May 6, 2003

MILWAUKEE - Josh Baseheart was named the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's swimming and diving team most valuable performer Sunday at the team's annual awards banquet at Western Lakes Golf Club in Pewaukee.

Baseheart had one of the best individual seasons in school history this year, as he met three NCAA B Cut times, one each in the 50, 100 and 200 freestyle, two individual school records, and was a member of two record-setting relay teams. In addition, he won the 50 and 200 freestyle and was second in the 100 freestyle at the Horizon League Championships and was named Horizon League Performer of the Year.

Kyle Fyock and Rob Vergeer were named Rookies of the Year. Fyock set a freshman record in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:06.52 at the league championships. He also finished fourth in the 100 and 200 breaststroke and 12th in the 200 individual medley. Vergeer, meanwhile, was fourth in the 200 butterfly and sixth in the 100 butterfly at the league championships. Both Fyock and Vergeer were members of the league-champion 400 medley relay team as well.

Jeff Jasinowski won the Diver of the Year award after finishing seventh on both 1m and 3m at the league championships, despite missing a good portion of the season due to injury.

Vergeer also won the Captains' Award on Sunday. Other honorees included Joe Vermeulen as Most Improved and Tim Watt and Adam Steffes winning the Coaches' Award. Andy Davis received the Stregth and Conditioning Award for the second year in a row, while Peter Clark was named Scholar-Athlete for the third consecutive season.

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's swimming and diving team finished fourth at the Horizon League Championships, held on Feb. 26-Mar. 1 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Panthers, winners of the 2000 Midwestern Collegiate Conference (now Horizon League) title, also excel in the classroom, having been named Academic All-America as a team for the third consecutive semester by the Collegiate Swim Coaches Association of America after the fall 2002 semester.