Men's Swimming & Diving October 31, 2014

Men’s Swimming and Diving Wins Six Events In Narrow Loss

Upperclassmen lead the way for Milwaukee

Results

MILWAUKEE - Three seniors combined to win five events as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's swimming & diving team suffered a close loss to Wright State, 168.5-131-5, Saturday afternoon at the Klotsche Natatorium.

"We took another step forward today with what we're trying to do as a team and as a program for the year," Milwaukee head coach Kyle Clements said. "We're starting to see some results and some areas that we need to improve in. We need to start working on some of the finer details in the coming weeks. We're excited with what we did today, but we know there is far more work to be done. So, we're excited to get back in the pool tomorrow morning and we're excited to go up against UIC next week."

UWM started the day off strong with the 1000 freestyle. Senior Kenny Stelpflug won the event in 9:48.61 to just edge out teammates Nic Halverson (9:49.60) and Tim Halverson (9:49.65) in a very close distance race.

Senior captain Mike Lucchesi also won a pair of events on the day for Milwaukee. Lucchesi first took first in the 100 free with a strong time of 46.97. He also claimed the top spot in the 100 butterfly at 50.77, nearly a full second ahead of the next finisher and a new season best.

In diving, senior K.J. Heger continued his assault on the record books by nearly breaking his own school record on the three-meter board. Heger posted an outstanding score of 376.50 to easily take the top spot, just missing his own school record by a mere two points. Andy LaFleur was second at 301.80. Heger also was first in the one-meter competition with a score of 347.40. Junior Andres Villa was second at 286.79.

Nick Menninga also claimed a win for the Panthers Friday. The sophomore from Madison, Wis. won a great race in the 50 free in 21.43, a new season best. That time also just beat out Lucchesi, who was second at 21.53.

Freshman Kyle Gerum came close to his the first collegiate win of his career. In the 200 backstroke, the newcomer touched the wall at 2:00.05 to just take second overall.

N. Halverson had two more second-place finishes on the day. The junior was runner-up in the 500 free in 4:44.69 and also came in second in the 200 IM at 1:59.40.

Both Panther relays also took second on the day, with the 200 free relay clocking in at 1:25.76 – a mere 15-hundreths of a second shy of the top spot – and the 400 medley relay touching out at 3:33.00.

"We're starting to see the men's team come around a little bit," Clements said. "We starting to get a little bit sharper and go a little bit deeper in races. Our seniors are putting up some great times right now and our younger guys aren't far behind, it's just going to take some time to get there, but I like where we're at right now."

Milwaukee continues its three-meet home stand next week when UIC comes to campus Saturday for a noon meet at the Klotsche Natatorium.

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Players Mentioned

Nic Halverson: 5' 11"; Junior; Distance

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

Kenny Stelpflug: 6' 3"; Senior; Distance

Andres Villa: 5' 8"; Junior; Diving

Kyle Gerum: 6' 3"; Freshman; Backstroke/Free

Andy LaFleur: 5' 8"; Junior; Diving

Players Mentioned

Nic Halverson
: 5' 11"; Junior; Distance

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

Kenny Stelpflug
: 6' 3"; Senior; Distance

Andres Villa
: 5' 8"; Junior; Diving

Kyle Gerum
: 6' 3"; Freshman; Backstroke/Free

Andy LaFleur
: 5' 8"; Junior; Diving