Printer-friendly format Email this article Junior Jess Kelly

UWM Battles Green Bay In Last Dual Meet Of Regular Season

Panthers look to extend win streak versus defending league champs

Jan. 30, 2007

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's swimming & diving team is set for its biggest test of the regular season when it heads north to take on UW-Green Bay this weekend. The Panthers will look to extend their dual win streak on the year to seven when they take on the Phoenix Saturday, starting at 1 p.m. The meet is also the final dual of the regular season for UWM.

Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

SCOUTING THE MEET:
Milwaukee will be taking on the two-time defending Horizon League champs when it goes up against UWGB. Both teams will bring long win streaks into the meet, as neither team has lost since its season opener. UWM is 6-2 after dropping a double-dual to Wisconsin and Iowa in October, while Green Bay is 12-1 (including 5-0 vs. league foes) after starting the year with a loss to Wisconsin. UWM does trail in the series, 13-3, but did win in the 2003-04 season.

The Phoenix went 3-0 last weekend, defeating Western Illinois Jan. 26 and Illinois State and Youngstown State Jan. 27. They have several team members making significant contributions, including senior Molly Cox, sophomore Danielle DeGrand and freshman Ashley Warzon. Cox holds Horizon League top times in the 1650 and Warzon in the 100 fly, while DeGrand has top league times in the 500 free, 1000 free, 100 back, 200 back and 400 IM.

IN THE POLLS:
UWM keeps rising in the polls, as they have broken into the Top 10 in the most recent NCAA Division I mid-major collegeswimming.com poll. After starting the year at No. 10, the Panthers now sit at No. 8 with 169.18 points. Navy is first with 179.02 points.

LAST YEAR:
Erin Blemberg won both diving events and Lindsay Caldwell recorded two victories and a second-place finish to lead the Panthers. Green Bay won the meet by a score of 143.5-99.5.

Blemberg dominated the diving action in front of the home crowd on Senior Night, winning both boards with NCAA Zone Diving qualifying point totals. She scored 279.90 points to win the one-meter event and then 288.52 points on the three-meter for the victory, leading a strong contingent for in diving.

The Panthers took the top three spots on the three, as Emily Duesler was second with 252.30 points and Crystal Szymanski third with 251.75 points.

Caldwell won the 200 freestyle in 1:54.49 and the 100 freestyle in 52.61, easily outdistancing the field in both to extend her consecutive win streak to 26-straight races on the year.

Freshman Molly Finn had another solid night, winning the 200 butterfly in a time of 2:10.34 and placing second in the 200 IM in a time of 2:10.59.

Other highlights for Milwaukee included second-place finishes from Emily Holcomb in the 1000 free, Julie Olson in the 200 backstroke and Kristin Skiba, who was touched out in the 50 free.

LET THE LEAGUE AWARDS CONTINUE:
Freshmen Shannon Berndt and Rachel Grimm were selected as the Horizon League Swimmer and Diver of the Week Jan. 23. The two played key roles as the Panthers won the championship at the Bill Ritter Invitational this past weekend. The league honors were the ninth and tenth of the swimming season for the UWM women.

Berndt recorded her ninth and tenth individual victories of the season in sweeping the breaststroke events. She won the 100 in a season-best time of 1:05.74 and the 200 in 2:25.24. In addition, she took third in the 200 IM and swam on the first-place 400 medley relay team and the second-place 200 medley relay team. Her time in the 100 breast set a new pool and UWM freshman record.

Grimm helped the UWM diving team finish 1-2-3 on both boards with season-best efforts on each. She won the three-meter event with a season-best 246.50 points and then placed third on the one-meter board with 238.00 points as Milwaukee won the team title.

LAST TIME IN THE POOL:
The team extended its win streak on Saturday, topping Western Illinois on Senior Day, 143-76. The Panthers extended their dual win streak to six-straight, not having lost since the season-opener Oct. 14. Milwaukee won 11 of 13 events on the day, getting wins from eight different athletes and two relay teams.

Senior Lindsay Caldwell was the only repeat winner for UWM, taking top honors in both the 100 and 200 freestyles. She won the 200 in 1:54.27 before extending her win streak on the season in the 100 to eight in a time of 52.36.

Two other seniors helped out on Senior Day with victories, with Susan Harmsen winning the 1000 free in a season-best time of 10:48.25. Emily Duesler also added another win, topping the field on the one-meter diving board with 266.50 points. That point total also gave Duesler an NCAA Zone qualifying score on the one-meter, topping the required 265 points needed. Junior Jess Kelly won the 50 free in 25.15, sophomore Molly Finn took the 100 fly in 1:02.10 and three freshman added to their impressive first seasons at UWM. Shannon Berndt won for the 11th time this year, touching the wall in 1:06.25 to edge freshman Kerry Rossow (1:06.56) for the victory in the 100 breaststroke. Megan Skiba took top honors in the 100 backstroke in 1:02.25, while Ali Winius won the 500 freestyle in a season-best 5:17.43.

STREAKING PANTHERS:
After starting the dual season 0-2 with losses to Big Ten foes Iowa and Wisconsin, the Panthers have been on a serious roll. The squad topped Wright State for its first dual win Oct. 20 and have not lost since - defeating Wheaton, Valparaiso, Butler, UIC and Western Illinois in that stretch. The last time UWM won more than six-straight was during the 1990-91 season.

GOOD FIRST IMPRESSIONS:
New head coach Dave Griffore has led the UWM women to a 6-2 dual record this season. With just one dual meet left on the schedule this year, the team is guaranteed to finish with its best winning percentage since going 8-4 during the 1997-98 season.

FIRST THE VETS:
Heading down the final stretch, the team is led by key returners. Senior Lindsay Caldwell has won 20 times in 26 races this season, and went over a month (Oct. 13 to Nov. 18) without losing a race - a streak of 10-consecutive. Sophomore Molly Finn has also been impressive, winning 14 of 23 races on the season - and also had that same winning streak that Caldwell did (Oct. 13 to Nov. 17). Junior Jess Kelly is not far behind, claiming eight top-three finishes - including five wins - on the year. It's not just the swimmers, as senior Emily Duesler has recorded nine victories (and five seconds) in 18 attempts on the boards this season.

Caldwell holds Horizon League top times in the 50 free, 100 free and 200 free, while Finn is tops in the 200 IM and 200 fly. Duesler has the highest total on the three-meter board. Additionally, four of the five UWM relay teams have the fastest times this year.

AND THEN THE ROOKIES:
The newcomers have also arrived for UWM, with freshmen Shannon Berndt (11 individual victories and the school freshman record in the 100 and 200 breaststroke), Megan Skiba (4), Alex Nelson (3), Rachel Grimm (1), Ali Winius (1) and Jenny Westfall (1) all recording wins this season. Berndt has not only led Milwaukee, but has the best times in the league in both the 100 and 200 breast as well.

ON TAP:
The women make one stop before the Horizon League Championships, heading to the Midwest Invitational Feb. 16-17.