K.J. Heger broke a school record, the team combined to post eight more season-best and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's swimming and diving team marched to a convincing 184-59 win over Green Bay on Senior Day in front of a standing-room-only crowd at the Klotsche Natatorium Saturday afternoon.
Heger broke the school record in three-meter diving for the second time this season, setting the new standard to 355.33 to headline an impressive day that saw Milwaukee hand Green Bay its worst loss in the series.
In all, UWM won every swimming event to cap their second undefeated season in program history.
"Today was a mixed bag of emotions," Milwaukee head coach Kyle Clements said. "Being reflective of my seniors, it was a little weird seeing them go through that; giving them hugs and handshakes, still knowing that we've got a lot of time together and a lot of work to do.
"Overall, I'm pleased with the times we put up today. The kids get up for this meet every year on both sides. They're always going to get up and race hard. It was good to see them get up and get excited here at home and it was nice to have a full set of stands."
Milwaukee kicked things off right away, taking the top three spots in the 400 medley relay with the `B' team winning the event in 3:24.97, just missing a Klotsche Natatorium record.
That trend continued in the 200 butterfly where three seniors took the top three spots. Sky Boggio won the event at 1:55.02, with Evan Green (1:55.30) and Nathan Rahe (1:57.21) just behind.
Senior Brady Huemann took first in the 200 breaststroke, touching the wall in 2:06.45.
Two Panthers won a pair of events on the day. Freshman Kenny Stelpflug won the 1000 freestyle in a season-best time of 9:40.68 and followed that performance up with a win in the 500 freestyle at 4:41.84. Junior Cris Smith and sophomore Jeff Maxwell also took second and third in both events.
Junior Nathan Welchlin took the top spot in the 200 freestyle in 1:41.48, just missing his own pool record of 1:41.46. He also came in first in the 100 freestyle at 46.47. Collin Heitfeld finished second in that event, posting a season-best time of 46.96.
Mike Schalla finished the 50 freestyle in 21.54 to win the event, with Heitfeld and senior Jordan Diel right behind in second and third.
Other winners on the day include senior Sam Keele in the 200 IM (1:56.07) and junior Sam Niesen in the 200 backstroke (1:54.97).
UWM closed out the day much like they began, winning the 400 freestyle relay and just missing a pool record with a time of 3:05.39.
The win gives Milwaukee a perfect record of 10-0 on the year. This is the first time the men's team has finished a season undefeated in dual meets since the 1991-92 team went 13-0.
The Panthers are off until they host the Horizon League Championships in just over two weeks, Feb. 22-25.
Seniors Heidi Niespodzany and Sarah Wardecke combined to win four events to lead the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's swimming and diving team to a convincing 163-78 win over Green Bay on Senior Day in front of a standing-room-only crowd at the Klotsche Natatorium Saturday afternoon.
Milwaukee won all but two events on the day en route to their largest margin of victory this season and their first win over the Phoenix in four years.
In all, the Panthers broke four Klotsche Natatorium records and posted 12 season-best times in their final meet of the regular season.
"Today was a mixed bag of emotions," Milwaukee head coach Kyle Clements said. "Being reflective of my seniors, it was a little weird seeing them go through that; giving them hugs and handshakes, still knowing that we've got a lot of time together and a lot of work to do.
"Overall, I'm pleased with the times we put up today. The kids get up for this meet every year on both sides. They're always going to get up and race hard. It was good to see them get up and get excited here at home and it was nice to have a full set of stands."
Milwaukee kicked things off right away as Becky Yokosh, Emily McClellan, Mary Kuyvenhoven and Sierra Townsend teamed up to break the Klotsche Natatorium record in the 400 medley relay with a time of 3:50.13 to start the day's action.
Niespodzany continued that trend by breaking the pool record in the 200 freestyle in 1:52.66. The senior also won the 100 freestyle in impressive fashion, taking first in 52.19. Townsend (53.27) and sophomore Lindsey Verhulst (53.80) finished just behind in second and third.
Kuyvenhoven then broke the pool record in the 100 fly, touching the wall in 57.75.
McClellan also broke a pool record during individual events, setting the new standard in the 200 IM to 2:05.17 in winning the event. Diana Diel came in second at 2:06.02.
Wardecke just missed knocking off another Klotsche record in the 50 freestyle. The senior finished first with a time of 24.00, a hair short of the top time of 23.98.
In diving, junior Aubrey Griffiths won both boards with season best times. On the three-meter she posted a score of 266.62, while on the one-meter she finished at 252.00.
In the 200 backstroke, Becky Yokosh took first with a time of 2:04.70, while three seniors came in just behind with season-best times. Danielle Chapman took second in 2:07.57, Jennifer Schober was fourth at 2:12.45 and Maggie Pease was sixth in 2:13.70.
Other winners on the day were Kuyvenhoven in the 200 butterfly (2:05.61), McClellan in the 200 breaststroke (2:19.20) and the 400 free relay team (3:31.41). All three times missed pool records by fractions of seconds.
The Panthers are off until they host the Horizon League Championships in just over two weeks, Feb. 22-25.