MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee men's and women's swimming and diving teams will host UIC in the Panthers home opener on Saturday with the dual meet scheduled to begin at 12 p.m.
Scouting the Flames
UIC opened its season last weekend, swimming against Big Ten opponents Northwestern and Illinois. The Flames fell to both opponents but produced several solid individual performances.
In the Horizon League preseason poll, the Flames were projected to finish in the top three on both sides. The women's team finished just a couple points ahead of Milwaukee for second place, while the UIC men were picked to place third.
Milwaukee leads the all-time series against UIC 25-7 on the women's side and 17-15-1 on the men's side.
Dynamic Debut
The Panthers women's team showcased its depth last weekend, winning a tightly contested season opening meet 155-144 over IUPUI. Freshman
Nhia Caras picked up a pair of individual victories in her collegiate debut, placing first in the 50 freestyle and 100 free.
Makaila Scheiblein also collected a couple individual wins, claiming the top spot in the both the 100 breaststroke and the 200 breaststroke.
Two more Panthers earned individual victories,
Bella Passamani in the 200 butterfly and sophomore
Molly Meland in the 100 fly, while several others finished runner-up.
Starting the Season Strong
While the men's team fell against IUPUI last weekend, several individual performances stood out.
Jay Jensen placed first in the 1000 free, while
Jonathan Kollen took home top honors in the 200 free. Jensen nearly earned his second win of the day in the 500 free but finished runner-up by less than two-tenths of a second.
Jared Kleczka collected a victory on the 1-meter board to pace the diving efforts for Milwaukee.
A Decade With Clements
Entering his 12th season as Milwaukee's head men's and women's swimming and diving coach,
Kyle Clements has led the Panthers to unprecedented heights. In his first ten years at the helm, Clements has completely reshaped Milwaukee's history, bringing home an unprecedented 12 team trophies – four Horizon League Championships and eight runner-up finishes – over that span.
MKE has also had a lot of individual success, breaking all but two of the combined 72 school and freshman records during Clements' time at Milwaukee, including one freshman record in the abbreviated 2021 season.
Clements' highlights also include four NCAA appearances, an NCAA individual runner-up finish (Emily McClellan), three-time coach of the year honoree, four athletes of the year, three newcomers of the year, and 55 individual league titles.
Diving Duo
McKenzie Sanchez and
Jared Kleczka came up big for the Panthers in their second seasons. Sanchez earned a pair of podium finishes at the Horizon League Championships, placing first in the one-meter (290.30) for the second consecutive season and third on the three-meter board (248.60).
Prior to the championships, Sanchez established a new career-best on the one-meter (302.78) against Green Bay on March 7. Her score placed her second in program history and the sophomore also claimed victory in the three-meter at the same meet. The Racine, Wis., native collected second place finishes on both boards in two meetings with UIC.
Kleczka also earned a pair of podium finishes at the Horizon League meet, placing second in the one-meter (302.95) and fourth in the three-meter (280.35). Prior to the championships, the Franklin, Wis., native posted a career-best in the one-meter (317.85) in the season-opener against UIC, which ranks fifth in program history.
Both divers qualified for the NCAA Zone Diving Championships but did not compete due to COVID-19.
Breaking Into the Record Books
On the final day of the Horizon League Championships last spring, freshmen
Robert Petersen and
Zach McClellan each broke the former MKE freshman record in the 200 butterfly. Petersen placed second (1:49.41) while McClellan finished third (1:50.35) in the B-finals of the 200 fly, surpassing the previous freshman standard in the event set in 2016.
The times also placed the freshmen on the Panther top-10 list, with Petersen checking in at eighth and McClellan right behind at ninth.
Petersen also posted season-best times in a pair of other events at the championships. The Oswego, Ill., native placed 18th in the 100 butterfly (50.40) and 23rd in the 500 freestyle (4:48.31) to cap a productive first season.
McClellan closed his first season with a pair of season-best times in the 200 IM (1:52.35) and 400 IM (4:10.09) at the championships. The Sylvania, Ohio, native placed 16th and 17th, respectively, in the two events.
Mighty Meland
After a strong freshman campaign, sophomore
Molly Meland continued to post impressive marks in the pool, especially at the Horizon League Championships. The Golden Valley, Minn., native recorded a fourth-place finish in the 100 fly (55.85), a mark that cracked the program top-10 list. She added two more podium finishes with a fifth-place finish in the 50 free (23.70) and eighth in the 100 backstroke (57.71). The sophomore also competed in the 200 medley and the 400 medley relays, assisting the team to a pair of fourth-place finishes.
Alongside her performance at the championships, Meland picked up pair of individual victories to help lead the Panthers to a win over Green Bay last March, topping the field in the 100 fly and the 100 back.
Up Next
The Panthers will compete against Wheaton (Ill.) next Friday inside the Klotsche Natatorium at 5 p.m. Milwaukee own a 27-3 advantage in the all-time series on the women's side and 29-1 on the men's side against the Thunder.
