LA CROSSE, Wisconsin, January 27. IN the men's Division III SwimmingWorldMagazine.com Meet of the Week, UW-La Crosse pulled off the upset at home with a 140-103 triumph over No. 6 UW-Stevens Point in an intra-state war. UW-L captured eight titles, while UWSP walked away with five.
Karl Richters and Anthony Schmidt paced UW-L with daily doubles as Richters swept the distance events with wins in the 1000 free (10:14.00) and the 500 free (4:53.30). Meanwhile, Schmidt touched first in the 200 IM (1:58.16) and the 200 back (1:58.22). For UWSP, Josh Brandt swept the diving events.
Another highlights proved to be Ben Gensler winning the 200 breast in a B-cut time of 2:06.66.
400 medley relay
UW-L opened the meet with a 13-4 lead when Lance Scadden, Cole Swanson, Michael Beilman and Anthony Wolff won the opening relay in 3:31.85. UWSP's quartet of Chris Hruska, Ben Schreiber, Rob Donisch and Chase Gross took second in 3:33.97.
1000 freestyle
La Crosse took a 27-9 advantage with a top-two sweep of the distance freestyle. Karl Richters cruised in for the win with a time of 10:14.00, while Joel Coyne placed second in 10:18.94. Jeff Nelson took third for UWSP in 10:22.43.
200 freestyle
UWSP cut the deficit to 34-21 when Chase Gross won the 200 free in 1:45.85, while teammate Steve Lynam finished third in 1:47.80. UW-L's Christopher Boyle split the difference with a second-place 1:46.93.
50 freestyle
La Crosse countered in the splash-and-dash with another 1-2 effort. Anthony Wolff hit the wall first in 21.53 to nip teammate Matthaew Diehl (21.57). Willie Clapp took third for UWSP in 21.78.
200 IM
UW-L inched out to a 58-35 lead when Anthony Schmidt won the 200 IM in 1:58.16, edging UWSP's Ben Gensler (1:58.53). Gensler's teammate Chris Hruska rounded out the top three in 2:01.50.
One-meter diving
Stevens Point fought back in the diving break to trail 65-47. Josh Brandt earned the win with 201.70 points for UWSP, while UW-L's Matt Belken (153.15) and Matthew King (125.00) took second and third, respectively.
200 butterfly
UWSP chopped the gap to 70-61 with a top-two sweep in the 200 fly. Rob Donisch touched first in 1:57.08, while teammate Ben Gensler took second in 1:57.98. Michael Beilman completed the top three for UW-L with a time of 2:03.04.
100 freestyle
La Crosse rebounded in the 100 free to take an 83-67 advantage. Matthaew Diehl pipped UWSP's Chase Gross by the slimmest of margins (.01 seconds) to win 47.54 to 47.55. Diehl's teammate Christopher Boyle secured third-place points with a 48.22.
200 backstroke
UW-L kept it up with a 1-3 effort in the 200 back en route to a 96-73 lead. Anthony Schmidt claimed his second individual title with a 1:58.22 clocking, while teammate Lance Scadden took third in 1:59.22. UWSP's Chris Hruska split the difference in 1:58.98.
500 freestyle
La Crosse crept closer to the upset victory with a 1-3 in the middle distance event to take a 110-78 advantage. Karl Richters swept the distance events with a 4:53.30, while teammate Joel Coyne finished third in 4:59.07. UWSP's Steve Lynam broke up the top-two sweep with a second-place 4:56.07.
Three-meter diving
Josh Brandt swept the diving titles with 190.75 points for Stevens Point. UW-L's Matt Belken (148.35) and Matthew King (136.20) picked up second and third, respectively. At the end of the diving break, La Crosse led 117-90.
200 breaststroke
UWSP took a second consecutive event as Ben Gensler won the 200 breast in a B-cut time of 2:06.66. La Crosse finished second and third as Karl Richters touched in 2:14.72 and Cole Swanson clocked a 2:14.76 to help UW-L to a 125-101 lead.
400 freestyle relay
UW-L secured the 140-103 victory with a top-two sweep of the 400 free relay. Matthaew Diehl, Michael Beilman, Michael Kirschling and Anthony Wolff won in 3:12.07, while teammates Lance Scadden, Adam Carlson, Christopher Boyle and Kevin Ballweg took second in 3:14.68.
