Wisconsin-Milwaukee & Illinois-Chicago On Top of Horizon League Championships

Day 1 Team Totals:
Women
Milwaukee, 180
Green Bay, 127
Wright State, 120
UIC, 111
Youngstown State, 71
Cleveland State, 61
Valparaiso, 58
Butler, 44

Men
UIC, 113
Cleveland State, 111
Wright State, 94
Milwaukee, 82
Green Bay, 80
Valparaiso, 55

After the first day of competition at the Horizon League Swimming and Diving Championships, the women from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee are leading with 180 points, followed by the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay in second-place (111), with Wright State University in third (120), and the University of Illinois at Chicago in fourth (111). Rounding out the field is Youngstown State University (69), Cleveland State University (58), Valparaiso University (48) and Butler University (44).

For the men, UIC leads with 113 points, followed by Cleveland State with 111, and Wright State with 94 points. Milwaukee (82), Green Bay (80) and Valparaiso (55) round out the group.

The Green Bay women started the night on a fantastic note, as their 200-yard freestyle relay team sprinted to victory by smashing the Horizon League record with a time of 1:32.59. The Phoenix team of Alyssa Danielson, Danielle DeGrand, Shannon Demrow and Christine Spading beat the previous record of 1:34.86, ahead of runner-up Wright State (1:34.87), and third-place Milwaukee (1:35.33).

The top three finishers in the women's 1000-yard freestyle swam under the previous League championship mark of 10:16.60. Milwaukee sophomore Danielle Wenger defended her title and beat her own League record with a time of 10:06.65, while freshman Molley Pipkorn of Wright State was second (10:10.73) and UIC's Kelly Hashoian was third (10:12.78). In three-meter diving, Milwaukee senior Ashley Hall took the title with a score of 295.90. Last year's Diver of the Meet Lauren McGraw of Green Bay was second (277.05) while Milwaukee's Kelsey George was third (274.40). The women concluded competition with the 200-yard medley relay, where Green Bay successfully defended its title from 2008. The squad of Danielle DeGrand, Renee Reindl, Ashley Warzon, and Alyssa Danielson posted a League record time of 1:42.40, with Wright State in second-place (1:44.67) and Milwaukee in third (1:44.88).

On the men's side, the Cleveland State team of Jakub Dobies, Stephen Grove, Keith Everhart and Mike Marsico won the 200-yard freestyle relay, defeating runner-up Wright State (1:20.06) and third-place UIC (1:20.42) by destroying the old League record of 1:20.80 with their time of 1:19.50. Jake Kalinowski of Milwaukee also set the 50-yard freestyle record with his lead-off split of 20.17. Then, in the 1000-yard freestyle, newcomer Mark deSwardt of Cleveland State won the event with a time of 9:08.01, breaking the previous championship record of 9:17.93. Last year's champion, Nathan Demchuk placed second (9:16.70) while UIC's Zach Van Swol finished third (9:25.39). CSU concluded the night by annihilating the 200-yard medley relay League record. The team of Todd Winchell, Jakub Dobies, Stephen Grove and Mike Marsico posted a time of 1:27.58, bettering the previous mark of 1:29.80. UIC was second (1:29.76) and Milwaukee was third (1:30.43).

The championship continues on Thursday with the 500-yard freestyle, 200-yard individual medley, 50-yard freestyle, 400-yard medley relay, and the men's one-meter dive.

Hall And Wenger Claim League Titles To Lead UWM On Day One
Senior Ashley Hall and sophomore Danielle Wenger each claimed a league championship to lead the way for the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's swimming & diving team Wednesday night at the 2009 Horizon League Championships. After day one at the Walter Schroeder Aquatic Center, the Panthers lead the meet with 180 points, followed by the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay in second-place with 111 points.

Wright State University sits in third (120), UIC fourth (111), Youngstown State University fifth (69), Cleveland State University sixth (58), Valparaiso University seventh (48) and Butler University (44) rounds out the field in eighth.

Records fell in nearly every event, as UWM saw school marks in the 1000 freestyle, 200 free relay, 200 medley relay and 500 free get broken on the night.

Wenger repeated as the Horizon League champion in the 1000 freestyle in record-breaking fashion, setting new conference and league records in the race with a time of 10:06.65. That broke the conference championship record of 10:16.60 set by Catalina Martinez (2005) and also bettered the all-time league mark of 10:14.43 that Wenger set earlier this season.

Her split time in the first 500 of the race of 4:57.23 also broke the record which she set earlier this month of 5:04.01.

"Danielle Wenger's 1000 free was just unbelievable and amazing," Milwaukee head coach Erica Janssen said. "Everything has really come together for her this year and she had a phenomenal swim. She works hard, she trains hard ... she deserves it."

Hall led the diving contingent with a league title on the three-meter board, topping the field with 295.90 points. UWM placed first, third, fifth, sixth and ninth in the event to help propel it to the lead.

"I feel really good about where we are today, especially with the amazing performance by the diving team," Janssen said. "Every diver was `on' and that is why we have the lead we do."

Hall topped her previous season-high of 293.10 to place first, easily beating the 277.05 point-total of last year's champ, Green Bay's Lauren McGraw, who placed second.

"This was the way Ashley was supposed to finish her three-meter career," UWM diving coach Todd Hill said. "She had the meet of her life. To go 1-3-5-6-9 overall, you cannot ask for more. We scored a lot of points for the team tonight and it was a great start."

In addition to Hall, sophomore Kelsey George was third (274.70), junior Rachel Grimm fifth (241.65), sophomore Lauren Roy sixth (240.70) and freshman Morgan Hearn ninth (208.20).

Despite placing third, the Panthers' 200 medley relay team of Wenger, junior Kerry Rossow, senior Molly Finn and freshman Sarah Wardecke broke the school mark with a time of 1:44.88, eclipsing the former standard of 1:46.35 set at last year's championship (Wenger, Rossow, Am. Nelson, Kelly).

The 200 freestyle relay team of Wardecke and freshman Danielle Chapman, sophomore Ellie Gross and junior Bailey Nennig also placed third, less than a half-second behind second place. Their time of 1:35.33 was also good enough for a school record, toppling the time of 1:35.56 set back in 2007 (L. Caldwell, M. Skiba, Edwards, Kelly). Green Bay won the event with a league-record time of 1:32.59.

"The women's relays did not finish at the top tonight but we broke school records," Janssen said. "What more can you ask for than to go lower than any time before in school history?"

Also in the 1000, junior Alex Nelson was sixth in 10:28.18, which was almost 10 seconds faster than her previous career-best time of 10:37.20. Junior Jenny Westfall was ninth in 10:33.28, three seconds lower than her previous-best of 10:36.22. Senior Kelsey McDonough also topped her career-best of 10:45.63 with a 15th-place effort of 10:38.94.

Men Chase Down Six Records On Day One
The Cleveland State University Vikings kicked off the opening day of the Horizon League Championships with a win, two school records and a Horizon League Championship record. And that was just in the first event. 

By the end of day one, CSU had recorded three Horizon League Championship records, three school records and two NCAA “B” cut qualifying times. Three events into the meet, the Vikings sit in 2nd place (111), two points behind UIC. They are vying for their fourth Horizon League title, and their second in the last four seasons. 

“Our men had some incredibly impressive performances today. Just great, great swims,” head coach Wally Morton said. “I think we’re off to a good start and we’re hanging in well after the first day.”

To open the meet, Jakub Dobies, Stephen Grove, Keith Everhart and Mike Marsico set a new Horizon League and CSU record with a victory in the 200 free relay. The group finished in 1:19.50, an NCAA “B” qualifying time, breaking the championship record of 1:20.80 set by UIC in 2005. Dobies led off the race with a new school record leg of 20.18, breaking CSU’s 50 free mark of 20.41 set by Grove in 2008. CSU’s previous relay record of 1:21.35 was also set on the first day of the 2008 meet.

Mark deSwardt entered the meet with the league’s best time and its regular season record in the 1,000 freestyle (9:05.64). Undefeated in the event during 10 dual meets this season, he kept his streak alive and shattered the league championship record with a winning time of 9:08.64, just off his school record pace and eight seconds ahead of second place. deSwardt’s new Horizon League meet record broke the mark of 9:17.93 set by former CSU swimmer Bjorn Schantz in 2006. The Vikings also got solid performances from Pieter Ritz (9:37.65, 8th) and Colin Hanner (9:57.83, 17th), both of whom swam their fastest times of the season. It was the second time this season that three CSU swimmers recorded sub-10 minute times.

The men’s final event of the day saw the Vikings eclipse another school and Horizon League record. Todd Winchell, Dobies, Grove and Marsico swam a 1:27.58 to win the event and record an NCAA “B” cut time. The bettered the league’s regular season and league championship record set by a season ago (1:29.80).

“I think we’re off to a good start but we have to build on those results,” Morton said. “I was excited by everyone’s swims but we’ve got three full days of swimming left. It’s just the beginning but it’s an exciting start with some very exciting accomplishments.”

School Records Fall As UWM Men Open League Championships
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's swimming team broke school records in each event Wednesday night at the 2009 Horizon League Championships. At the end of the day, the Panthers sit in fourth place in a tightly-contested first day of action from the Walter Schroeder Aquatic Center.

Overall, UIC leads with 113 points, followed by Cleveland State with 111 and Wright State with 94 points. Milwaukee (82), Green Bay (80) and Valparaiso (55) round out the group.

Sophomore Dan Heraly broke the school mark in the 1000 freestyle, sophomore Jake Kalinowski eclipsed the league and school record with his 50 freestyle-leadoff and both relay teams also set new school standards.

"Time-wise, we were breaking school records so that is all you can ask for," UWM head coach Erica Janssen said. "We are in fourth right now but that is kind of what we expected ... this is not our best day event-wise. We put together some pretty good relays, so for us to be where we are, I thought was phenomenal. It was a very good day for us."

Heraly beat the school record handily in the 1000 freestyle, taking fourth overall in a time of 9:25.60 (CSU's Mark deSwardt won the race in meet record time of 9:08.01). Heraly's time topped his previous personal-best of 9:33.25 and beat Robby Leibold's former school-record clocking of 9:29.29 set last season. Senior David Adams placed 10th, touching the wall in 9:42.45.

The men opened the meet with a school-record effort in the 200 freestyle relay, but ended up fifth overall when the top three (Cleveland State, Wright State and UIC) all broke what was the Horizon League record. The Vikings won in 1:19.50, while UWM's fifth-place time was 1:21.44.

The team of Kalinowski, junior Ed Lichinsky, senior Andrew Belton and freshman Kyle Trelka topped the former mark of 1:23.17, set in 2000 (Kuri, VanDenWymelenberg, D. Babcock, Schmaling).

Kalinowski's lead-off of 20.17 removed Josh Baseheart as the record-holder in the event, beating the 20.23 that Baseheart set in 2003. It also broke the Horizon League championship mark of 20.20 set by Wright State's Elvis Cirikovic in 2004.

Kalinowski's previous career-best before tonight was 20.72.

The team of junior Jeremy Waldhart, freshmen Sam Keele and Jordan Diel and Kalinowski then closed the night with a 1:30.43 showing in the 200 medley relay to take third overall, with Cleveland State setting a new league mark - and NCAA "B" cut - in winning in 1:27.58.

The former UWM record of 1:32.97 was set in 2007 (Gravengood, Smith, Bittner, Jefferson).

The championship continues Thursday with the 500 freestyle, 200 individual medley, 50 freestyle, 400 medley relay and the men's one-meter diving event.

Cleveland State Women Open Championships With Three School Records
The Cleveland State University women kicked off the 2009 Horizon League Championships with two school records in the opening event and showed a marked improvement from a year ago. After day one of the four-day event, the Vikings are in sixth place with 61 points.

“Our women had a great night,” head coach Wally Morton said. “They swam very well and had the best first-day performance they’ve had in years.”

In the first event of the meet, Carys Behn, Maria Culjak, Whitney Hickey and Kristine Bunker swam a new school record of 1:35.34 for a fourth-place finish. The time bettered the 2006 record of 1:36.95. Behn swam the leadoff leg in school record time (23.66) followed by Culjak’s 24.14, Hickey’s 23.72 and Bunker anchored the relay with a leg of 23.82. Behn’s record knocked off that of Marianne Lionell, who swam a 23.86 in 2004.

CSU picked up two Top-25 finishes in the night’s second event. During the 1,000 free, Erin Green finished 17th with a time of 10:43.45 and logged her best time of the season. Frances Carrion finished 23rd with a time of 11:04.76.

A group of freshmen paired up for the 200 medley relay and recorded another school record for the Vikings. Maria Culjak, Rachel Arzadon, Emily Splain and Whitney Hickey swam a 1:47.86, good for sixth-place, and a new CSU school record. The old mark of 1:48.08 was set in 2005.

In the 3-meter diving competition, Liz Victor finished 12th with a score of 160.50.

“I think we’re off to a good start but we have to build on those results,” Morton said. “I was excited by everyone’s swims but we’ve got three full days of swimming left. It’s just the beginning but it’s an exciting start with some very exciting accomplishments.”

Valpo Records Fall on Opening Day of Horizon League Championships
Valparaiso set school records in two events Wednesday evening as the Crusaders began competition in the Horizon League Swimming and Diving Championships held in Brown Deer, Wis.  As a team, the Brown and Gold finished the opening day in seventh place out of eight schools through four events.

The Crusaders opened the meet in record-setting fashion with the 200 freestyle relay.  The team of Jaclyn Krause (Rochester, Mich./Notre Dame Prep H.S.), Shaunna Dangremond (Tucson, Ariz./Sabino H.S.), Becky Crabtree (Mason, Ohio/Mason H.S.), and Rachel Majercik (Schaumburg, Ill./Conant H.S.) touched the wall in a time of 1:36.46 to place sixth in the event.  The team bettered the previous school record of 1:36.90 by 0.44 seconds, set by the 2007 team.

Grace Arnold (Glendora, Calif./Glendora H.S.) continued the record-setting efforts in the 1,000 freestyle, finishing 13th overall, touching the wall in 10:37.43.  The sophomore bettered the old school mark of 10:39.16 set by Britt Nelson in 2005.

Valpo also had two other solid swims that cracked the top-five times in school history in the 1,000 free.  Kristy Shew (Terre Haute, Ind./North Vigo H.S.) finished with a time of 10:46.84, the fourth quickest mark ever at Valpo, while Stephanie Ferschl (Mukwonago, Wis./Mukwonago H.S.) finished with the fifth best school mark ever, finishing with a time of 10:49.16.

The Brown and Gold nearly capped the night with yet another school record, but had to settle for the second best time in the 200 medley relay.  The team of Dangremond, Amy Andracki (Arlington Heights, Ill./Prospect H.S.), Majercik, and Krause finished fifth overall with a time of 1:47.00, just 0.43 seconds off of the school record set a year ago.

The Crusaders scored 58 points on day one of competition at the four day event, and trail sixth place Cleveland State (61) by just three points while Youngstown State (71) is just 13 points ahead of Valpo in the fifth spot.  Milwaukee leads the championships with 180 points followed by Green Bay (127), Wright State (120), and UIC (111).  Butler rounds out the field with 44 points.

Valpo Men Sets Records in All Three Events on Wednesday
Valparaiso’s men started the Horizon League Swimming and Diving Championships in record-setting fashion on Wednesday evening, setting a new school mark in all three events contested in Brown Deer, Wis.  The Crusaders sit in sixth place after day one of the four day championships.

The Crusaders opened the meet setting a new school mark in the 200 freestyle relay as the team of Victor Sikorski (Valparaiso, Ind./Wheeler H.S.), Austin Hunter (La Crescent, Minn./La Crescent H.S.), Blake Edwards (Orange, Calif./Lutheran H.S. of Orange County), and David Sivak (Hobart, Ind./Hobart H.S.) touched the wall in 1:24.37, bettering the old school record of 1:25.06 set in 1999.  The team finished sixth in the race.

Adam Jajtner (Port Washington, Wis./Port Washington H.S.) added an individual record on the evening in the 1,000 freestyle with a time of 9:46.48. The senior shattered his own mark that he set in 2007 of 10:00.43 by nearly 14 seconds.

Valpo closed the night with yet another new school mark in the 200 medley relay.  Kyle Verage (Hubertus, Wis./Marquette H.S.), Trevor Trimpe (Connersville, Ind./Connersville H.S.), Ansel Hillmer (Tampa, Fla./Hillsborough H.S.), and Sikorski finished in a time of 1:36.40 to place sixth in the event, breaking the old Crusader record of 1:36.72 set in 2002.

The Crusaders scored 55 points on day one, and trail fifth place Green Bay (80) by 25 entering Thursday.  UIC leads the championships with 113 points, two ahead of Cleveland State (111).  Wright State (94) is third with Milwaukee (82) currently sitting in fourth place.