The Oakland men's and women's swimming and diving teams successfully defended their Horizon League titles Saturday evening, with the men's team extending their streak of 37 consecutive conference championships and the women posting their 21st straight league crown with their performances at the 2015 Horizon League Swimming and Diving Championships, hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee at the Walter Schroeder Aquatic Center.
The Oakland women increased their margin of victory to over 200 points, with an 842-606.5 lead on second place Milwaukee. The men's squad added to their lead as well, besting the second-place host Panthers 813-623.5.
The Golden Grizzlies brought home the hardware, as Jorden Merrilees and Patricia Aschan were named not only the men's and women's Swimmers of the Meet, but also the men's and women's Athletes of the Year, respectively. Tricia Grant earned Diver of the Meet honors for Oakland, and diving coach Larry Albright was named Women's Diving Coach of the Year. Head Coach Pete Hovlandwas selected as both the men's and women's Swimming Coach of the Year.
Oakland added to their individual wins total with seven podium finishes on Saturday and added victories in both the men's and women's 400 freestyle relay to seal their team titles.
Merrilees won the men's 200 backstroke with a time of 1:43.86, improving his PR and trimming time off his NCAA "B" standard effort from earlier this season. Teammates Aleksander Danielewski (1:45.49) and John Ferrara (1:46.82) placed third and fourth, respectively.
Nikki Flynn won the women's 100 freestyle in 50.20 to move into third all-time in Oakland history and miss the Horizon League record by just four hundredths of a second. Teammates Holly Morren (50.30) and Emily Flowers (51.36) placed second and sixth for the Golden Grizzlies.
Tuomas Kiviluoma and Jeremiah Morren went 1-2 in the men's 100 freestyle with times of 44.71 and 44.72, respectively.
Takara Martin led a 1-2-4 effort for Oakland in the women's 200 breaststroke, winning in 2:13.54 for an NCAA "B" standard. Rachel Waite's 2:14.64 also hit the "B" cut for second place, and Melissa VanderMeulen finished fourth in 2:18.00.
John Schihl out-touched a pair of Wright State foes to win the men's 200 breaststroke with an NCAA "B" standard time of 1:58.44, which is second in Oakland history. Ayrton Kasemets now ranks eighth in Oakland records after finishing fourth in 2:00.60, while Hrafn Traustason took eighth in 2:02.33.
Aschan raced to a win in the women's 200 butterfly with a time of 2:01.65, while teammates Stella Pasalidou (2:04.11) and Hannah Oswald (2:05.44) placed fourth and seventh, respectively.
Mitch Alters turned in an NCAA "B" cut in the men's 200 butterfly, winning in 1:47.65 and moved into fourth all-time in Oakland records.Mario Rusnak (1:49.96) and Aaron Helander (1:50.63) finished fourth and sixth.
The women's 400 freestyle relay team of Flynn, Flowers, Rietveld and Morren won with a time of 3:21.63 to set a new Horizon League record and rank second all-time in Oakland history.
For the men, Kiviluoma, Morren, Andrew Binder and Merrilees touched first in 2:56.74, which is third-best in Oakland records.
Freshmen of the Year: Brie Hines, UIC (W); Mitch Stover, Wright State (M)
Divers of the Meet: Tricia Grant, Oakland (W); K.J. Heger, Milwaukee
Swimmers of the Meet: Patricia Aschan, Oakland (W); Jorden Merrilees, Oakland (M)
Athletes of the Year: Patricia Aschan, Oakland (W);Jorden Merrilees, Oakland (M)
Diving Coaches of the Year:Larry Albright, Oakland (W); Todd Hill, Milwaukee (M)
Swimming Coach of the Year:Pete Hovland, Oakland (W, M)
Men's Team Scores
1. Oakland 813
2. Milwaukee 623.5
3. Wright State 530
4. Green Bay 502.5
5. UIC 475
6. Cleveland State 456
7. Valparaiso 126
Women's Team Scores
1. Oakland 842
2. Milwaukee 606.5
3. Green Bay 573
4. UIC 457
5. Wright State 363
6. Youngstown State 345
7. Cleveland State 243.5
8. Valparaiso 164
Wisconsin-Milwaukee Men
Max Gatzke and Nic Halverson both broke a school record, K.J. Heger and Gatzke were both crowned league champs and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's swimming & diving team finished an unbelievable four-day Horizon League Championships with a runner-up trophy at the Walter Schroder Aquatic Center Saturday.
Milwaukee finished second overall with 623.5 points, the fifth time in the last six years it has finished either first or second. Oakland won the meet with 813 points. Wright State came in third at 530 and Green Bay placed fourth at 502.5. UIC was fifth at 475, with Cleveland State (456) and Valparaiso (126) closing out the scoring.
K.J. Heger was named Diver of the Meet for the third-straight year, becoming the first-ever Horizon League diver to earn that distinction in league history. Todd Hill was named the league's Diving Coach of the Year for the third-straight year, marking the seventh time he has earned that award in his career.
"I feel that this is a step forward for both (men's and women's) programs," Milwaukee head coach Kyle Clements said. "For the men to go from fourth to second with, on paper probably not as good of a team as we had last year, was really impressive.
"After going winless in the league all year long; losing to UIC, losing to Wright State, losing to Green Bay, losing to Oakland, we come out here and we get second – convincingly. That's just an amazing feat."
Heger started the night with yet another Horizon League crown. The senior took the top spot in one-meter diving with an impressive score of 341.85 to earn his fifth league title over the past three years.
Milwaukee opened up Saturday's swim finals with an unbelievable start. Juniors Max Gatzke and Nic Halverson both broke the school record in the 1650 free that was set by Robby Leibold in 2007 to finish 1-2 in the event. Gatzke claimed his first ever Horizon League title by touching the wall first with a new UWM record time of 15:31.77 to break the old mark by over 10 seconds. Halverson was right behind at 15:36.09 for second, also five seconds faster than the previous standard.
Also in the mile, senior Kenny Stelpflug closed out his Panther career with a season-best time of 15:51.86, taking fifth overall to load up the podium for Milwaukee in the opening event.
The Panthers nearly claimed yet another title in the 100 free. Sophomore Nick Menninga – fresh off winning the league title in the 200 free one night earlier – just missed a second league crown in as many nights. Menninga came in third overall in 44.78 – less than one-tenth of a second shy of first. Senior Mike Lucchesi also had an outstanding swim, touching the wall at a lifetime best 45.29 for fifth overall.
In the 200 butterfly, Yevgeniy Foster led the way for UWM. The sophomore posted a season-best time of 1:51.39 in prelims before taking eighth overall in finals. Senior Ryan Finke closed out his Panther career in the event, scoring and taking 16th in 1:53.71.
Freshman Kyle Gerum (1:53.40) and junior John Kangas (1:55.08) both scored in the 200 backstroke, taking 13th and 16th, respectively.
One night after breaking the school record in the 100 breaststoke, Taylor Wisdorf posted another solid outing. The senior came in 11th overall with a time of 2:03.83 – shaving nearly seven seconds off his previous season best.
Milwaukee closed out the night with a performance that epitomized its whole season. Despite trailing for much of the race, falling back as far as fifth during the third leg, Lucchesi, Tanner Nimke, Max Ward and Menninga combined to finish league runners-up in the 400 free relay to close out the meet. The relay squad touched the wall at 3:00.11, just out-touching Cleveland State for second in an inspiring performance.
Added Clements, "I couldn't be prouder of the men and women. I couldn't be prouder of my staff. It was just a complete effort in all events. It was just a wonderful thing."
Wisconsin-Milwaukee Women
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's swimming & diving team placed eight more on the podium in the final day to earn a hard-fought Horizon League Runner-Up finish at the league championships at the Walter Schroeder Aquatic Center Saturday.
Milwaukee was second place from start to finish, closing out with 606.5 points overall. Oakland won the meet with 842 points. Green Bay placed third at 573, with UIC close behind at 457. Wright State was fifth at 363, while Youngstown State (345), Cleveland State (243.5) and Valparaiso (164) rounded out the scoring.
"I feel that this is a step forward for both (men's and women's) programs," Milwaukee head coach Kyle Clements said. "Obviously the women were second last year, but losing the amount of seniors that we lost and replacing them and great recruits and just the maturation of all the ladies was a very impressive thing.
"I am really proud of this women's team. They did a really, really nice job."
UWM started the night with a Horizon League runner-up showing in the 1650 freestyle. Sophomore Natalie Johnson had a solid time of 16:52.00 to claim second in the mile right off the bat to start the night. Freshman Alena Bodnaruk also earned a podium spot after going a season best 17:23.77 in the morning session's timed finals for eighth place.
Next up for Milwaukee was a freshman record in the 200 backstroke. Newcomer Sara Bentley turned in an inspiring performance, touching the wall in 2:02.19 for fifth overall. That time was nearly two seconds faster than her prelim time and breaks the old freshman record by nearly half a second.
Also in the event, Maddy Nelson won the B-final in 2:04.15, with fellow freshman Kady Ruemmele right behind at 2:05.06 for 10th.
Already earning podium spots in both earlier sprint freestyle events, Mandie Siehs and Anna Yontz closed out their seasons with another pair of strong showings in the 100 free. Siehs came close to the school record by taking third in 50.61, with Yontz right behind in 51.09 for fourth.
Freshman Arica Smith came in 13th in 52.49 and Sierra Townsend was 16th in 52.72 in the B-final to provide valuable points for Milwaukee.
With the scoring neck-and-neck with Green Bay for second place all evening, UWM pulled away with a total team effort in the 200 breaststroke.
Freshman Charli Wike led the way for the Panthers by taking sixth in 2:20.85, while junior Hannah Lucas was close behind in 2:21.60 for eight. Then, three freshman dominated the B-final to remove any doubt. Natalie O'Connell won the consolation finals in 2:20.75, Sami Stelpflug was 10th in 2:21.93 and Adrienne DiFoggio was 13th in 2:24.84, giving Milwaukee and outstanding 44 points in the event.
In the 100 fly, freshman Maggie Burns posted a lifetime-best time of 2:07.62 to take 12th, just ahead of sophomore Kristin Zablocki at 2:08.66 for 15th.
With the meet all but wrapped up, Milwaukee still came out and finished second overall in the final event of the meet – the 400 free relay. Yontz, Johnson, Townsend and Siehs combined to turn in a strong time of 3:24.21 – the fourth-fastest time in school history.
Added Clements, "I couldn't be prouder of the men and women. I couldn't be prouder of my staff. It was just a complete effort in all events. It was just a wonderful thing."
