Men's Swimming & Diving October 10, 2014

Men’s Swimming & Diving Post Strong Times In Loss

UWM wins six events against defending league champs

Results

MILWAUKEE – The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's swimming & diving team won six events on the night but came up just short to defending league champs Oakland University Friday from the Klotsche Natatorium.

"You never like opening your season with a loss," Milwaukee head coach Kyle Clements said. "Oakland is obviously the top team in conference and the result tonight was to be expected. Our divers gave us a lot of points and kept us in the meet the entire time. We relied on our veterans tonight. Kenny (Stelpflug) in the 1000, Tim (Halverson) in the 200. (Ryan) Finke and Rob (Miller) were great leaders tonight, but the bottom line is that we have to get better. We want to contend in this conference this year and we have to get better and we will get better."

Senior Kenny Stelpflug started off the meet with a tremendous effort in the 1000 freestyle. In an event that often is won comfortably, two swimmers from each team all swam together seemingly the entire race. Trailing entering the final lap, Stelpflug dug deep and was able to edge out Oakland's top swimmer with a winning time of 9:48.06, less than two-tenths of a second ahead of the next swimmer. Tim Halverson also had a great showing, taking fourth in 9:51.83, just over two-tenths of a second from third overall.

Halverson also did well in the 200 free, taking third in 1:44.32, again just over two-tenths behind the previous spot.

Milwaukee took the top three spots in the 50 freestyle on the night. Sophomore Nick Menninga roared out to a 21.56 second win in his first event of the year. Senior Mike Lucchesi was second in 21.58 and junior Tanner Nimke was third in 21.99.

Menninga also had a strong showing in the 100 free. He took second overall in 47.48, just missing the top spot by .23 seconds. Freshman Jon Roberts was third in the sprint event at 49.23.

In the 100 butterfly, sophomore Max Ward burst out of the gates and won with an impressive time of 50.42, less than half a second shy of his life-time best in just the season opener. Lucchesi came in third overall at 50.96.

Milwaukee dominated the diving events. Two-time defending league diver of the year K.J. Heger came in first on both boards with strong season-opening scores. On one-meter, Andres Villa came in second overall with a score of 253.27, while freshman Marcel Harris had a strong showing in taking third on three-meter at 228.97.

The Panthers closed out the night with another win. Lucchesi, Nimke, Kyle Gerum and Menninga teamed up to take the top spot in the 400 free relay with a strong time of 3:08.81, over a full second ahead of Oakland's top team.

UWM also came in second overall in the meet-opening 200 medley relay. Seth Johnson, Joe Chokran, Ward and Lucchesi combined to post a time of 1:35.97, just over a second shy of the win.

Milwaukee will now hit the road for the first time this season next week, heading to Allendale, Mich. to take on Grand Valley State next Saturday at noon CST.

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Joe Chokran: 6' 0"; Junior; Breaststroke/IM

Tim Halverson: 5' 11"; Junior; Distance

K.J. Heger: 5' 9"; Senior; Diving

Mike Lucchesi: 6' 0"; Senior; Sprints/Fly

Nick Menninga: 6' 4"; Sophomore; Sprints

Tanner Nimke: 6' 0"; Junior; Sprints

Kenny Stelpflug: 6' 3"; Senior; Distance

Andres Villa: 5' 8"; Junior; Diving

Max Ward: 5' 10"; Sophomore; Butterfly

Marcel Harris: 5' 7"; Freshman; Diving

Players Mentioned

Joe Chokran
: 6' 0"; Junior; Breaststroke/IM

Tim Halverson
: 5' 11"; Junior; Distance

K.J. Heger
: 5' 9"; Senior; Diving

Mike Lucchesi
: 6' 0"; Senior; Sprints/Fly

Nick Menninga
: 6' 4"; Sophomore; Sprints

Tanner Nimke
: 6' 0"; Junior; Sprints

Kenny Stelpflug
: 6' 3"; Senior; Distance

Andres Villa
: 5' 8"; Junior; Diving

Max Ward
: 5' 10"; Sophomore; Butterfly

Marcel Harris
: 5' 7"; Freshman; Diving