Nov. 29, 2004

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The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's swimming and diving team returns from its Thanksgiving vacation to compete at the Wheaton and Notre Dame Invitationals. Panther swimmers make the trek to Illinois for the Wheaton Invite on Friday and Saturday (Dec. 3-4) while divers travel to the three-day Notre Dame Invite Thursday through Saturday.

A Look At This Week's Competition

At the Wheaton Invitational, UWM will be competing against some of the tougher Division III teams in the region. The host Thunder have won seven-straight league titles, while Hope College won its 11th in the last 13 years and finished 10th in the nation. UW-Stevens Point is also one of the better teams in Wisconsin, finishing second in a tough WIAC field.

The Panthers will compete only in the diving at the Notre Dame Invitational this weekend, which will feature the host Fighting Irish and league foe UW-Green Bay.

Last Time Out

Sophomore Lindsay Caldwell was the Women's Outstanding Performer of the meet in leading Milwaukee to a third-place finish at the Doug Coers Invitational. Caldwell won both the 100 and 200 breaststroke events for Milwaukee, which finished behind host Ball State and Marshall. In diving events, six Panthers were among the top eight in the three-meter event while four divers were among the top eight from the one-meter board.

Diving Depth And Domination

One constant for UWM this season has been the strength and depth of its diving corps. Their last time out, the Panther divers occupied sixth of the top eight places off the three-meter event and four during the one-meter. Milwaukee has three events wins and has had its top finisher no lower than third place at any meet this year. Junior Erin Blemberg won the one-meter event at the Oakland Quadrangular, just missing a school record, and sophomore Crystal Szymanski won from both boards against UIC on Nov. 6. In that dual meet, four of the top five one-meter scores, and the top three, three-meter scores, were all from UWM.

Wheaton Invite History

The Panthers enter the Wheaton Invitational as the defending champion, after their second-ever win in the event (1996) last year. In the 10 years UWM has been competing at the meet, UWM taken third once (1999) and finished below that just one other time (4th, 1994). That gives Milwaukee six second-place showings to go with two wins in its 10 years of competing in the invitational.

Leading The Charge

Coming off a meet in which she was named Outstanding Performer of the Meet, sophomore Lindsay Caldwell is looking to continue her already phenomonal season at the Wheaton Invitational. Wins in both the 100 and 200 breaststroke events, gives her seven individual wins for the season in 12 events competed. In fact, her second-place showing in the 50 free at Ball State was just her fourth runner-up finish of the year. She has not finished below second since the Madison Invitational, where she took third in her first 50 free and 200 breast events of the year. Caldwell also remains undefeated in the 100 breast and free events (3-0).

2005 Horizon League Championships

For the second time in four years, Milwaukee will play host to the Horizon League Championships at the Schroeder YMCA in Brown Deer, Wis. The last time the Panthers played host to the league meet was 2001, also at the Schroeder YMCA. UWM hopes history can repeat itself, as it won its only league title in 2001.

Up Next

Milwaukee heads south for its annual Winter Break trip in Florida (Dec. 29-Jan. 11), competing at the Ed Kennedy Relays on Dec. 31 and the Time Trial 100's on Jan. 4.