MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee men's swimming & diving team collected its first win of the 2021-2022 season, defeating Wheaton (Ill.) 127-73 Friday evening at the Klotsche Natatorium.
 
The Panthers tallied seven individual victories in the meet, with Jack Garcia leading the way with a pair of wins in the 200 freestyle and 100 free. The junior touched the wall at 1:46.80 in the 200 free and finished first in the 100 free at 48.00.
 
"Always an important meet for us as we build throughout the year," head coach Kyle Clements said. "It's the last meet before our midseason championship and it gives us the opportunity to swim events that we typically don't get to swim during a normal dual meet lineup. We saw a lot of different people in a lot of different events and we saw a lot of lifetime bests and a lot of season bests."
 
Jonathan Kollen picked up his second individual win of the season, placing first in the 50 free with a time of 21.90.
 
Jay Jensen continued his impressive start to the season, posting a time of 4:06.94 in the 400 IM to finish first.
 
In the 100 backstroke, Ben Huynh collected his second win in the event this season behind a time of 53.94. Jackson Ahrens finished first in the 1000 free (10:23.61) while Robert Petersen took home the top spot in the 500 free (5:02.16).
 
The 200 medley relay team of Huynh, Carson Niemiec, Jacob Weber, and Kollen placed first with a time of 1:36.99.
 
Several Panthers finished runner-up, including Mason Schoof, who placed behind Garcia in the 100 free with a time of 48.23.
 
Milwaukee will have a week off before traveling for the House of Champions Invitational, hosted by IUPUI. The four-day meet begins on Wednesday, November 17 in Indianapolis, Ind.
 
"Really happy with today, a lot of standout swims and a lot of standout people," Clements said. "Very important as we move forward to get those swims down as we prepare for our midseason championships next week."