Natalie Johnson and Sara Bentley each won three individual events to help propel the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's swimming & diving team to a 168-132 win over Green Bay at the Dorschel Natatorium Saturday afternoon.
UWM won 13 of the 16 total events and broke a Phoenix pool record on the day, collecting its fourth-straight win over Green Bay in the all-time series.
"This was a great day today," Milwaukee head coach Kyle Clements said. "I really want to congratulate Natalie Johnson and Sara Bentley on their accomplishments on the day. We were a little stiff on the first relay but we got faster and faster as the meet went on. We're happy with how things turned out and we're looking forward to finishing the season out with Madison next week."
Milwaukee saved its best for last Saturday, breaking the 800 free pool record in the day's final event. Anna Yontz, Mandie Siehs, Alena Bodnaruk and Johnson combined to set the new mark at 7:41.08, just touching out Green Bay's top team.
Johnson started her impressive day in the pool with a win in the 1000 freestyle. The sophomore touched the wall at 10:31.91, a full second ahead of Green Bay's Stephanie Garvin.
In the very next event, Johnson again just got the best of Garvin by winning the 200 free on short rest with a time of 1:54.37 – two-tenths of a second ahead of the GB freshman.
Johnson wrapped up her impressive day in the pool by winning her third and final individual event on the day. The defending Horizon League Newcomer of the Year claimed a comfortable win the 500 free with a winning time of 5:04.60, nearly five full seconds ahead of runner-up Garvin.
Bentley also had a standout day in the pool, also claiming three individual wins on the day. The freshman grabbed her first gold of the day in the 100 backstroke, touching the wall at 57.83 for first place.
The Ames, Iowa native later completed the sweep of backstroke events by winning the 200 back in 2:05.81 – nearly a full three seconds ahead of the next finisher.
Finally, Bentley rounded out her day by notching another win in the 200 IM in 2:09.89. That marks the impressive second time in the last three meets that the newcomer has won all three individual events in which she has competed.
Milwaukee was far from done there, though.
UWM took the top-two spots in the 100 free, with Siehs claiming her first win in that event as a Panther. The newcomer posted a winning time of 52.87, just edging out Yontz (53.04) for the top spot.
Yontz also picked up a win on the day. The senior topped the talented field in the 50 free for the sixth time this season with a very strong time of 23.98.
Junior Hannah Lucas started the day for the breaststroke crew with a win in the 100 breast in 1:07.71, marking the second time she has won that event this season. Adrienne DiFoggio (1:08.15) was third and Charlie Wike (1:08.79) was fourth.
Wike later completed the sweep of that stroke by grabbing the top spot in the 200 breast in 2:25.40 for the second win in her young collegiate career.
In diving, two-time defending league diver of the week Rachel Margis continued her incredible run to start the second-half of the season by winning both boards, yet again. Margis had to battle Saturday, taking the three-meter board with a score of 282.60 – less than one point ahead of Green Bay's top diver.
In the one-meter competition, Margis gave herself a larger cushion and flirted with her own school record, closing out with a score of 289.80 – a full 11 points ahead of second place.
Milwaukee now will make the short trek west to take on the Badgers next Friday at 3 p.m. for the final dual meet of the season before hosting the Horizon League Championships at the end of the month.
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's swimming & diving team won eight events in a narrow, 160-140 loss to Green Bay Saturday at the Dorschel Natatorium.
Tim Halverson and K.J. Heger each won two events for UWM and the 800 free relay set a new pool record in the tight dual meet; the first Milwaukee has dropped to the Phoenix since 2009.
"We swam really fast today," Milwaukee head coach Kyle Clements said. "This was one of our fastest meets of the year. We've continued tracking progress to the Horizon League Championships, we just didn't have the right numbers in each event today. Nic Halverson and Tim Halverson were great leaders today. We're looking forward to finishing the season out with Madison next week."
The Panthers topped the Green Bay pool record in the 800 free with an outstanding showing. Kenny Stelpflug, T. Halverson, Erik Wahlgren and Nick Menninga teamed up for an impressive time of 6:54.12 to set the new pool record.
T. Halverson also had a pair of outstanding individual swims on the day. The junior started the meet with a win in the 200 free in 1:42.30, just out touching Green Bay's top swimmer.
In the 500 free, Halverson notched yet another win, touching the wall at 4:42.43 for the top spot. Stelpflug came in third on the day in 4:45.01.
Heger also posted a pair of wins for UWM on the day. The senior diver flirted with his own school record in the one-meter competition with an outstanding score of 342.08 to cruise to the win. Heger later completed the sweep of diving events by winning the three-meter board at 313.28. Andy LaFleur wasn't far behind, taking third at 303.68, followed closely by Andres Villa at 284.33 for fourth.
Max Gatzke eased to victory in the 1000 free. The newcomer won the event for the third-straight meet in 9:38.36 – an eye-popping 15 seconds ahead of the rest of the field. Stelpflug (9:53.76) took second on the day, with N. Halverson (9:55.84) in third.
In the 100 free, Menninga topped the very fast field with a winning time of 46.49 to just beat out a handful of others at the finish line. That included senior Mike Lucchesi, who placed third at 46.77.
The final win of the day for UWM went to N. Halverson. The junior touched the wall at 1:55.59, nearly a full three seconds ahead of the next swimmer.
The Panthers had numerous other strong swims on the day, including second-place finishes by Evan Kuker (100 back), Lucchesi (50 free and 100 fly), N. Halverson (200 back) and the 400 medley relay.
Milwaukee now will make the short trek west to take on the Badgers next Friday at 3 p.m. for the final dual meet of the season before hosting the Horizon League Championships at the end of the month.
