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Feb. 25, 2003

MILWAUKEE - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's and women's swimming and diving teams will wrap up their seasons this weekend with the 2003 Horizon League Championships this weekend in Cleveland. The championships, hosted by Cleveland State University, will be held at the Robert Busbey Natatorium on the campus of CSU.

Looking Back
The Panthers were swept by their in-state rivals in their last competition, falling to Wisconsin and UW-Green Bay in Madison on Feb. 7. The women lost to the Phoenix, 154-82, while falling to the Badgers by a 149-92 margin. The men's team was outscored by UW-Green Bay, 132-98, and fell to Wisconsin, 115-84. For the women, Jen Kedinger, Krystina Herzog and Hannah Burgard each collected a second-place finish, while Josh Baseheart won the men's 100 freestyle and Jeff Jasinowski collected a second-place finish for the Panthers on the day.

Championship Notes
Both the men's team and the women's team will be looking for their second league title this weekend in Cleveland. The women won their only championship two seasons ago, when UWM hosted the league meet at the Schroeder YMCA in Brown Deer, Wis. The men's team, meanwhile, collected their only title the last time the league championships were held in Cleveland, the 2000 season.

Defense Wins Championships
Several Panthers will be looking to defend their individual titles from a year ago this weekend at Cleveland. Josh Baseheart will try to defend his 100 freestyle championship, while Jason Procto will look to repeat as league champion in the 200 backstroke. For the women, Kristin Cefalu will try to repeat her double from a year ago, where she won the 100 and 200 breaststroke titles.

Collecting Some Hardware
The Panthers have been successful in recent years with winning some of the league's individual awards, along with winning the two team titles. Jason Procto was the league's Newcomer of the Year last year, while Amanda Chan was named Outstanding Performer of the Meet in 2001 when she helped the Panthers win their league championship. In addition, former Panther Nic Seider won the league's co-Diver of the Year award last year.

Watch For Falling Records
UWM has had several swimmers set new league records during the past several seasons. Last year, Josh Baseheart set a new league mark in the 100 freestyle, finishing in 44.65 in the preliminary heats, and earning himself an NCAA B cut in the process. Two years ago, Amanda Chan claimed the league record in the 200 breaststroke, finishing in 2:20.20.

Big Impression
Freshman Emily Holcomb has made quite an impact in her return to competition for the Panthers. Holcomb won the 200 backstroke at the Bill Ritter Invitational while finishing third in the 100 backstroke and fourth in the 100 freestyle. She also was a part of four different relays, helping the 400 medley relay team to a win and the 400 freestyle relay to a runner-up finish. Holcomb had missed all but the Notre Dame Relays to open the season with a leg injury. Her 100 backstroke time from Notre Dame still stands as the third-best time in the conference at this point in the season.

Fyock's Just Fine
Freshman Kyle Fyock had his best weekend as a Panther at the Bill Ritter Invitational, finishing third in the 200 backstroke and fifth in the 100 breaststroke on Saturday, along with a seventh-place finish in the 200 individual medley on Friday. Fyock missed much of the early season due to a bout with mono, but appears to have recovered to become one of coach Dave Clark's top options in the breaststroke.

Athlete of the Week
Michael Belting and Emily Holcomb were each named Horizon League Athlete of the Week by the league office following their performances at the Bill Ritter Invitational Jan. 24 and 25. It is Holcomb's first time being honored, while Belting collected his second award this season. He was previously named league Athlete of the Week on Jan. 14 after winning the 400m freestyle at the Time Trial 100s in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. The Panthers had a pair of athletes honored by the league for their performances on the weekend of Nov. 9-10. Josh Baseheart and Krystina Herzog were named league Athlete of the Week after several strong performances in Milwaukee and Chicago. Baseheart won all seven events he entered on the weekend, while Herzog captured first place on both boards on Nov. 9 against UIC, Evansville and Northern Iowa. She also added a second-place finish on 3m Nov. 10 against Western Kentucky.

Watch For Falling Records
Three school records fell at Wheaton on Dec. 6-7, with Josh Baseheart claiming two of them and the third belonging to Jason Procto. Baseheart won the record in the 50 and 200 freestyles, giving him all three of the sprint freestyle records. Procto, meanwhile, broke his own school mark in the 200 backstroke by nearly half a second.

Goodbye To The Seniors
Feb. 1 against Western Illinois was Senior Day, as seven Panther seniors were honored for their accomplishments while at UWM. Seniors Jenny Behr, Amanda Chan, Erin Hallen, Krystina Herzog, Rachel Smith, Beth Watt and Peter Clark were all recognized for their four years of hard work and dedication to the program.

National Qualifier
For the second straight year, Josh Baseheart's fast times have earned him an NCAA B Cut for the national championships. Last season, Baseheart picked up a provisional mark at the league championships in the 100 freestyle, though it was not fast enough to qualify him for the NCAA Championships. At the Wheaton Invitational last month, Baseheart picked up two B Cut times, one in the 100 and 200 freestyle.

Getting Noticed
In the latest national top time report, released by CollegeSwimming.com, Josh Baseheart is listed among the nation's best, while four men's relays are also included. Baseheart is ranked in the 50, 100 and 200 freestyles, with his highest ranking coming in the 100 free, where he has the 26th-fastest time in the country. Four of the five men's relays are also ranked, with Baseheart and Jason Procto included on all four of them. The 200 free relay, which also includes Kyle Fyock and Adam Steffes is 50th in the nation, while the 400 free includes Tim Watt and Steffes, and sits 40th in the nation. The 800 free relay, with Peter Clark and Michael Belting, is 43rd in the country. The fourth relay, the 400 medley relay, with Nick Bowers and Rob Vergeer, is ranked 64th in the country.

From The M.A.S.H. Unit
Coach Dave Clark is almost halfway to filling out a championship roster from the list of women's team members who have missed a meet already this season due to various injuries and illnesses. Kim Bach, Danielle Bradley, Kristin Cefalu, Amanda Chan, Emily Holcomb, Megan Linville and Nicole Rosinski have all missed at least one meet so far this season. Sarah Caldwell was added to that list after missing the Bill Ritter Invitational.

Perfection!
Josh Baseheart won all seven events he entered during the weekend of Nov. 9-10 against UIC, Evansville and Western Kentucky. On Nov. 9 in Chicago, he won the 50, 100 and 200 freestyles, along with anchoring the winning 200 freestyle relay team. He followed that up on the next day with a pair of individual wins in the 50 and 100 freestyle and the anchor leg of the winning 400 freestyle relay team.

Facts From Florida
The Panthers spent nearly two weeks in Florida with some intense training to open the 2003 calendar year. On top of two practices daily, Milwaukee also competed in two competitive meets, with strong results. In a 50-meter pool, UWM was in the Ed Kennedy Relays on Dec. 30, where the men finished second out of three teams. Washington, the 25th-ranked team in the country, took first place by winning every event and every relay. UWM was second 150m backstroke relay, while Peter Clark and Michael Belting were second and third in the 200m freestyle, with Josh Baseheart second in the 50m freestyle. The UWM women finished fourth of four teams, with Jen Kedinger and Nicole Rosinski grabbing the only third-place finishes. On Jan. 6, Milwaukee competed in the Time Trial 100s, with Baseheart winning the 100m freestyle and Belting winning the 400m freestyle. For the women, Sarah Walby was third in the 100m freestyle.

A Pair of Streakers
An impressive streak of victories came to an end Oct. 25 at Northwestern. Entering the dual meet, Milwaukee had claimed victory in the 200 breaststroke at 15 consecutive meets, including the Horizon League Championships in 2001 and 2002. Amanda Chan was the top UWM finisher in the event at Northwestern, placing fourth in 2:26.94. Chan had taken the first four victories in the streak, while Kristin Cefalu grabbed 10-straight last season. The other victory in the event was taken by former Panther Erin Pollyea against Butler last January.

Sharing the Records
Amanda Chan and Kristin Cefalu have had a stranglehold on the school's record book when it comes to the 200 breaststroke. Chan holds the school and league marks in the event, setting both at the 2001 league championships, while Cefalu holds the UWM Freshman and Klotsche Center Pool marks in the event.

It's a Family Affair
This year's edition of the UWM men's and women's swimming and diving teams have a distinct family flavor to them. Senior Beth Watt is joined for her final season by her freshman brother, Tim. Siblings on the Panther roster haven't been rare, as Claire and Leslie Brock and Andrew and Daniel Babcock were the last siblings to swim together, in 1999-2000. But, having a brother-sister pairing has been a far less common occurrence. The last set of brother-sister teammates was Mike and Tammie Burmeister in the 1992-93 season. The 1988-89 season saw three sibling teammates, with sisters Karen and Lisa Ragland teaming with their brother John.

Home Is Where The School Is
This year's team also features a pair of student-athletes who were primarily home-schooled throughout high school. Johanan Raatz and Patricia Frank, who both made their debuts Oct. 4 at Notre Dame, are both home-school students. Though home-schooled, Frank did compete for Milwaukee Washington last year, and, despite competing on the boy's team, was named City Conference Most Valuable Swimmer last year, winning two events.

A Distinct Local Flavor
Of the 23 swimmers on the men's roster, 17 make their home in the state of Wisconsin, while 23 of the 29 swimmers on the roster are from within Wisconsin's borders. Of the 11 student-athletes from outside the state, seven are from Minnesota, and two are from Illinois. Danielle Bradley is from Fishers, Ind., while Jason Procto has the longest trip to the UWM campus from Cambridge, England.

Excelling In The Classroom
The UWM swimming and diving teams also excel in the classroom in addition to the pool. The women's team was named Academic All-American by the collegiate Swim Coaches of America after the spring semester, making Spring 2002 the 27th- consecutive semester the team has been named to the list. The men's team, meanwhile, was named to the list in the spring of 2002 for their second-straight semester.

More Academic Honors
Sarah Caldwell was the recipient of the Athletic Director's Award at last spring's Scholar-Athlete Awards reception. The Athletic Director's Award is given to the student-athlete with the highest grade point average among all athletic teams. In addition, Josh Baseheart earned Academic All-America honors by having attained the minimum grade point average and reaching a NCAA provisional qualifying mark. Baseheart is the first swimmer in UWM history to earn Academic All-America honors. Also, nine swimmers were named to the Academic All-League team after last season. The nine were departed Panthers Leslie Brock, Kelly Goetsch, Adam Hanson and Erin McCauley, seniors Peter Clark, Rachel Smith and Beth Watt, and juniors Josh Basheart and Sarah Caldwell.

Up Next
After this weekend, the Panthers will have concluded competition for the season as a team. However, should any Panthers qualify for the NCAA Championships, the women's championships will be held on Mar. 20-22 at Auburn University in Auburn, Ala. The men's NCAA Championships will be held on Mar. 27-29 in Austin, Tex., on the campus of the University of Texas.