Men's Swimming & Diving November 08, 2014

Panthers Come Up Just Short To UIC

Halverson brothers win combined five events

Results

MILWAUKEE - Twin brothers Nic Halverson and Tim Halverson combined to win an impressive five individual events but it was not enough as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's swimming & diving team came up just short to UIC Saturday afternoon, falling 153-147 at the Klotsche Natatorium.

"We had some incredible individual performances today," Milwaukee head coach Kyle Clements said. "The Halverson brothers just get better. They knew what they were supposed to accomplish today and they did it. Now, we're just looking for the rest of the roster to come behind them. We had our leaders in (Mike) Lucchesi and Rob (Miller) swam better, but we're just not able to put it all together as a team yet. We left a lot of swims on the table and we just can't have that. We're looking forward to getting back in the pool on Monday, fixing our issues and getting better next week."

N. Halverson started things off with a big win the 1650 freestyle. Competing in the mile for the first time this season, Halverson touched the wall first at 16:23.93, just over one second ahead of second place in a great race the whole way.

Nic also won the 200 backstroke the first time competing in the event since midway through last season. The junior outpaced the field with a winning time of 1:56.49, nearly a full second faster than second place.

Finally, Nic claimed his third win of the day in the 200 IM at 1:55.77, nearly two full seconds ahead of the next swimmer.

T. Halverson clocked his first win of the day in the 200 free at 1:43.40, over a full second ahead of UIC's top swimmer. Erik Wahlgren also had a strong showing in the event, taking third at 1:45.69.

Tim also grabbed a win in the 500 free with a very strong time of 4:43.21, the fastest time on the team this season.

Lucchesi claimed another win for Milwaukee in the 100 butterfly. The senior edged the tight field at 50.82 for the big win. Lucchesi also just missed another win on the day in the 50 free, coming in second with a season-best time of 21.50, with sophomore Nick Menninga third at 21.69.

In diving, K.J. Heger won both boards for the remarkable fifth-straight meet to start the season. The senior led three Panthers on the three-meter board with a score of 370.05, again just shy of his own school record. Andy LaFleur was second at 283.05 while freshman Marcel Harris was third at 269.70. Heger also claimed the top spot on the one-meter at 327.15.

UWM also won the final event of the day to nearly complete an impressive comeback. Lucchesi, Wahlgren, Tanner Nimke and Menninga combined to win the 200 free in 1:24.46, over a full second ahead of their previous season best.

Milwaukee will now wrap up its three-meet home stand next Friday with a 4:30 p.m. meet against Wheaton at the Klotsche Natatorium.

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Nic Halverson: 5' 11"; Junior; Distance

Tim Halverson: 5' 11"; Junior; Distance

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

Nick Menninga: 6' 4"; Sophomore; Sprints

Tanner Nimke: 6' 0"; Junior; Sprints

Erik Wahlgren: 6' 2"; Junior; Sprints/Fly

Marcel Harris: 5' 7"; Freshman; Diving

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

Nick Menninga
: 6' 4"; Sophomore; Sprints

Tanner Nimke
: 6' 0"; Junior; Sprints

Erik Wahlgren
: 6' 2"; Junior; Sprints/Fly

Marcel Harris
: 5' 7"; Freshman; Diving

Andy LaFleur
: 5' 8"; Junior; Diving