MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee men's and women's swimming and diving teams continue the abbreviated 2021 season this weekend, hosting Green Bay at the Klotsche Natatorium in a meet set to start at 12 p.m. Sunday. It will also be the final regular-season home meet for all of the 2021 seniors on both Panther rosters.
SCOUTING THE PHOENIX
The Phoenix will also be competing for the second time this year, having battled IUPUI, with the men winning, 151-131, and the women falling to the Jaguars, 155.5-128.5. Eddie Gillie was named the head coach in July 2020 after spending one year as the interim head coach and an additional year as an assistant coach with the program. Both teams were ranked No. 6 in the preseason poll. The GB men are coming off a fifth-place finish in the 2020 Horizon League Championships; the women placed sixth.
WHO WANTS SECONDS?
Led by wins from
Daniel Jablonski and
Zach McClellan and two from
Mason Schoof, the Panthers claimed a 139-101 victory over UIC Feb. 21. Schoof took home wins in the 200 backstroke and the 200 freestyle, touching the wall in 1:54.13 in the back and 1:44.28 in the freestyle.
LEAVING A SOLID FIRST IMPRESSION
The Milwaukee women 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 Feb. 21. 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).
Haupt was named Horizon League Swimmer of the Week for her efforts.
A DECADE WITH CLEMENTS
Entering his 11th season as Milwaukee's head men's and women's swimming and diving coach in 2021,
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 three men's school records and one freshmen record this past year in the 2019-20 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.
LEAN ON THAT EXPERIENCE
The MKE men's roster is senior-laden, with 11 seniors looked at to lead the way this season. On the women's side, it will be a group of six seniors, joined by 13 juniors, making a large group of upper classmen that will lead the charge.
JUNIOR GIULIA
Giulia Guerra-Montes scored in all three individual events at the Horizon League Championships last season, including a pair of fourth-place finishes in the 200 back and 400 IM. She also posted 11 first-place finishes throughout the season. The Bari, Italy native holds the third-fastest time in the 200 back (2:01.33) and seventh-fastest time in the 400 IM (4:27.33) in program history with two more seasons to go.
DIVING DELUXE
A pair of sophomores came up big in diving as newcomers last season and will be looked at to take the next step.
Jared Kleczka wrapped up his first year with a trip to the NCAA Zone Diving Championships, the first diver from the men's team since 2015. The Franklin, Wis., native also earned a pair of podium finishes at the Horizon League meet, placing third on the three-meter and seventh on the one-meter. Kleczka was named the League diver of the week three times. He also ranks third on the three-meter (338.03) and fifth on the one-meter (313.20) in program history.
McKenzie Sanchez started a great resumé last year, ending with a trip to the NCAA Zone Diving Championships after qualifying for the meet in her first ever collegiate meet. She even advanced to finals on the one-meter, placing 17th overall. Sanchez also was the Horizon League One-Meter Champion and Three-Meter Runner-Up. The Racine, Wis., native collected 11 first-place finishes throughout the season and five League diver of the week honors. Sanchez ranks fourth on the one-meter (289.50) and seventh on the three-meter (294.30) in program history with three more seasons to go.
LOOKING FOR SOPHOMORE SUCCESS
Jonathan Kollen and
Molly Meland made great first impressions as freshmen last year and will look to build on that momentum. Kollen closed out his first year with two record-breaking performances. First, he was a member of the 800 free relay that broke the school record on the first night of the Horizon League Championships (6:37.08). He then went on to break the freshmen 200 free record (1:39.31) with an outstanding race in the B-Final at the League meet, placing ninth overall. The Zeeland, Mich., native ranks seventh all-time in the 200 free.
Meland broke out onto the scene early, claiming to be a threat in the pool especially in the 100 back and 100 fly. The Golden Valley, Minn., native secured two podium finishes at the Horizon League meet, placing seventh in the 100 fly and eighth in the 100 back. Meland also captured 12 first-place finishes throughout the season and was named the League swimmer of the week once. She ranks third all-time in the 100 fly (55.60) and sixth all-time in the 100 back (56.32).
CHAMPIONSHIPS IN SPRING
In this unprecedented season, the Panthers will start the new campaign at a time when they would normally be participating in the Horizon League Championships.
The league office officially announced that the Horizon League Swimming and Diving Championships will now take place during the week of April 4 at the IU Natatorium on the campus of IUPUI. The diving championships will be held April 5-6, followed by the swimming championships, April 8-10. The championships were originally scheduled to take place Feb. 17-20.
ON TAP
The team will have one more regular-season meet, traveling to UIC March 20, set for a 12 p.m. start time.
