UWM Wins Seven At Ball State

Johnson, Margis, Yontz, Bentley all claim wins on the day

Results

Muncie, Ind. – The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee won seven events in a long road meet against a pair of tough opponents at the Lewellen Aquatic Center Friday.

Milwaukee took down a tough IUPUI squad, 156-86, before suffering a narrow loss to host Ball State, 128-114.

"We had some very good performances tonight," head coach Kyle Clements said. "It's nice to see the team come back from our training trip and continue to swim that much faster. We're starting to turn that corner and become a really fast team. It's exciting to see."

UWM got things going right from the first individual meet. Natalie Johnson led the way for Milwaukee with a win the 1000 freestyle in 10:34.11, just edging out teammate Alena Bodnaruk, who took second.

Johnson wasn't done there though. The defending Horizon League Newcomer of the Year also took the top spot in the 500 free at the end of the meet in 5:06.84, with Bodnaruk coming in third.

The sophomore had one more swim up her sleeve as she again led the Panthers in the 200 free. Johnson touched the wall at 1:57.64 for third overall, just ahead of classmate Mandie Siehs at 1:57.91.

Siehs later just missed a win of her own in the 100 free, posting a time of 53.56 for second overall.

For the second-straight meet, senior Anna Yontz topped the field in the 50 free. Yontz won the event at 24.08, nearly half a second ahead of second place in the sprint event.

For the third-straight meet, junior Rachel Margis swept both diving boards on the day. One week after breaking the school record on one-meter, Margis just missed repeating that feat but still won with a score of 272.20. She also was first on three-meter at 282.85.

Freshman Sara Bentley notched another win for UWM. Bentley stood atop the podium in the 100 backstroke at 57.93 for a close win.

Milwaukee's 200 free relay also grabbed a win on the night. Yontz, Sierra Townsend, Arica Smith and Siehs teamed up to take the top spot with a winning time of 1:36.85.

Other notable swims on the night came from Townsend (fourth in the 100 fly) and Natalie O'Connell (second in the 100 breaststroke and fourth in the 400 IM).

Milwaukee continues its three-meet road swing to wrap up the season next week when it heads to Green Bay for a dual meet with the Phoenix at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

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Players Mentioned

Natalie Johnson: 5' 10"; Sophomore; Freestyle

Rachel Margis: 5' 7"; Junior; Diving

Sierra Townsend: 5' 8"; Senior; Sprints/Back

Anna Yontz: 5' 7"; Senior; Mid-Distance/Free

Sara Bentley: 5' 5"; Freshman; Backstroke

Arica Smith: 5' 8"; Freshman; Sprints

Alena Bodnaruk: 5' 8"; Freshman; Distance

Natalie O'Connell: 5' 9"; Freshman; IM

Mandie Siehs: 5' 9"; Sophomore; Middle Distance

Players Mentioned

Natalie Johnson
: 5' 10"; Sophomore; Freestyle

Rachel Margis
: 5' 7"; Junior; Diving

Sierra Townsend
: 5' 8"; Senior; Sprints/Back

Anna Yontz
: 5' 7"; Senior; Mid-Distance/Free

Sara Bentley
: 5' 5"; Freshman; Backstroke

Arica Smith
: 5' 8"; Freshman; Sprints

Alena Bodnaruk
: 5' 8"; Freshman; Distance

Natalie O'Connell
: 5' 9"; Freshman; IM

Mandie Siehs
: 5' 9"; Sophomore; Middle Distance