UW-Green Bay Women And UIC Men Lead On Day Three of Horizon League

Day 3 Team Totals:
Women
Green Bay 622
Milwaukee 534
Wright State 411
UIC 404
Cleveland State 214
Youngstown State 197
Valparaiso 152
Butler 99

Men
UIC 466
Wright State 456
Cleveland State 441
Milwaukee 426
Green Bay 383
Valparaiso 132

Day Three RECAP
The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay women took over the lead after three days of competition. The Phoenix are ahead of the pack with a score of 622, followed by University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (534) and Wright State University (411). Rounding out the field was the University of Illinois at Chicago (404), Cleveland State University (214), Youngstown State University (197), Valparaiso University (152), and Butler University (99). On the men's side, UIC maintained its lead, totaling 466 points, followed by Wright State (456), Cleveland State (441), Milwaukee (426), Green Bay (383) and Valparaiso (132).

After the League record in each women's event was broken in the preliminaries, the trend continued as Krystyna Wieczerzak from Wright State started the night by smashing her own record from the morning session in the 400-yard individual medley with a time of 4:20.85. In the next event, Green Bay's Ashley Warzon successfully defended her title in the 100-yard butterfly with a League record time of 54.98, out-touching UIC's Kayla Redig, who also went under the previous record (55.40).

In the 200-yard freestyle, freshmen Molley Pipkorn of Wright State and Carys Behn of Cleveland State went head-to-head, as Pipkorn came away with the victory. She improved upon the League record she set earlier in the day by posting a time of 1:49.91 while Behn also went under the previous record (1:50.22). Milwaukee freshman Sarah Wardecke then shattered the 100-yard breaststroke League record with a time of 1:02.49, after only swimming the event a few times this season.

To cap off the individual swimming events, senior Danielle DeGrand of Green Bay won the 100-yard backstroke in a time of 56.03 and Clair Martin of UIC was second (56.39). DeGrand set the League record as the lead-off leg of the 400-yard medley relay on Thursday (55.43).

In one-meter diving action, Milwaukee sophomore Kelsey George (280.45) edged last year's champion Lauren McGraw (279.55) for the title. Teammate Ashley Hall was third (245.80).

The evening concluded with yet another thrilling record-breaking performance by Green Bay as they barely secured the victory in the 800-yard freestyle relay. The Phoenix team of Shannon Demrow, Christine Spading, Allison Thut and Amy Burback posted a record time of 7:28.85, just ahead of Wright State (7:28.90).

In men's action, the team race tightened as Wright State closed in on UIC. Raider swimmer Nathan Demchuk began the night by repeating as champion in the 400-yard individual medley. He posted an NCAA "B" cut and a Horizon League record with a time of 3:52.07. In a very close 100-yard butterfly race, Cleveland State's Stephen Grove came away victorious with a time of 48.60, just ahead of UIC's Andrew Schmitt (48.68) and Milwaukee's Jordan Diel (48.71).

The 200-yard freestyle was also an exciting event, as top-seed Brian Anderson of UIC and Alex Hill of Green Bay fought to the finish, with Hill coming out on top with a new League record of 1:37.59, just ahead of Anderson (1:37.85). Then, it was Cleveland State's opportunity to shine as Jakub Dobies and Deni Gasparin repeated their 1-2 finish from 2008 in the 100-yard breaststroke, with Dobies winning the event in a new League record time of 52.94 and Gasparin posting a 54.46.

Both Vikings made their NCAA "B" cuts in the event. It was then time for UIC's first victory of the evening as Steve Yemm posted a 49.43 to edge Cleveland State's Nedim Nisic (49.60) in the 100-yard backstroke. Finally, another League record was set by the Raiders, as the anchor leg, Demchuk, came from behind to nab the victory from Green Bay (6:40.23) during the last 50 yards. Demchuk joined teammates LeRoux Pelser, Hermanus Botha and Danny Munoz to post the winning time of 6:39.45 to end the evening.

The championship continues on Saturday with the 1650-yard freestyle, 200-yard backstroke, 100-yard freestyle, 200-yard breaststroke, 200-yard butterfly, men's three-meter diving and 400-yard freestyle relay.

Milwaukee Women In Position For Run At League Title
Sophomore Kelsey George and freshman Sarah Wardecke each won league titles to highlight the action of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's swimming & diving team Friday at the 2009 Horizon League Championships. Records continued to fall for the Panthers, who did drop to second place overall, but are still in position to challenge the four-time defending champion in the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay for a league title tomorrow.

Milwaukee has a point total of 534 after three days, while the Phoenix jumped ahead at 622. Wright State University has 411 in third, UIC is next at 404, Cleveland State University fifth at 214, Youngstown State University sixth with 197, Valparaiso University seventh with 152 and Butler University next with 99.

"We expected to be down a bit, given the strong day we knew Green Bay was lined up for events-wise," UWM head coach Erica Janssen said. "We still feel very confident about our potential tomorrow and know that finishing in the top two at this meet will be a great accomplishment."

George moved from third in the preliminaries up to a league championship in the finals, topping the field with a career-best, NCAA zone-qualifying score of 280.45 that was less than four points off the league record of 284.00.

George led the UWM contingent, as four more made the finals tonight. Senior Ashley Hall was third (245.80), sophomore Lauren Roy fifth (227.70), junior Rachel Grimm sixth (218.70) and freshman Morgan Hearn rounded out the efforts with a 12th-place showing in the consolation round (186.80).

Wardecke stole the show in the 100 breaststroke, claiming a Horizon League title with a new league record time of 1:02.49. She actually broke it the first time in the morning prelims as well with a time of 1:03.19. That broke the former standard of UWM's Shannon Berndt, who went 1:03.81 in 2007.

The amazing thing about the accomplishment is that Wardecke had only competed in the race twice during the course of the regular season (winning both). It also set new Milwaukee school and freshman marks.

"She was kind of our secret weapon," Janssen said. "It was just an awesome swim and a very impressive race considering how few times she swam it during the season." Junior Bailey Nennig added a second-place showing in the 400 IM, with the winner (Wright State's Krystyna Wieczerzak) breaking the Horizon League record in 4:20.85. Nennig's runner-up time was 4:26.94, while she broke the school record in the preliminaries, taking over two seconds off Molly Finn's 2008 standard of 4:28.32 when she touched the wall in 4:26.05.

Junior Ali Winius also had a spot in the championship heat, placing seventh in a time of 4:36.86. That broke her career-best of 4:39.76. Freshman Jennifer Schober swam in the consolation finals, placing 13th overall with a career-best time of 4:40.71.

Finn came up less than a second away from a league crown in the 100 butterfly, taking third in 55.95. Her time of 55.94 in the prelims broke the school record, which Finn already held at 57.87 set earlier this season.

Not to be outdone was the 800 freestyle relay team of sophomore Ellie Gross, Nennig, sophomore Danielle Wenger and freshman Heidi Niespodzany, as they combined to smash the school record in the event with a time of 7:32.15. That broke the former mark of 7:39.78 (Ogle, Wenger, Finn, Gross; 2008) and was good enough for third place on the night.

In the 200 freestyle, the women had three in the championship finals. Gross was the top finisher, taking fifth in a career-best time of 1:52.80. Right behind was Niespodzany in sixth with a time of 1:54.24. Earlier in the day, Niespodzany lowered her Milwaukee freshman record in the race to 1:53.57. Senior Kristina Hansen was also in the last heat, placing eighth in 1:54.94.

Junior Kerry Rossow also had a spot on the championship heat, placing sixth in 1:05.06.

The Panthers placed just two in the 100 backstroke and they both competed in the consolation heat. Freshman Jennifer Schober was 14th in 1:00.53 while Hansen was 15th in 1:00.72.

UWM Men Continue Assault On Record Book
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's swimming team broke five more school and four more freshmen records Friday night at the Walter Schroeder Aquatic Center. With three days of action in the books at the 2009 Horizon League Championships, the Panthers remain in fourth place with 426 points, but are just 40 behind the leaders, UIC, with 466.

Wright State University sits in second place at 456, Cleveland State University third at 441, the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay fifth with 383 and Valparaiso University rounds out the list at 132.

"I feel really good about where we are at," UWM head coach Erica Janssen said. "We had a great day overall and the records just keep falling. Tomorrow is our best day yet, so I feel good about us continuing to creep up on the leaders. One of the things that sticks out to me is that so many of these records are being broken by our younger athletes - that really speaks volumes about the future of the program."

Junior Jeremy Waldhart set a school record in the 400 IM, taking fifth overall in 3:58.20. That eclipsed the former mark of 3:59.32 (Chase Gravengood; 2007). Freshman Nathan Rahe also swam in the championship heat, placing sixth overall with a new UWM freshman record of 4:02.04. The former mark, also held by Chase Gravengood, was 4:03.29.

Freshman Brady Huemann won the consolation heat, coming in at a career-best 4:06.39.

The 800 freestyle relay team of sophomore Jake Kalinowski, freshman Kyle Trelka, senior Andrew Belton and sophomore Dan Heraly led the team to a record-time in the event of 6:43.16, topping the former mark of 6:45.25 set last season at the championships (McCarty, Gravengood, Yugo, Jefferson).

Freshman Jordan Diel was part of one of the closest finishes of the night, as the top four finishers in the 100 butterfly were within 24-hundredths of a second. After lowering his own UWM freshman record in the event with a time of 49.38 in the morning preliminaries, Diel one-upped that with a new school record in the finals of 48.71 (Gravengood; 49.18; 2006). That earned him a third-place finish, with CSU's Stephen Grove winning in 48.60 and UIC's Andrew Schmitt second in 48.68.

Freshman Sky Boggio was seventh, touching the wall in 50.21 after setting a career-best with a time of 49.88 in the prelims.

Junior Ed Lichinsky was the winner in the consolation finals in 50.10, with freshman Evan Green 13th in a time of 50.71. Both of those times were career-bests.

Trelka broke the school and freshman records in the 100 backstroke on the day, placing third on the night in a time of 50.41 - less than a second off the winner's pace.

It was his time in the prelims that was the record-breaker, as he went 50.15 to eclipse the school mark of 50.88 (Bill Kuri; 2001) and the freshman mark of 50.89 (Kuri).

Waldhart set his career-best in the prelims (50.96) before placing seventh in the finals in 51.37. Sophomore Matt Kluczinske won the consolation final, topping the field in a time of 51.24.

Freshman Sam Keele nearly had the school record in the 100 breaststroke, coming in sixth overall in a time of 57.27 - just missing the school mark of 57.15. His time did lower the UWM freshman record, which he broke in the prelims at 57.34 (Jared Sobczak; 57.42).

Freshman Nolan Sinkler won the consolation heat, touching the wall in 58.59 after going a career-low 58.22 in prelims. Huemann was 12th, coming in at 59.10 after a career-low 58.86 in the morning.

In the men's 200 freestyle, Kalinowski was UWM's top finisher, placing fourth in a career-best 1:38.46. The time was less then a second off the winner's (Green Bay's Alex Hill) clocking of 1:37.59 - a new Horizon League mark.

In the consolation final, two Panthers came up with career-best times on the day. Belton placed 10th in 1:40.91, while Trelka was 12th in 1:42.22, setting a personal-best in the prelims at 1:41.82. The championship concludes Saturday with the 1650 freestyle, 200 backstroke, 100 freestyle, 200 breaststroke, 200 butterfly, men's three-meter diving and 400 freestyle relay.

Dobies Wins Third 100 Breast Title, Men Add Two More “B” Cuts
The Cleveland State University Vikings had a productive third day at the 2009 Horizon League Championships. On Friday the team set two school records, one Horizon League record, hit two NCAA “B” cut qualifying times and saw five new all-time Top-10 times recorded. After Day Three of the four-day event, the Vikings are in third place with 441 points.

“We had some really outstanding performances today and are in a good spot heading into the final day of competition,” head coach Wally Morton said.

Volkmar Baur got things started with a 15th place finish in the 400 IM. Baur swam his fastest time of the season, 4:15.15, during the race.

The Vikings set their first of two school records on the night in the 100 fly as Stephen Grove posted a victory in 48.60. Todd Winchell finished 4th overall with a time of 48.83. Travis Lombardozzi and Nedim Nisic also swam their fastest times of the season to finish 10th and 11th, respectively. Lombardozzi finished in 50.37 while Nisic touched in 50.43.

Mike Marsico picked up a 15th place finish in the 200 free (1:44.80) after swimming his fastest time of the season during the preliminaries (1:44.07). Keith Everhart’s 1:47.52 (18th) preliminary swim was also his fastest of the season.

The Vikings wasted little time in showing their strength in the 100 breast, recording the top two finishes and two NCAA “B” cut performances. Jakub Dobies won the event for the third-straight year with a time of 52.94, setting a new Horizon League record. His preliminary time of 53.70 was also a new Horizon League mark while his 52.94 just missed the automatic qualifying mark of 52.87. With the victory, Dobies became just the sixth Viking to win the same event three times. Deni Gasparin finished second in “B” cut time, touching in 54.46. Marko Milenkovic was fourth in 56.44.

“Jakub Dobies has the best swim of the meet by far, finishing the 100 breast very close to an NCAA automatic qualifying time. He has an excellent chance to go to the NCAA Championships for a third straight year. The 100 breast was a great event for us today with Deni Gasparin finishing in “B” cut time and Milenkovic also finishing in the top four.”

Five different swimmers competed in the 100 back, and each swam his season-best time. Nisic led the way with a second-place finish (49.60), swimming the second-fastest time in school history and just getting out-touched at the wall. Winchell was fourth (50.98) and Zvonimir Androic finished sixth (51.28). Androic’s preliminary time of 51.06 was the ninth-fastest time in school history. CSU’s other Top-16 finishers were Colin Hanner (52.60, 12th) and Derek Butts (54.67, 16th).

The Vikings wrapped up the night with a fifth-place finish in the 800 free relay with Mark deSwardt, Androic, Winchell and Milenkovic finishing in 6:48.52.

“Heading into the final day we’re only 25 points out of first and there is a four-team fight to the finish,” head coach Wally Morton said. “We’re in the hunt. We always like to have a chance going in to the last day, and we certainly have a chance. We’re really looking forward to tomorrow. ”

Viking Women Set Two School Records, Add 11 New Top Times
The Cleveland State University had another great day at the 2009 Horizon League Championships. The women added two CSU records, one Horizon League record and 11 new all-time Top-10 times on the third day of the meet. After Day Three of the four-day event, the Vikings moved up to fifth place with 214 points.

“I’m very excited about our performances,” head coach Wally Morton said. “Carys Behn just missed winning the 200 free but set a new school record and she continues to get better every time she swims. Whitney Hickey set a new record in both the prelims and the finals of the 100 fly and our 800 free relay gave us a very solid performance. Our performances today were also significant because they moved us up into the middle of the pack and into fifth place. We’ve shown a huge improvement over last year.”

Kristine Bunker swam the fifth-fastest time in school history in the opening event, finishing 15th in the 400 IM (4:41.16) after swimming a 4:45.76 in her preliminary race. In the preliminary heats, Sandra Bunker finished in a season-best time of 4:53.30 (18th).

Whitney Hickey added her name to the Vikings record book with a school-record swim in the 100 fly. Hickey’s time of 57.03 bettered the mark of 57.50 set by Katie Bellew in 2006. Bellew swam a 59.60 in the preliminary heats to finish 18th.

The Vikings also had several solid performances in the 200 free. Carys Behn finished second in the finals with a time of 1:50.22, breaking her own school record and setting a new Horizon League mark. Behn’s previous record was 1:52.52 set on Nov. 25. Emily Splain also picked up points for the Vikings with her 14th place finish (1:55.69). In the preliminary heats, Splain swam the fifth-fastest time in school history with a 1:55.43. Four other CSU swimmers in the preliminary heats swam their fastest times of the season including Kristina Nagy (1:57.33, 17th), Kristine Bunker (1:57.54, 18th), Diana Mruk (2:06.23, 26th) and Brittany Tweardy (2:09.95, 28th).

Three of the four swimmers in the 100 breast also added new Top-10 times to the Vikings record book. Erin Green finished 12th overall with a time of 1:07.02. During the preliminary heat, Green swam the second-fastest time in school history with a 1:06.51. Rachel Arzadon finished 16th overall with a 1:08.26 after swimming the fourth-fastest time in school history during her preliminary race (1:06.96). In Bellew’s preliminary race, she bettered her own No. 10 all-time mark with a swim of 1:08.23 while Brittany McCann swam her season-best time of 1:10.90.

The assault on the record book continued during the 100 back with three more times making CSU’s Top-10 list. Hickey swam the third-fastest time in school history to finish 8th (58.38) while Maria Culjak’s time of 58.83 was the school’s fifth-fastest swim and good enough for 11th overall. Splain finished 12th with a time of 59.74 after swimming the school’s seventh-fastest time during her preliminary heat (59.66). Sandra Bunker also swam her season-best time of 1:03.75 during a preliminary swim (23rd).

The Vikings swam the second-fastest 800 free relay in school history en route to a fifth-place finish as Behn, Hickey, Splain and Kristine Bunker touched in 7:44.90.

During the night’s final event, Heather Dietz and Liz Victor got the Vikings on the board in the 1-meter diving competition. Dietz finished eighth overall with a score of 185.80 while Victor finished 13th with 163.85 points.

Majercik Sets School Mark on Day Three of Horizon League Championships
Rachel Majercik (Schaumburg, Ill./Conant H.S.) set a new school record in the 100 butterfly on Friday for Valparaiso as the Crusaders finished day three of the Horizon League Championships in seventh place in Brown Deer, Wis.

Majercik set her new school mark in the morning preliminaries with a time of 58.27 seconds, bettering her own old record of 58.96 seconds set one year ago.  Teammate Karen Berg (Glendale, Ariz./Deer Valley H.S.) also moved on to the all-time list in the same event, turning in the ninth-fastest time in ever finishing in 1:00.58.

Valpo’s 800 freestyle relay finished the night turning in the second-best effort ever with a time of 7:49.78.  Grace Arnold (Glendora, Calif./Glendora H.S.), Stephanie Ferschl (Mukwonago, Wis./Mukwonago H.S.), Laura Rickey (Monmouth, Ill./Monmouth-Roseville H.S.), and Kristy Shew (Terre Haute, Ind./North Vigo H.S.) finished the race in seventh place.

Amy Andracki (Arlington Heights, Ill./Prospect H.S.) finished in ninth place for the Brown and Gold in the 100 breaststroke, winning the B final with a time of 1:06.11.

A pair of Crusaders moved into the all-time list in the 200 freestyle as Jaclyn Krause (Rochester, Mich./Notre Dame Prep H.S.) finished with the third-best time ever at Valpo with a mark of 1:55.49 while Shew turned in the ninth-best performance with her time of 1:57.68.

Shaunna Dangremond (Tucson, Ariz./Sabino H.S.) moved into third on the Valpo charts in the 100 backstroke as well, touching the wall in 1:00.34.

As a team, the Crusaders have tallied 152 points through three days, ahead of eighth place Butler (99) by 53 points.  Green Bay took over the top spot with 622 points followed by Milwaukee with 534 points.  Wright State (411), UIC (404), Cleveland State (214), and Youngstown State (197) fill places third through sixth respectively.

School Record Total Up to Eight After Day Three at Horizon League Championships
Valparaiso continued its assault on the school record books on Friday, setting two more team marks on day three of the Horizon League Swimming and Diving Championships held in Brown Deer, Wis.  The Crusaders have now set eight new school marks with one day of competition to go.

David Sivak (Hobart, Ind./Hobart H.S.) started the record-setting night by shattering the old 200 freestyle record by more than two-and-a-half seconds.  He finished 11th in the event with a time of 1:41.37, bettering Phil Gutman’s 1998 mark of 1:43.97.

Sivak also anchored the 800 freestyle relay that obliterated the old Valpo record by nearly nine seconds.  He teamed with Adam Jajtner (Port Washington, Wis./Port Washington H.S.), Austin Hunter (La Crescent, Minn./La Crescent H.S.), and Blake Edwards (Orange, Calif./Lutheran H.S. of Orange County) to touch the wall in 6:52.57, besting the old mark of 7:01.42 set in 2006.

Jajtner also set the second fastest 400 individual medley mark in school history in the preliminary heats on Friday morning, turning in a performance of 4:11.88.  Hunter also moved among the top-five in the 100 butterfly with his effort of 53.08 seconds.

Victor Sikorski (Valparaiso, Ind./Wheeler H.S.) moved into ninth place all-time on the 100 breaststroke charts with a time of 1:01.41 while Kyle Verage (Hubertus, Wis./Marquette H.S.) had the team’s top time in the 100 backstroke, touching the wall in 55.10 seconds.