MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee men's and women's swimming & diving team is set to host league foe Cleveland State in the season home opener on Friday, Oct. 25. Racing is scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m. from the Klotsche Center while the diving competition will take place at nearby Schroeder Aquatic Center in Brown Deer, Wis.
SCOUTING THE VIKINGS
Last season, the Milwaukee women outscored Cleveland State by 20.5 points in the league meet to finish third while the Viking men came in second over Milwaukee men's sixth-place finish.
On the men's side, CSU returns four of their top five individual point scorers from last year's league championships, including senior Matthew Martin (100 fly defending champion) and junior Dominik Niedzialek (500 free and 200 back runner-up).
The CSU women return eight of their top 10 individuals, including sophomore Agnes Bahr who grabbed a third-place finish in the 400 IM while junior Lexie Kostelnik also claimed third place in the mile.
Under the new direction of first-year head coach Hannah Burandt, the Viking men were ranked second in the 2019-20 preseason poll while the Panther men were ranked fifth. The women's teams were tied for third place as both teams received 31 votes.
LAST TIME OUT
The Panthers raced their way to a pair of first-place team finishes in last weekend's All-Wisconsin Showcase. The women won seven individual events, including four from three different freshman. Freshman standout diver
McKenzie Sanchez won both the one-meter and three-meter diving events while classmates
Molly Meland took home the win in the 100 back and
Bri Zablocki won the 200 IM. Sophomore
Giulia Guerra-Montes also won two events in the 200 back and 400 IM while classmate
Bella Passamani took home the win in the 200 fly.
The men brought home four wins on the day, including a first-place tie with Green Bay in an exciting 400 free relay race with seniors
Bailey Bodart and
Jacob Fase, freshman
Jonathan Kollen, and junior
Danny Larson. Larson also grabbed an individual win in the 200 free while senior
Ryan Scripp took home the win in the 200 IM and sophomore
Mason Schoof won the 200 back.
DIVING INTO THE LEAGUE
McKenzie Sanchez has already made her mark on the league as she was named the Horizon League Diver of the Week for the second week in a row. The freshman has now claimed the only two league honors so far this season.
In just her first two weeks as a Panther, the Racine native has qualified for NCAA Zones, has the fifth best one-meter score on the Panther All-Time Top-10 list, and has won the one-meter in all three meets this season.
HOME SWEET HOME
The Milwaukee women have not lost a dual meet at home since Oct. 10, 2014 in a tight race with league foe Oakland. Since then, the Panthers have topped league foes UIC three times and Wright State and Green Bay twice. MKE has also grabbed three wins over Wheaton and the University of Chicago while overtaking Grand Valley State twice and the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point once.
ON TAP
After the home opener on Friday, the Panthers will take a week off before heading to the state of Illinois for a pair of dual meets. Milwaukee first takes on Wheaton on Friday, Nov. 8 at 4:30 p.m. in Wheaton, Ill. followed by UIC on Saturday, Nov. 9 at 11 a.m. in Chicago, Ill.
