MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee women's swimming & diving team opened the 2021 season in impressive fashion, claiming wins in 11 of 13 events on the day to record a 147-64 victory over UIC Sunday at the Klotsche Natatorium.
 
Highlighting the afternoon were a pair of wins from both Bella Passamani and Antoni Haupt. Passamani took home victory in the 200 freestyle in 1:58.32 as well as the 200 butterfly in 2:10.69. Haupt claimed her first-place finishes in the 500 freestyle (5:13.31) and 1,000 free (10:38.10).
 
"It was across the board. We had so many different winners today," head coach Kyle Clements said. "I am so happy with Antoni Haupt, our freshman distance swimmer. She won her first two races ever with really good times. Bella (Passamani) won the 200 free and 200 fly – so many individual performances were great today. I am just so happy that they get to see their hard work pay off today."
 
Other individual winners included Kelen McDaniels in the 50 free (24.71), Riley Melendy in the 200 IM (2:12.87), Cassandra Hutchins in the 100 free (54.22), Giulia Guerra-Montes in the 200 backstroke (2:08.27), and Betsy Weil in the 200 breaststroke (2:27.67).
 
Both relay teams also won in strong efforts, with the 400 freestyle squad taking first by over 10 seconds in 3:37.66. The 200 medley team opened the day in a winning time of 1:47.84.
 
"We have been practicing together since September, but when you inject somebody else, you inject that competition and we saw time drops everywhere," Clements said. "It makes such a big difference. UIC brought a smaller lineup and I appreciate them being here, but we needed that little boost. We have been working so hard and it's hard to find that motivation to be faster on a day-in and day-out basis, and that catalyst of having someone else here pushed us to that next level today."
 
Passamani led the way in a strong MKE effort in the 200 free, with Sydney Dahl second (1:58.47), Alivia Farber third (1:59.15) and Grace Mayes fourth (2:00.94).
 
The Panthers were strong in the 100 free, seeing Jenna Van Hoogstraten second (25.80) and Natalie Hey third (25.84). The 200 IM was another strong event for MKE on the day, with Molly Meland second (2:13.02) and Meghan Jagdfeld third (2:14.16).
 
Guerra-Montes added a third-place effort in the 1,000 free in 10:58.86, with Dahl also swimming the 500 free in a strong 5:21.16.
 
In diving, the Panthers were led by McKenzie Sanchez, placing second in both the one-meter (284.25) and three-meter (276.30).
 
Up next, the team will have some time to prepare for its next meet, hitting the pool March 7 at Green Bay.