Men's Swimming & Diving January 15, 2015

Panthers Back In The Pool This Weekend

Milwaukee off to Northwestern Friday before hosting Chicago Saturday

MILWAUKEE – The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee swimming & diving teams will compete for the first time in the new year, taking on a pair of opponents starting Friday afternoon.

UWM first heads to Northwestern for a dual meet with the Big Ten foe. The meet is set to start at 5 p.m. from the Norris Aquatics Center.

Then, Milwaukee has a quick turnaround in returning home to take on the University of Chicago Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. from the Klotsche Natatorium. Saturday will also serve as senior day, with the Panthers' nine seniors being recognized before the start of the meet.

Live Results
Fans can follow Friday's action live online by clicking here.

Senior Salute
Although Milwaukee hosts the Horizon League Championship Meet this season, Saturday marks the last time its nine seniors will compete in the Klotsche Natatorium. Before the meet, UWM will pay tribute to its senior class of Mic Boggio, Ryan Finke, K.J. Heger, Mike Lucchesi, Rob Miller, Kenny Stelpflug, Kelly Theis, Sierra Townsend and Anna Yontz.

Fun In The Sun
The Panthers are back in town after nearly 10 days down in sunny Florida. The teams headed south to escape the cold for their annual training trip from a local academy in the Sunshine State.

Last Time In The Pool
It's been over a month since the last time the Panthers were in the pool but what a memory it was.

The Panthers broke a pair of freshman records and posted countless season-best times at the large Iowa Hawkeye Invitational in early December.

UWM finished with 262 points on the men's side for fourth place and 390 points on the women's side, also good enough for fourth. Host Iowa won the meet on both sides.

"This is always an exciting meet for us," Milwaukee head coach Kyle Clements said. "We learned a lot about our team this weekend and we like what we learned. There were plenty of strong swims here this weekend, but this is just the midway point of our season. We have a lot of work yet to do but this is an encouraging look at what at what our team can do."

League Notice
Just after the season's midway point, UWM has already been honored with the top weekly Horizon League honor eight different times on the season. Most recently, senior K.J. Heger again won the top diving award for the incredible sixth time already this season. Here's a breakdown of the complete week-by-week winners for Milwaukee.

Oct. 14 – K.J. Heger
Oct. 22 – K.J. Heger
Oct. 28 – K.J. Heger, Rachel Margis
Nov. 4 – K.J. Heger
Nov. 11 – K.J. Heger
Nov. 18 – Nic Halverson
Dec. 9 – K.J. Heger

Fresh Faces
Milwaukee has one of its largest incoming classes in recent memory with 24 newcomers added to the UWM roster this season. Six men and 13 women come to Milwaukee to kick off their college careers this year, while an additional four swimmers (one men's, three women's) join the Black & Gold after transfer.

A Look Back At Last Year
The 2013-14 season certainly was one to remember for Milwaukee. The women's team finished 8-1 in the regular season and were a mere 34 points behind Oakland at the Horizon League Championships to finish runner-up. Individually, Emily McClellan closed out her remarkable Panther career by twice earning First-Team All-American honors after finishing second in the nation in the 100 breaststroke and seventh in the 200 breaststroke at the NCAA Championships.

On the men's side, it was a little more of a learning year for UWM. After four-straight seasons of finishing either first or second at the league meet, Milwaukee finished fourth last season with one of its youngest squads in recent memory. K.J. Heger repeated as league diver of the year as the team finished the year 5-5 in dual meet competition.

A Near National Champion
Emily McClellan capped her remarkable Panther career last season with an unbelievable finish at the NCAA Championships. The breaststroker from Delevan, Wis. came in second in the nation in the 100 breaststroke with the third-fastest time ever recorded in world history. McClellan also earned First-Team All-American honors in the 200 breaststroke, taking seventh in the nation.

Up Next
The Panthers will hit the road next weekend, heading to Muncie, Ind. to take on a pair of top-level opponents. UWM will take on host Ball State while also competing against IUPUI Friday, Jan. 23 at 4 p.m. CDT.

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Players Mentioned

Emily McClellan: 5' 10"; Senior; Breaststroke/IM

Ryan Finke: 5' 9"; Senior; Butterfly

Nic Halverson: 5' 11"; Junior; Distance

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

Mike Lucchesi: 6' 0"; Senior; Sprints/Fly

Rob Miller: 5' 11"; Senior; Butterfly

Kenny Stelpflug: 6' 3"; Senior; Distance

Rachel Margis: 5' 7"; Junior; Diving

Kelly Theis: 5' 5"; Senior; Distance/Free

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

Players Mentioned

Emily McClellan
: 5' 10"; Senior; Breaststroke/IM

Ryan Finke
: 5' 9"; Senior; Butterfly

Nic Halverson
: 5' 11"; Junior; Distance

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

Mike Lucchesi
: 6' 0"; Senior; Sprints/Fly

Rob Miller
: 5' 11"; Senior; Butterfly

Kenny Stelpflug
: 6' 3"; Senior; Distance

Rachel Margis
: 5' 7"; Junior; Diving

Kelly Theis
: 5' 5"; Senior; Distance/Free

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