Dec. 31, 2003

Complete Results

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Change in climate, a long road trip and an early start time for competition appear to be a recipe for disaster for a lot of collegiate athletic programs. The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee swimming and diving team was well aware of these factors while getting set to compete in the Ed Kennedy Relays in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. On a typical Florida day where the weather is warm and the sun is shining, the Panthers let go of any excuses that could explain any lackadaisical performances. Instead, the team avoided it all together to put on a solid showing in the relay meet. The women, who have been getting stronger at each meet, swam away with the team victory with 256.00 points. The men finished third amongst division I schools, scoring 224.00 team points.

The Panther men, returning to action for the first time since their exciting come-from-behind win at the Wheaton Invitational, did what they've been doing well all year: swam consistently. The Panther relay teams scored five top-3 finishes on the day. Justin O'Keefe, Matt Howard and Michael Belting scored a second-place finish in the 150-meter backstroke relay, swimming a time of 1:29.81. Belting teamed up with Adam Steffes, Ryan Frohmader and Josh Baseheart to finish second in the 200-meter freestyle relay, finishing with a time of 1:40.96. Frohmader joined back up with Fyock, John Batty and Tim Watt to finish third in the 200-meter medley. Fyock teamed up with Mac Carlson and Kyle Crow to claim third in the 150-meter breaststroke relay and Watt swam the 150-meter butterfly relay with Howard and Karl Winderl to also claim third.

Swimming individually, senior captain Josh Baseheart swam away with the victory in the 50-meter freestyle event, swimming a time of 24.47. Steffes added a sixth place finish in the event. Dana Elzea and Karl Winderl claimed fifth and sixth in the 200-meter freestyle event to round out the performances.

The Panther women, coming off record-breaking performances in their last meet, tallied four 1st-place finishes on the day. The 200-meter medley relay team of Emily Holcomb, Sarah Caldwell, Julie Olson and Kristin Lewis opened the day with the women's first victory with a time of 2:12.44. Holcomb and Olson also teamed up with Patricia Frank to score victory in the 150-meter backstroke relay, finishing with a time of 1:39.34. Heather Sawatzki, Breanna Ballweg and Kari Kinney added to the team point total by claiming the win in the 150-meter butterfly relay with a top time of 1:35.60. The Panthers also tallied a victory in the 150-meter breaststroke event courtesy of a finishing time of 1:50.85 by the trio of Kinney, Sarah Caldwell and Lindsay Caldwell. A second-place finish in the 200-meter freestyle relay by Lindsay Caldwell, Bridget Fargen, Samantha Skorlinski and Jen Kedinger capped off the relay performances.

On the individual side, Kedinger finished third in the 200-meter freestyle, swimming a time of 2:23.92. Teammate and co-captain Sarah Valley placed fourth in the event with a time of 2:26.12. Fargen added a third-place finish to her day by swimming the 50-meter freestyle event in 30.02 seconds. Skorlinski finished in fourth with a time of 30.45.

"We swam well for a team that had a long couple of days of driving," Panther head coach Dave Clark said. "It was a long trip down here, but we did some good things today. Some people really felt the fatigue of the travel, but overall, I felt we performed well."

The Panthers will return to action on Monday, January 5, 2004. The men and women will be participating in the Time Trial 100's, starting at 3:00 p.m.