Campaign begins Nov. 1 at Northwestern Relays.

MILWAUKEE - The pieces all fell into place for Head Coach Dave Clark and the Panthers last season. The UWM swimming and diving teams posted their best-ever finish at the MCC championship. The men took second place, while the women took third.

"Last year, both teams moved up in the standings, and we didn't lose a lot of key seniors from those teams," said Clark, who won the league's Men's Coach of the Year award last season. "That sets us up nicely for this year."

One of the Panthers' strengths will be experience. The women's squad has eight seniors and the men have seven.

"This is a largely veteran team for the first time in a long time," said Clark. "The hope is that the seniors will want to go out as conference champions."

Three winners of individual events at the 1998 MCC meet return to the Panthers this year. Andrew Babcock (Verona, Wis.-Verona) won the 100 butterfly. Jared Sobczak (Menomonee Falls, Wis.-Menomonee Falls) won the 100 breaststroke, and Heather Czappa (Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.-Wisconsin Rapids) won the 100 backstroke.

Sobczak also swam on the winning 200 and 400 free relay teams with Kevin Van Den Wymelenberg (Green Bay, Wis.-Preble), Kory Nichols (Muskego, Wis.-Muskego) and Bryan Bell (Menomonee Falls, Wis.-Menomonee Falls). All return this year.

With that kind of proven talent returning, Clark has raised his sights for this year.

"Both of our teams will be in the hunt," Clark said. "Other teams in the league lost a lot of swimmers from last year, and we didn't."

Men's Team Outlook

With almost every swimmer returning, the men look to improve upon their already impressive seven school records set last season. Veterans Babcock and Sobczak each broke records at the MCC Championships as did freshman John Bonnell (Appleton, Wis.-North). Babcock took the 100-yard fly record, Sobczak broke the 100-yard breaststroke mark, and Bonnell broke the 200-yard backstroke record. Another freshman standout from last season, Bill Kuri (Milwaukee, Wis.-Marquette), holds the 100-yard backstroke record.

"We have Babcock coming back as a junior," said Clark. "We expect him to be in the hunt again this year. Sobczak and all of the men's relay swimmers are returning."

Last season, the men broke the 200 freestyle, 200 medley and 400 medley relay school records. Sobczak and Bell were members of all three. They teamed up with Van Den Wymelenberg and Nichols in the 200 freestyle relay and with Kuri and Babcock for the medley relays.

The men should be strong from the boards this season losing only one senior from last year's squad. Junior Todd Hill (West Bend, Wis.-East), this year's diving captain, should lead the team again. Hill qualified for the NCAA Zone C diving championships in each of his first two seasons and finished third from both the one- and three-meter boards at the MCC meet as a sophomore.

"Todd continues to improve," said Clark. "He will be tough to beat."

Another standout freshman last season was Joel White (Austin, Tex.-Westwood). Last year, "Tex" set freshman records in both the 500 freestyle and the 400 individual medley. He finished fourth at the MCC Championships in the 400 IM and ninth in the 500 freestyle.

"Joel was a big surprise last year," said Clark. "He came in as a fair swimmer from a really good program. With pressure to be a big swimmer at our program, he responded well."

Daniel Babcock (Verona, Wis.-Verona), younger brother of current UWM swimmer Andrew Babcock, and Todd Murray (Brookfield, Wis.-East) look to lead this season's freshman class. Babcock was the 1998 Division II state champion in the 100 backstroke and took second in the 100 butterfly. Murray won the 100 breaststroke at each of the last two Division II state championships. They should help add depth to the Panthers squad in the specialty strokes.

Women's Team Outlook:

The women's team looks to continue climbing the MCC ladder and improve upon their third-place finish at the MCC Championships last year. The squad returns most members, only losing four seniors. But those losses include Ilsa Schiefelbein (Janesville, Wis.-Craig), who set the school record in the 1,650 freestyle last year.

Czappa looks to lead the team this year both in the pool and out after her first-place finish at the MCC meet in the 100 backstroke.

"Heather is all-conference in both swimming and academics," said Clark. The women's team earned CSCAA All-America Academic Honors for the 19th straight semester in the Spring 1998 semester.

Last year, the squad was anchored by a terrific group of freshman. Ali Schepp (Madison, Wis.-LaFollette) helped lead the way posting the team's best performance in the 50 freestyle and helping break two school relay records. Czappa, Danielle DeWaal (Green Bay, Wis.-Ashwaubenon), Crystal Varadi (Rock Island, Ill.-Rock Island), and Schepp teamed up to break both the 200 and 400 medley relay records.

"Ali is no longer a wide-eyed freshman," said Clark. "She should come on even stronger than she did last year."

Two stand-out freshmen from last year who propelled the diving team were Amanda Maas (Plymouth, Wis.-Plymouth) and Jamie Cyganiak (New Berlin, WI-West). Maas finished third in one-meter diving and seventh from the three-meter board at the MCC Championships. Cyganiak took fourth from the one-meter board and fifth in three-meter diving at the meet. Along with fellow sophomore Christine Martin (Kenosha, Wis.-Tremper), the Panther diving team will be extremely tough to beat.

"They will take a step up as well," said Clark. "Our divers continue to steadily improve each year."