Milwaukee Comes Up Just Short In Season Debut

Panthers win five events on the day

MILWAUKEE – Five Panthers claimed wins as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's swimming & diving team posted strong results in a season-opening loss to Grand Valley State University Saturday afternoon from the Klotsche Natatorium.

The Division-II powerhouse was able to walk away with a 180-120 win against Milwaukee in the season opener for both teams.

"We were a little uneven today," Milwaukee head coach Kyle Clements said. "We had some guys post really great times, but then our 2-3-4 swimmers weren't the best. Or there would be events where events where everyone was good but no one was great.

"Early in the year with the men's team, fatigue sets in a little bit differently and people bounce back for meets a little differently. We'll become more consistent as the season progresses but we had plenty of positive results to build off of today."

Tim Halverson claimed the first win of the day for UWM. The senior just touched out Grand Valley's top swimmer with an impressive finish, touching the wall at 1:44.50 to win by less than three-tenths of a second.

UWM took the top-two spots in the 200 butterfly. Freshman Ryan Menninga won his first individual race of his collegiate career, just edging out his teammate with the winning time of 1:55.55. Junior Yevgeniy Foster was right behind at 1:55.85 for second overall.

One of the most impressive wins of the day was put together by Nic Halverson. The Kiel native took the top spot in the 400 IM with an outstanding time of 4:09.12 – over a full second ahead of the Lakers' top swimmer.

Andres Villa led the way for the Milwaukee divers on the day. The senior started the meet by winning the three-meter competition with a strong score of 289.80 before narrowly missing the sweep and taking second on one meter at 293.33 – just two points shy of the win. Sophomore Marcel Harris also did well on one meter, taking third at 275.93.

Kyle Gerum also claimed a win for the Panthers. The sophomore beat the field in the 200 backstroke for his second collegiate win, clocking in at 1:55.44. N. Halverson also did well, claiming third overall at 1:56.11.

Milwaukee started the meet narrowly missing a win in the 1000 free. In fact, the Panthers took three of the first four spots in the opening individual event. Max Gatzke just missed the win, taking second with a time of 9:38.71 – less than two-tenths of a second shy of the win. N. Halverson came in third at 9:58.74 and Dane Van Allen was fourth in 10:13.90.

The Panthers also had a host of second-place finishes on the day, including Gerum (100 back), Jacob Barson (100 & 200 breast), J.J. Melville (also the 200 breast), Nick Menninga (50 free), T. Halverson (500 free), Foster (100 fly) and both relays.

"Grand Valley always swims us well and this is always one of their fastest meets of the year," Clements said. "It's a tough loss but we're not going to look at the end of the year how we looked today."

Next up for Milwaukee is the All Wisconsin Invite scheduled for next Saturday, Oct. 24 at 1 p.m. from the Walter Schroder Aquatic Center just up the road in Brown Deer.

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Players Mentioned

Yevgeniy Foster: 5' 9"; Junior; Butterfly/IM

Max Gatzke: 5' 9"; Senior; Distance

Kyle Gerum: 6' 3"; Sophomore; Backstroke/Free

Nic Halverson: 5' 11"; Senior; Distance

Tim Halverson: 5' 11"; Senior; Distance

Marcel Harris: 5' 7"; Sophomore; Diving

J.J. Melville: 6' 3"; Senior; Breaststroke/IM

Nick Menninga: 6' 4"; Junior; Sprints

Andres Villa: 5' 8"; Senior; Diving

Jacob Barson: 6' 4"; Freshman; Breaststroke

Players Mentioned

Yevgeniy Foster
: 5' 9"; Junior; Butterfly/IM

Max Gatzke
: 5' 9"; Senior; Distance

Kyle Gerum
: 6' 3"; Sophomore; Backstroke/Free

Nic Halverson
: 5' 11"; Senior; Distance

Tim Halverson
: 5' 11"; Senior; Distance

Marcel Harris
: 5' 7"; Sophomore; Diving

J.J. Melville
: 6' 3"; Senior; Breaststroke/IM

Nick Menninga
: 6' 4"; Junior; Sprints

Andres Villa
: 5' 8"; Senior; Diving

Jacob Barson
: 6' 4"; Freshman; Breaststroke