MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee women's swimming and diving team defeated UIC in the home opener on Saturday, dousing the Flames 171.5-128.5 for the Panthers second Horizon League win of the season.
 
The afternoon was highlighted by eight individual victories and a pool record in the 400 freestyle relay.
 
For the second consecutive meet, freshman Nhia Caras collected a pair of individual victories while improving upon her times from a week ago. Caras placed first in the 50 freestyle with a time of 23.71 and clocked in at 51.84 in the 100 free for her second win.
 
Junior Makaila Scheiblein picked up a pair of individual victories as well, claiming the top spot in the 100 breaststroke (1:06.60) and 200 breaststroke (2:23.62).
 
"Lot of great swims today," said head coach Kyle Clements. "Overall, we were very happy today. We were able to have our full roster today. Last week when we went on the road, we were missing some people but with everyone here it really rounds out the team. We showed a lot of depth across different races, but the same people that performed well last week performed well against but now we have added more people to that list moving forward."
 
Antoni Haupt earned a win in the 1000 free with a time of 10:38.16 while Giulia Guerra-Montes touched the wall at 2:08.27 in the 200 backstroke to tally a victory. Molly Meland picked up a win in the 100 back (59.02) and Meghan Jagdfeld won the 200 IM (2:11.08) to round out the individual victories for Milwaukee.
 
Strong performances in the 200 medley relay and the 400 free relay saw the Panthers garner a pair victories. The time of 3:30.50 in the 400 free relay featuring Kelen McDaniels, Cassandra Hutchins, Bella Passamani, and Caras set a new Klotsche Natatorium record.
 
McKenzie Sanchez paced the diving efforts for Milwaukee, as she netted a pair of second-place finishes on the 1-meter and 3-meter boards.
 
Like last week, the Panthers showcased their depth, as the team collected seven runner-up finishes including three in races where the Black & Gold also earned individual victories. Riley Melendy earned a pair of second-place finishes in the 100 back and the 200 back while Meland placed second in the 100 butterfly. Sydney Dahl (200 free), Passamni (200 fly), McDaniels (50 free), and Bri Zablocki (200 IM) each tallied a second-place finish in their respective events.
 
The team will return to action next Friday as they host Wheaton (Ill.) at 5 p.m. inside the Klotsche Natatorium Milwaukee owns a 27-3 advantage in the all-time series against the Thunder.
 
"We are looking forward to next week," Clements commented. "We look to keep improving week over week."