Panther Women Sit In First After Day One At Wheaton InvitationalDec. 1, 2006
WHEATON, Ill. - Looking for its second-straight title at the Wheaton Invitational, and third in four years, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's swimming team jumped into the lead on Friday night with victories in four individual events and two relays. The Panthers have 427 points for a comfortable lead over second-place UW-Stevens Point, which has 299. "We had a lot of season-bests today," UWM head coach Dave Griffore said. "Molly Finn winning her two individual events was key, as was Shannon Berndt winning the 100 breast. The kids hung in tough all day long." Finn won the 200 IM and 200 butterfly, both in season-best times. She touched the wall in 2:08.57 in the 200 IM and 2:07.25 in the 200 fly. The Panthers led off the day with a win, getting a victory in the 200 free relay in a season-best time of 1:37.02. That group consisted of senior Lindsay Caldwell, freshman Megan Skiba, junior Heidi Goetsch and junior Jess Kelly. Caldwell also gave UWM a win in the 100 free, topping the field in 51.53. In addition, her time of 51.33 in the preliminaries was her fastest clocking of the season. Goetsch won the consolation heat in the 100 free as well. The 400 medley relay team of Finn, Caldwell, senior Heather Sawatzki and Kelly ended the night with a win, coming in at 3:57.61. The other individual win came from freshman Shannon Berndt, who won the 100 breaststroke in a season-best 1:06.41. She also placed fourth in the 200 IM in 2:11.47. Junior Emma McKeith led the way for Milwaukee in the 500 freestyle, placing third in a season-best time of 5:10.37. Freshmen Bailey Nennig (fourth) and Jenny Westfall (fifth) and sophomore Kelsey McDonough (sixth) gave UWM a strong showing in the race.
With the Panthers comfortably in the lead, they look to repeat as champions. A win would also mark the third time in four years - and fourth all-time - at the meet. "I'd be disappointed if we weren't in first after day one." Griffore said. "And we are set up well with a good day coming up - a lot of our swimmers did not even race today." The team concludes the event Saturday, with preliminaries in the morning starting at 10 a.m. and finals starting at 5:30 p.m. |
