UWM Comes Up Just Short At Green Bay

Milwaukee wins eight events in narrow loss

Results

Green Bay, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's swimming & diving team won eight events in a narrow, 160-140 loss to Green Bay Saturday at the Dorschel Natatorium.

Tim Halverson and K.J. Heger each won two events for UWM and the 800 free relay set a new pool record in the tight dual meet; the first Milwaukee has dropped to the Phoenix since 2009.

"We swam really fast today," Milwaukee head coach Kyle Clements said. "This was one of our fastest meets of the year. We've continued tracking progress to the Horizon League Championships, we just didn't have the right numbers in each event today. Nic Halverson and Tim Halverson were great leaders today. We're looking forward to finishing the season out with Madison next week."

The Panthers topped the Green Bay pool record in the 800 free with an outstanding showing. Kenny Stelpflug, T. Halverson, Erik Wahlgren and Nick Menninga teamed up for an impressive time of 6:54.12 to set the new pool record.

T. Halverson also had a pair of outstanding individual swims on the day. The junior started the meet with a win in the 200 free in 1:42.30, just out touching Green Bay's top swimmer.

In the 500 free, Halverson notched yet another win, touching the wall at 4:42.43 for the top spot. Stelpflug came in third on the day in 4:45.01.

Heger also posted a pair of wins for UWM on the day. The senior diver flirted with his own school record in the one-meter competition with an outstanding score of 342.08 to cruise to the win. Heger later completed the sweep of diving events by winning the three-meter board at 313.28. Andy LaFleur wasn't far behind, taking third at 303.68, followed closely by Andres Villa at 284.33 for fourth.

Max Gatzke eased to victory in the 1000 free. The newcomer won the event for the third-straight meet in 9:38.36 – an eye-popping 15 seconds ahead of the rest of the field. Stelpflug (9:53.76) took second on the day, with N. Halverson (9:55.84) in third.

In the 100 free, Menninga topped the very fast field with a winning time of 46.49 to just beat out a handful of others at the finish line. That included senior Mike Lucchesi, who placed third at 46.77.

The final win of the day for UWM went to N. Halverson. The junior touched the wall at 1:55.59, nearly a full three seconds ahead of the next swimmer.

The Panthers had numerous other strong swims on the day, including second-place finishes by Evan Kuker (100 back), Lucchesi (50 free and 100 fly), N. Halverson (200 back) and the 400 medley relay.

Milwaukee now will make the short trek west to take on the Badgers next Friday at 3 p.m. for the final dual meet of the season before hosting the Horizon League Championships at the end of the month.

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Players Mentioned

Nic Halverson: 5' 11"; Junior; Distance

Tim Halverson: 5' 11"; Junior; Distance

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

Evan Kuker: 6' 3"; Sophomore; Sprints

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

Nick Menninga: 6' 4"; Sophomore; Sprints

Kenny Stelpflug: 6' 3"; Senior; Distance

Andres Villa: 5' 8"; Junior; Diving

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

Max Gatzke: 5' 9"; Sophomore; Distance

Players Mentioned

Nic Halverson
: 5' 11"; Junior; Distance

Tim Halverson
: 5' 11"; Junior; Distance

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

Evan Kuker
: 6' 3"; Sophomore; Sprints

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

Nick Menninga
: 6' 4"; Sophomore; Sprints

Kenny Stelpflug
: 6' 3"; Senior; Distance

Andres Villa
: 5' 8"; Junior; Diving

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

Max Gatzke
: 5' 9"; Sophomore; Distance