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Nov. 5, 2003

MILWAUKEE - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's and women's swimming teams return home to the Klotsche Center pool. The men's team will compete against the University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Evansville. The women will get set to take on Illinois-Chicago, Evansville and Northern Iowa. The meet for men and women will start at 12:00 p.m. Diving will be held at the Schroeder YMCA in Brown Deer, Wis., and will begin at 12:00 p.m.

Last Time Out - Men
The men squared off in a dual meet against Wheaton College in Wheaton, Ill. on Friday October 31. The Panthers defeated Wheaton College 119-86 Friday evening. The men were showcased by Rob Vergeer, John Batty and Tim Watt. Vergeer won the men's 200 yard butterfly with a time of 1:58.03, was a member of the relay team that placed third in the 400 freestyle relay, and helped lead the way to a victory in the 400-yard medley relay. John Batty took second in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:50.46 and was also a part of the 400 freestyle relay team that placed third. Tim Watt was part of the men's 400-yard freestyle and 400 medley relay teams that finished in first place. Joe Vermuelen contributed to the effort with a second place finish in the 1000-yard freestyle and the 500-yard freestyle. The Panthers also had a two-through-five finish in the 200-yard freestyle by John Batty, Kyle Fyock, Dana Elzea and Karl Winderl. Adam Steffes notched a personal season-high in the 50 freestyle with a time of 22.25. Senior Josh Baseheart won the event with a time of 20.98. Baseheart also claimed a victory in 100 freestyle with a time of 46.56.

Last Time Out - Women
The Panther women also competed in a dual meet against Wheaton College on Friday night and came away victorious, 110-98. The women received note-worthy efforts by Kari Kinney, Heather Sawatzki and Jen Kedinger. Kinney came from behind to pass Wheaton's Grace Johnson to win the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 2:13.62. Heather Sawatzki came in third for the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 2:14.28 and was also a part of the winning 400-yard medley relay team. Jen Kedinger produced solid wins in the 1000 freestyle and the 500 freestyle. Lindsay Caldwell earned a first place finish in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 24.71. Her sister, Sarah won the 200- yard breaststroke with a time of 2:31.34. Emily Holcomb also contributed a win in the 200-yard backstroke with a winning time of 2:10.89.

Back In Action
The divers will be returning to action on Saturday afternoon after having last competed on October 26. The men finished second and the women finished first at the UIC Diving Invite.

Top Performers
Senior Jen Kedinger and Junior Michael Belting were both recognized as Top Performers for the Horizon League for the week of November 4. Kedinger recorded wins in the 500 and 1000 freestyle and was a member of the UWM "B" relay that placed third in the 400 Freestyle relay. Michael Belting mirrored Kedinger's performance by scoring wins in the 500 and 1000 freestyle for the men's team. Belting finished his night off by leading the 400-yard Freestyle relay team to a first place finish.

Making a Big First Impression
Lindsay Caldwell, a freshman sprinter from West Bend, Wisconsin, has been making a big first impression on head coach Dave Clark. Caldwell has already set a school record in the 200 free relay by swimming the first leg with an individual time of 24.39 at Notre Dame. She also added a first place finish in the 50 freestyle on Friday, October 24 against Northwestern with a time of 24.59.

"Lindsay has taken everyone by storm," head coach Dave Clark stated. "She has lost very few individual races. She races like a seasoned veteran and isn't afraid of anyone."

The Award Goes To Senior swimmer Josh Baseheart was named the Horizon League Athlete of the Week for the week of October 26. The Panther senior grabbed a trio of top three finishes last week in the Northwestern Dual meet (10/24) and Relay meet (10/26). Baseheart siezed a first place finish in the 50-yard freestyle (21.19), and second in the 100 freestyle (46.38), and grabbed second place finish on the Panthers' 200 medley relay team (1:36.59). This is the fourth time that Baseheart has won the award during his collegiate career.

MVP ... MVP
Senior Josh Baseheart is back to lead the Panthers in 2003 after being named the men's swimming and diving team most valuable performer last year. 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. Senior Sarah Valley returns to lead the women this season after being named the team's MVP last year. Valley finished sixth in the women's mile at the league championships, and set a record in the 1000 freestyle in the process. Valley also finished seventh in the 200 and 500 freestyle at the league meet. Her record in the 1000 freestyle was later broken at the championship meet by now-senior Jen Kedinger. Those two seniors lead a group of 10 seniors for an experienced Panther women's team.

Diving In
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. He is back to lead a strong group of divers in 2003-04. Hannah Burgard was named Diver of the Year for the women after picking up a pair of top-three finishes at the league championships. Burgard was third on 1m and second on 3m, the highest finishes by a Panther diver at the meet.

Last Year At The Championships
The UWM men finished fourth at last year's Horizon League Championships in Cleveland, while the UWM women claimed a 3rd-place finish. At the championships, five school records, two freshman records and one Horizon League record were set by the Panthers. The Panthers lose just seven seniors from the two squads that competed at the championships a year ago.

Smart Kids
Three Panthers were named Academic All-District last season by the College Sports Information Directors of America. Peter Clark, who completed his eligibility last season, was joined by senior Josh Baseheart and Sarah Caldwell on the team. The only other Panther recognized with this distinction is now-assistant coach Heather Czappa, who was academic all-district in 1999.

Academics Are A Team Effort
The UWM men's and women's swimming and diving teams were named Academic All-American by the College Swim Coaches Association of America this past spring. This marks the 29th-consecutive semester the women's team has made the list, while the men's team made the list for the fourth-straight semester. The women's team finished the spring semester with a cumulative grade point average of 3.021, placing them 60th in Division I. UIC and Wright State also made the list out of the Horizon League. The men's team tied with Alabama for 15th among all Division I schools, posting a grade point average of 3.083.

Up Next
After Saturday's meet, the UWM men and women's swimming and diving team will take close to a month off until its next competitive action. Both teams won't compete again until December 4-6 at the Notre Dame Diving Invitational.