MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee men's and women's swimming & diving teams will continue their 2022-23 campaign this weekend, traveling to Illinois to compete against Wheaton Friday. The dual meet will get underway at 4:30 p.m.
 
SCOUTING THE THUNDER
The Thunder men fell to #5/#6 University of Chicago in their lone dual of the season to date, but saw AJ Staiti and Zander Guzy each pick up CCIW Athlete of the Week awards with strong individual efforts. Staiti collected the men's award due to his second-place finish in the 100  butterfly, registering the quickest time of any Wheaton swimmer at 52.72 seconds. He also posted the best Thunder time mark in the 50 freestyle event. Staiti pulled double-duty in the relay competitions, swimming the first leg of the 400 freestyle and anchoring the 200 medley, helping his Thunder teams to runner-up finishes in both events. Guzy competed in his first collegiate event and took top spot in the one-meter diving routine with a score of 141.75. He then posted a mark of 146.85 in the three-meter dive. 
 
The Wheaton women also fell against Chicago, but did see Olivia Wiebe pick up the weekly swimming CCIW honors thanks to her runner-up in the 200 backstroke race over the weekend. Her time of 2:14.02 was the fastest of any Wheaton swimmer involved. She then paired up with three of her Thunder teammates to take second place in the 400 freestyle relay event as the fastest Wheaton team and posted the quickest leg times of the group.
 
Head coach Jacob Ayers has been the head of the program since March of 2017.
 
SERIES HISTORY
The totals are impressive. The MKE women lead the all-time series with Wheaton by a count of 28-3 and have won the past 19 head-to-head meetings. The most recent was a 160-44 decision last winter, finishing with eight individual victories and six runner-up finishes at the meet, along with a pair of relay wins. For the men, the total count is even more impressive at 30-1, also claiming victory in 19 straight. The most recent addition was last season, a 127-73 decision included seven individual victories in the meet, with Jack Garcia leading the way with a pair of wins in the 200 freestyle and 100 free.
 
OOPS SHE DID IT AGAIN
Julie Rebek was at it again, claiming her second-straight Horizon League Diver of the Week honors Nov. 2 with a strong showing in the tight dual-meet win over IUPUI. Rebek added her third and fourth individual victories on the young season, claiming wins on both diving boards against the Jaguars, with her points playing a major role in the 153-147 Milwaukee victory.
 
Her score of 278.03 on the 1-meter topped the field and was also an NCAA zone-qualifying total. On the 3-meter, Rebek won by almost 30 points, finishing with 287.48. It's the first time an MKE diver has won back-to-back league awards since McKenzie Sanchez opened the 2019-20 season with four consecutive awards.
 
BRING ON THE LEAGUE ACCOLADES
It has been a strong start to the campaign for both sides, with the Panthers already up to five Horizon League weekly awards to their credit. In addition to the pair from Julie Rebek, MKE has also seen Erika Thomas (October 26), Nik Wheeler (October 19), and diver Jared Kleczka (October 19) pick up conference weekly honors.
 
MAKING IT LOOK EASY
A pair of student-athletes on the women's side have gotten off to amazing starts this season. Freshman Erika Thomas has been nothing short of incredible, claiming individual victories in all eight of her races this season (100 free x 1, 100 fly x 2, 200 fly x 3, 200 IM x 1, 400 IM x 1) as well as part of numerous winning relays. Makaila Scheiblein is just a touch behind that perfect standard, claiming individual victories in six of her seven events on the campaign (100 breast x3, 200 breast x3).
 
LAST TIME OUT
The women pulled out a close victory, topping IUPUI by a final score of 153-147 at the Klotsche Natatorium in the home opener for the 2022-23 campaign. Big winners for the Panthers included Julie Rebek, Makaila Scheiblein, and Erika Thomas, who each came through with two individual victories apiece. The 200 medley relay team also came out on top, offsetting a pair of pool records set on the afternoon by the Jaguars.
 
The men put up competitive swims all day but fell to a very good IUPUI team. The Jaguars out-touched the Panthers all day and then topped their performance off with pool-record showings in the 100 butterfly and both breaststroke events to record the 213-87 victory and improve to 6-2 on the season. Jay Jensen recorded the only event victory on the afternoon for MKE as part of a strong performance for him. The diving team also had a stellar meet against the Jags.
 
UP NEXT
The season rolls on with a trip to the three-day House of Champions Invitational, hosted by IUPUI in Indianapolis. Day one of the event is set for Thursday, November 17.