Feb. 6, 2010

Results

MILWAUKEE - Junior Dan Heraly, freshman Nathan Welchlin and the 400 freestyle relay team each set pool records to lead the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee to a convincing 169-74 victory over the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Saturday afternoon at the Klotsche Natatorium. The Panthers dominated numerous events against the Phoenix, winning all but one of the swims on the day and sweeping the top three spots in four events overall to win for the fifth-straight time to close out the regular season.

"This was one of the most amazing men's meets we have had in my time here," UWM head coach Erica Janssen said. "For a dual meet they just stepped up. And, after losing [to Green Bay] last year they just had so much passion to win this year and got fired up for it."

Seven different swimmers combined to win eight events, with the deep roster finishing 1-2-3 in the 1000 freestyle, 200 IM, 200 butterfly and 100 freestyle.

Heraly claimed the win in the 500 freestyle in 4:37.79, breaking the pool mark of 4:38.44 set in 2008 by Green Bay's Alex Hill, who was actually swimming in the same race as well. Heraly also contributed with a second-place effort in the 200 freestyle in 1:42.98.

The 400 free relay squad of Welchlin, sophomore Kyle Trelka, freshman Mike Schalla and junior Jake Kalinowski closed out the meet in record-breaking fashion, touching the wall in 3:05.02 to win by over four seconds. That broke the pool record-time of 3:07.56, set by Northwestern in 2003.

"This gives us a lot of momentum," Janssen said. "We will be one of the teams that will have a chance to win in a few weeks. They know that, they know what they want and they know their goals. This meet is just a step along the way and will give them confidence going into the end."

Welchlin continues his terrific freshman campaign, winning twice on the day to give him his 20th and 21st individual wins of the year. He topped the field in the 100 freestyle in 46.86, with Schalla (second in 47.20) and sophomore Jordan Diel (third in 48.17) close behind. He also won the 200 free in 1:41.46, breaking the pool record (also Hill's) of 1:41.88 in the process.

Freshman Cris Smith started the top-three showings, winning the 1000 freestyle in 9:44.91. Freshman Ryan Goggans was second (9:47.40) and freshman Brian Verink third (9:50.29).

In the 200 IM, sophomore Sam Keele was first in 1:56.77, junior Matt Kluczinske second in 1:56.81 and sophomore Evan Green third in 1:58.77. Lastly, the 200 butterfly finished with Green in first at 1:55.79, sophomore Nathan Rahe second at 1:55.85 and sophomore Greg Wise, third in 1:56.06, with less than a half-second separating the top three.

Kalinowski led the way in the 50 freestyle with a showing of 21.05, sophomore Brady Huemann won the 200 breaststroke in 2:08.44 and the 400 medley relay team also opened the meet with a win in 3:26.78.

Up next, the team sets its sights on Chicago, heading to the Horizon League Championships at the UIC Natatorium. The meet starts Feb. 24 and runs through Feb. 27, with preliminaries each morning and finals each evening.