle relay, and then took two of the three top spots in the three-meter diving event.

Seniors Lindsay Caldwell and Jess Kelly teamed with freshmen Megan Skiba and Jamilla Edwards in the 200 relay to finish with a time of 1:35.56, breaking the Horizon League record of 1:35.65. It also broke the school mark of 1:35.99 set last year. Despite the record-breaking performance, the Panthers finished third by a mere .32 of a second.

Meanwhile, seniors Emily Duesler and Crystal Szymanski placed first and second en route to earning All-Horizon League honors in the three-meter diving event. Duesler set a new career-high with 295 points, while Szymanski“s season high score of 279 points earned her second team all-league honors for the third straight season on the three-meter board.

UWM diving coach Todd Hill praised Duesler“s performance.

“After all the hard work that Emily has put in, it“s great to see her win a conference championship,” he said.

On Thursday, Caldwell helped the Panthers pick up where they left off. Her time of 23.37 in the 50 freestyle gave her the league title for the third straight season.

UWM also received a major boost in points by narrowly winning the 400 medley relay. Caldwell, along with sophomores Kristina Hansen and Molly Finn and freshman Shannon Berndt, took home the league title with a score of 3:51.89.

Friday was perhaps the best day yet for UWM, as the Panthers claimed four league titles overall. Caldwell won the first 200 freestyle league title of her career with a time of 1:52.34. Similarly, Szymanski finished first in the one-meter diving event, also the first of her career. Duesler and junior Megan McLoone joined Szymanski in the finals, finishing fifth and eighth, respectively.

UWM also took top honors in the 100 breaststroke, where Berndt set a new Horizon League and school record with a time of 1:03.81. Freshman Kerry Rossow“s time of 1:04.55 was good for second team honors.

Finn also defended her 400 individual medley league title with a season-best time of 4:30.13.

Saturday saw the league championship come down to the final event. The Panthers needed a win in the 400 freestyle relay and for UW-Green Bay to finish fourth. Things didn“t go as planned, though, when Caldwell and fellow senior Heather Sawatzki, junior Jess Kelly and freshman Skiba took fourth with a time of 3:32.10. As a result, the Panthers finished second to the Phoenix in the final standings.

"Having a chance like this is the goal every year," UWM head coach Dave Griffore said. “The girls did just a remarkable job this season.”

Although the Panther men got off to a slower start than the women, they didn“t waste any time setting records of their own.

UWM broke the school record in the 200 medley relay, and sat in fourth place following the first day of competition.

The trio of juniors Chase Gravengood, Ross Bittner and Tyler Jefferson, along with freshman Cody Smith, set a new school record in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:32.97. The previous mark of 1:32.99 had been set in 1999.

Sophomore Robby Leibold“s time of 9:34.25 earned him a sixth-place finish in the 100 freestyle, the only individual event of the night.

“The first day is always the toughest one,” Griffore said. “We dealt with all of the excitement and jitters very well.”

Thursday saw Gravengood win the league title in the 200 IM for the second straight year, with a time of 1:50.06. He also set a school record for the third straight year.

"Chase just had a fantastic swim tonight," Griffore said. "It's great to see him get a new school record again so he's definitely going the right way. I thought for sure we were going for the league record as well."

Gravengood had another solid outing on Friday, finishing third in the 100 butterfly by only .05 of a second. The junior was touched-out at the finish line, falling just short of defending his title from a year ago with a time of 49.69.

A fifth-place finish by freshman Jeremy Waldhart, followed by a sixth place finish by junior Jeremy Seibel in the 400 IM, helped the Panthers move into third place overall entering the final day of competition.

Unfortunately, they could do no better, finishing third behind Cleveland State and league champion Wright State. It was their highest finish since the 2000 season. It was also something Griffore won“t soon forget, as his first season at UWM has come to a close.

"The guys just did an incredible job the past four days," Griffore said. "To finish in the top three is just phenomenal. They swam very well and deserved it."

UWM was once again paced by Gravengood. For the second year in a row he took home top honors in the 200 butterfly, with a season-best time of 1:49.56.

The Panthers also saw three swimmers record career-best times in the 200 backstroke. Taking third place was Jefferson in 1:52.74, fourth was Waldhart in 1:53.08 and fifth was Bittner in 1:53.79.

> Comments