MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin, October 15. FIVE divers combined to take the top four spots in both the one-meter and three-meter boards and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's swimming & diving team knocked off Grand Valley State University at the Klotsche Natatorium Saturday afternoon.
Senior Shane Conner, sophomore Trevor Sisson, and freshmen Lee Anderson, K.J. Heger, and Andy LaFleur combined for the maximum 32 points between the two events and the Panthers rebounded from a slow start to knock off the Lakers, 155-88.
"A big thank you to the divers today," UWM head coach Kyle Clements said. "Finishing one, two, three, four…and a lot of them are freshman boys and they're making a big impact right away and they will all year."
"Grand Valley came ready to swim and they kind of got us back on our heels pretty early, winning that first relay. They're a perennial top-10 team in Division II so we knew what we were up against and we rebounded pretty well from it."
The turning point for the Panthers came in the 50 freestyle. Junior David Dvorak took first in 21.58 seconds with senior Kyle Trelka just behind at 21.61 to finish one-two to turn the momentum in Milwaukee's favor.
Juniors Nathan Welchlin (47.05) and Caleb Sandvold (47.45) took the top two spots in the 100 free as well, with classmate Mike Brady (47.74) finishing just behind in fourth.
Freshman Kenny Stelpflug continued to impress in just his second collegiate race, finishing first in 500 free with a time of 4:47.67 and also taking the top spot in the 1000 free at 9:47.42.
Senior Sam Keele also had a first-place finish by swimming the 200 IM in 1:56.34. Senior Nathan Rahe just missed a top-three finish, taking fourth in the same event at 2:00.47.
Sam Niesen touched the wall a split second before Grand Valley State's Sven Kardol to take first in the 200 backstroke with a time of 1:55.29.
"We had a lot of touch-outs today where we just wanted that wall a little bit more," Clements said. "When you see someone coming in and racing like Grand Valley did today you have two options; you can fold or you can dig a little deeper and today we dug a little deeper and I really just enjoyed seeing that. It really showed what kind of team this men's team is."
While close finishes were the trend for a majority of the day, Milwaukee dominated the final two events of the meet. In the 200 breaststroke, senior Brady Huemann finished first with a time of 2:08.91, nearly five seconds ahead of second place.
Then, in the final event of the day, Sandvold, Brady, Niesen and Welchlin combined to run away with the 400 free relay in 3:07.24, over seven seconds in front of second place.
The Panthers have a two-week break before returning to the pool Friday, Oct. 28 when they travel to Ball State.
Sophomore Emily McClellan broke one record on her own and teamed up to smash another as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's swimming & diving team knocked off Grand Valley State University Saturday afternoon, 144-99, at the Klotsche Natatorium.
The 200 medley relay team comprised of sophomores Becky Yokosh, McClellan, Diana Diel and freshman Sierra Townsend broke a six-year-old record by completing the race in 1:47.05, crushing the old record by over a full second.
McClellan then went on to break the pool record in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:18.55, breaking her own record set last season.
In all, UWM collected eight first-place finishes and eight second-place finishes to take the meet.
"Up and down, this was a great performance," Milwaukee head coach Kyle Clements said. "Our problem in years past has always been depth. We've always had the top talent. We're really trying to round this team out and as I told the team after the race, I can see it shaping up in front of me and it's really good to see. It's all going in the right direction. We still have the top talent and we always will, we're just starting to really add some depth now and get some big production out of our role swimmers."
Diel, McClellan, and junior Maggie Beck took the top three spots in the 200 IM, with Diel taking first at 2:07.74.
That trend continued when seniors Sarah Wardecke and Heidi Niespodzany, along with freshman Anna Yontz went one-two-three in the 100 free.
Also, sophomore Becky Yokosh (2:05.38), senior Danielle Chapman (2:09.31) and sophomore Erika Pliner (2:10.15) finished with the top three times in the 200 backstroke.
Wardecke and freshman Sierra Townsend finished one-two in the 50 freestyle finishing just .46 seconds apart.
Niespodzany also had an impressive showing in the 200 free, taking first with a time of 1:55.91. Yontz (1:58.12) and junior Karmyn Van Dewettering (1:59.65) also placed in the event.
In the distance events, sophomore Brittany Walsh and freshman Kelly Theis finished second and third in both the 500 and 1000 free.
In the day's final event, Niespodzany, Wardecke, Diel and Townsend combined to take first in the 400 free relay with a time of 3:32.61, over six seconds in front of the next finishers.
The Panthers have a two-week break before returning to the pool Friday, Oct. 28 when they travel to Ball State.
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