Oct. 13, 2007

Results

MADISON, Wis. - Four swimmers recorded second-place finishes to highlight the efforts of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's swimming & diving team in its season opener Friday night.

Senior Jess Kelly, junior Kate Riebe, sophomore Kerry Rossow and freshman Amanda Nelson each placed second on the night.

The Panthers went up against some stiff competition, opening against Big Ten foe Wisconsin, which has won all three of its duals to start the season. In fact, the Badgers have won 38 of the 42 events in its 3-0 start after defeating Milwaukee, 166-72.

"This was a tough battle to start the season," UWM head coach Dave Griffore said. "But, swimming against a Big Ten team will get us ready for Horizon League competition next week. It was also a good chance to give all of our freshmen a chance to compete for the first time at this level."

Kelly swam the 100 freestyle in 54.65, falling to UW's Hannah McClurg who won in 52.80.

Riebe helped out in her first appearance as a Panther, taking second in the 100 backstroke in a time of 1:00.91. Riebe has to sit out last season at UWM after transferring.

Junior Ashley Hall was in the same situation as Riebe last season and also made a nice contribution in her first UWM meet, leading the way for the team in the diving events. She placed third on both boards, recording 263.78 points on the one and 275.55 on the three-meter board.

"It was good to finally get a chance to see the two of them (Riebe and Hall) compete for us," Griffore said. "They both did very well in a tough setting."

Rossow helped give UWM two of the top three finishers in the 100 breaststroke, taking second in 1:06.76. Sophomore Shannon Berndt was third in 1:08.22 and also took fourth in the 400 IM in 2:12.66.

Nelson was second in the 100 butterfly in 1:00.04, with junior Molly Finn taking third in a time of 1:00.88.

The women's team will jump right into Horizon League action next, traveling to take on Wright State next weekend. The Panthers and Raiders are scheduled for a 4 p.m. CST start Friday.