MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee men's and women's swimming & diving teams will host IUPUI in the home opener on Friday. The dual meet between the Panthers and Jaguars is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. 
 
SCOUTING THE JAGUARS
The IUPUI men are off to a strong start, already sitting at 4-2 in dual action. The team swept Horizon League honors this week following a strong showing at Indiana Intercollegiates with Spencer Jyawook being named Horizon League Swimmer of the Week and Sebastian Otero earning Diver of the Week. The women are 5-2 and are coming off a third-place team finish at the Indiana Intercollegiates. Head coach Damion Dennis is in his fourth season.
 
SERIES HISTORY
The MKE women lead the all-time series with IUPUI by a count of 5-1, winning 155-144 last season. On the men's side, it's 4-2 Panthers, with the Jaguars coming out on top by a final score of 213-87 last winter.
 
PANTHER SWEEP
Erika Thomas and Julie Rebek swept the Nike Horizon League Athlete of the Week awards Oct. 26. Thomas was named the Horizon League Swimmer of the Week and Rebek was named the Horizon League Diver of the Week after each highlighted the action in the All-Wisconsin Showcase. The awards are career-firsts for both student-athletes.
 
Thomas continued her amazing start to her collegiate career, winning three more times Saturday in the 100 freestyle, 400 IM, and 200 butterfly, as well as being a part of both winning relays. Thomas continues to impress and has now won all five individual races she has competed in over the first two weeks of the season. She topped the field in the 100 free in a time of 53.04, the 200 fly in 2:07.86, and the 400 IM in a showing of 4:37.00.
 
Rebek led a 1-2 MKE showing on both boards at the All-Wisconsin Showcase, posting a 276.98 total on the 1-meter board and a 296.70 total on the 3-meter. She placed first against a strong field in the seven-team event.
 
OFF TO A GREAT START
The program is off to a solid start in 2022-23, already accounting for four different Horizon League honors. In addition to Thomas and Rebek, Nik Wheeler and Jared Kleczka took both honors to open the 2022-23 campaign. The award is a career-first for Wheeler, who was making his collegiate debut. For the veteran Kleczka it's career league accolade No. 5.
 
Wheeler was impressive in his first collegiate meet as a Panther, as he won the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 50.60. He also placed second in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 1:54.41 against the Flames.

Kleczka started off the season strong and was right back at it, topping the field in the three-meter diving competition with a score of 316.05 to win by over 45 points against UIC. Kleczka also placed third in the one-meter with a score of 287.85.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Panthers hosted the All-Wisconsin Showcase, a no-team score event that featured seven total programs from America's Dairlyland. The women put together an impressive performance, winning all 14 individual events as well as both relays. The dominant outing included multi-victory afternoons from Erika Thomas, Giulia Guerra-Montes, Makaila Scheiblein, and Julie Rebek. Jared Kleczka and Jay Jensen each won a pair of events to highlight the top finishers for the men. Kleczka, the reigning Horizon League Diver of the Week, continued his strong start to the new season by topping the field on both boards. Jensen came through for the Panthers in the 400 IM and led a very strong showing for MKE in the 500 freestyle with a second individual victory.
 
UP NEXT
The season continues with a road trip to Illinois to battle Wheaton, set for Friday at 4:30 p.m.