Printer-friendly format Email this article Junior Lindsay Caldwell was named Outstanding Swimmer Of The Meet last year at the Horizon League Championships

Horizon League Championships Up Next For Women's Swimming & Diving Team

Team heads to Cleveland, Ohio, for final meet of season

Feb. 20, 2006

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's swimming & diving team prepares for the Horizon League Championships this week in Cleveland, Ohio. The event, hosted by Cleveland State University, gets underway on Wednesday afternoon, with the Panthers looking to improve on their third-place finish from a season ago.

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LOOKING AT THE WEEK AHEAD:
Milwaukee heads to the Horizon League Championships in search of the second title in program history, with its first coming in the 2000-2001 season. They have finished in third place in each of the past four years, narrowly missing second place a year ago.
The schedule for the championships:
Swimming Preliminaries:
Daily at 10:30 a.m. (Thur.-Sat.)
Diving Preliminaries:
Daily at 3:00 p.m. (Wed.-Sat.)
Swimming & Diving Finals:
Daily at 6:00 p.m. (Wed.-Sat.)

For more information:
http://csuvikings.collegesports.com/sports/m-swim/06horizon-champ.html

LAST YEAR:
A year ago, Lindsay Caldwell helped lead UWM to a third-place finish by breaking three league records on her way to five league crowns and Outstanding Swimmer of the Meet honors. She was victorious in the 50 and 100 freestyle, in the 100 breast and with both the 400 medley and 400 freestyle relays.

Caldwell was joined by Julie Olson, Briana Fergusson and Kristin Skiba on the medley, and Heather Sawatzki, Bridget Fargen and Jess Kelly in the freestyle relay.

Olson placed second in the 100 back and third in the 100 butterfly, while Sawatzki was third in the 200 fly and Emma McKeith placed third in the 1650 free and fifth in the 1000.

Erin Blemberg was named the League Diver of the Meet and Todd Hill was selected as the Diving Coach of the Year. Blemberg broke UWM's record for three-meter diving in winning her first league championship. She also finished second from the one-meter board to earn the honor. Crystal Szymanski earned All-League Second Team honors on the three-meter board and placed third in the one-meter event.

TOP TIMES:
A check of the top times from across the Horizon League show UWM to be in very good shape for title hopes heading into the championships, as they have top five times up-and-down the charts. Junior Lindsay Caldwell holds the top times in the 50, 100 and 200 freestyles as well as the 100 breaststroke. She is also No. 3 in the 200 breast. Freshman Molly Finn is in the top five in four events, with her times in the 200 butterfly and 200 IM topping the charts. She is also second in the 400 IM and third in the 100 fly. Senior Julie Olson is first in the 200 backstroke as well as second in both the 100 fly and 100 back. Senior Emily Holcomb owns the third-best time in the 1650 free as well as the fourth-lowest time in the 200 back. Junior Breanna Ballweg is No. 5 in the 100 fly and sophomore Emma McKeith owns the fourth-best time in the 500 freestyle. The divers are dominating the charts, going 1-2-3 on the one-meter board and holding three of the top five spots on the three. Erin Blemberg has posted the top scores in the league on both boards this year, with junior teammates Crystal Szymanski and Emily Duesler close behind. Szymanski holds second place (one-meter) and fifth (three-meter), while Duesler is second (three-meter) and third (one-meter).

The relays are strong as well, as the 200 freestyle, 400 free and 400 medley relay squads hold the best times in the league and the 200 medley team is second.

LAST TIME OUT:
Freshman Monica Loy won the 100 freestyle and took second in the 200 free to lead the way for the team on Saturday the second day of the Midwest Invitational. The Panthers had just three swimmers at the meet, which was hosted by the University of Chicago. The invitational, which featured teams from all across the Midwest, featured an NCAA "last chance" format, so no team scores were kept.

Loy touched out Carroll College's Emily Elstad (56.42) to win the 100 freestyle in a time of 56.04 before coming up just short of another win in the 200 free. Her time of 2:01.51 in the 200 was just behind IIT's Amanda Babicz's winning time of 1:59.80. Freshman Amanda Joppe had a nice weekend in the pool, setting career-best times in both the 100 and 200 breaststroke events. She took second in the 200 in a time of 2:34.33, bettering her previous mark of 2:35.14. In the 100, she placed third in a time of 1:11.43, knocking over a second off her former low (1:12.83). Junior Stephanie Karis took fourth in the 100 breaststroke to round out the UWM races on the weekend.

IT NEVER GETS OLD:
For the 14th time this season, a member of the UWM swimming & diving team has been recognized by the Horizon League. This time, senior Erin Blemberg received her seventh weekly league honor when she was tabbed as Diver of the Week Feb. 15. She was rewarded for winning both boards with NCAA Zone Diving qualifying point totals against UW-Green Bay Feb. 10.

DIVING CLINIC AT UWM:
The divers have been strong this season, and their efforts against UW-Green Bay Feb. 10 were no different as UWM took the top three spots on the one-meter and 3-of-4 on the three-meter versus the Phoenix. Erin Blemberg, Emily Duesler and Crystal Szymanski hold the top three spots in the Horizon League in one-meter scoring and three of the top five on the three-meter board.

ALL GOOD THINGS MUST COME TO AN END:
Junior Lindsay Caldwell had her 26-race win streak snapped versus Green Bay Feb. 10 when she finished second in the 200 breaststroke. She does, however, still have win streaks going in these events heading into the Horizon League Championships: a nine-race win streak in the 50 free, eight-straight in the 100 free and five-consecutive in the 100 breaststroke. She holds the top time in the Horizon League in the 50 free, 100 free, 200 free and 100 breaststroke, and has the third-best time in the league this season in the 200 breast.

A PANTHER "IN THE CROWD":
Caldwell also made national news recently, appearing in the Jan. 30 issue of Sports Illustrated as one of their "Faces In The Crowd".

ON TAP:
Milwaukee divers who have qualified will head to the Zone `C' Diving Regionals March 10-12. They will take place in Columbus, Ohio, on the campus of the Ohio State University.