March 2, 2002

Complete Results

CHICAGO - Kristin Cefalu won her second event of the meet Saturday night to lead the Panther women to a third-place finish in the Horizon League Swimming and Diving Championships. For the men's team, Josh Baseheart set a new meet record in the 100 freestyle to help the men finish fourth overall in the meet.

Wright State captured the title in the women's competition, scoring 755.50 points. UW-Green Bay took second with 722 points, followed by UWM with 669.50. UIC was fourth with 461 points, followed by Cleveland State in fifth with 287, Butler in sixth with 267 and Youngstown State with 231.

In the men's meet, UW-Green Bay took first place with 755 points, followed by Cleveland State with 698 points. Wright State was third with 677 points, while UWM had 502, UIC had 349 and Butler finished sixth with 245.

Cefalu finished the season undefeated in the 200 breaststroke with her victory in the event Saturday night. Cefalu was 9-0 in dual meets during the season and also captured the event in the Wheaton Invitational in addition to her finish at the league championships. The win gave her two victories during the championships, having won the 100 breast on Friday night. Her time of 2:21.76 also broke a UIC pool record.

Baseheart, meanwhile, broke a school and Horizon League record with his victory in the 100 free. Baseheart's time of 44.65 in the preliminaries broke the old league mark of 44.72, set by Jarod Schroeder of Northern Illinois in 1995, then swam a 44.88 in the finals to capture first place. His time was also good for an NCAA B-cut standard.

Two Panthers also received the league's specialty awards. Nic Seider was named co-Diver of the Year along with Wright State's Trevor Downing, while Jason Procto was named Newcomer of the Year. Seider won the award after winning the men's 3m title for the second consecutive year, setting a new UIC pool record in the process, and also finished second in the 1m diving. Procto collected a first-place finish in the 200 back while setting a new school and freshman record, a second-place showing in the 100 back and an eighth-place effort in the 100 butterfly, as well as being part of four Panther relay teams to earn his award.

Sarah Walby got the Panthers off to a strong start with a third-place finish in the women's mile. Jen Kedinger added a sixth-place finish, while Erin McCauley finished eighth. Erin Pollyea chipped in with an 11th-place finish, and Amanda Schmitt finished 15th. David Faust finished third in the men's mile, while Michael Belting finished fifth.

Julie Olson captured her second second-place finish of the meet in the 200 backstroke after collecting second in the 100 back on Friday. Danielle Bradley and Sarah Caldwell also placed in the event, with Bradley finishing 11th and Caldwell 13th.

Jason Procto collected his first league title in the men's 200 back, adding to his second-place finish in the 100 back Friday night. Justin O'Keefe added a sixth-place finish, while Jamie Mantle finished 14th.

Senior Kelly Goetsch finished her collegiate career with a third-place showing in the women's 100 free, while Beth Watt finished 15th in the same event before Baseheart's victory. Adam Steffes also placed in the men's 100 free, finishing 12th.

Joining Cefalu in the women's 200 breast were Amanda Chan, who finished fourth, and Rachel Smith, who placed eighth. Erin Pollyea won the consolation final for ninth place and Leslie Brock added a 13th place finish. In the men's 200 breast, Nick Bowers won the consolation final for ninth place and Todd Murray ended his collegiate career with an 11th-place showing.

In the women's 200 butterfly, Kari Kinney finished sixth and Natalie Oettinger was eighth. Four men would place in the same event, led by Peter Clark with an eighth-place effort. Carey Kammel finished 12th, followed by Adam Hanson in 13th and Justin O'Keefe in 14th.

In diving action, Krystina Herzog finished the 1m competition in fourth place, while Hannah Burgard added a fifth-place finish. Erin Hallen took ninth place and Becky Rubel finished 13th to round out the Panther divers. On the men's side, Seider captured his title in the 3m and Marco Gruchalski finished ninth.

The meet's final event, the 400 free relay, saw the women's team of Natalie Oettinger, Beth Watt, Sarah Caldwell and Kelly Goetsch take fourth place by .01 seconds over Cleveland State. The men's relay team of Adam Steffes, Jason Procto, Peter Clark and Josh Baseheart took third place.

2002 Horizon League Awards

Men's Champion - UW-Green Bay

Women's Champion - Wright State

Diver of the Year, Men - Nic Seider, UWM, and Trevor Downing, WSU

Diver of the Year, Women - Brandi Goettsch, YSU

Newcomer of the Year, Men - Jason Procto, UWM

Newcomer of the Year, Women - Milda Zilinskaite, WSU

Swimmer of the Year, Men - Andrew Hancock, CSU

Swimmer of the Year, Women - Kaye-Lani Laughna, UWGB

Coach of the Year, Men - Jim Merner, UWGB

Coach of the Year, Women - Paul Moniak, UIC