MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee men's and women's swimming & diving programs are set to compete in a pair of meets this weekend, starting with a home dual meet against UIC on Friday.
 
After hosting UIC at 4 PM on Friday, the Panthers will travel Saturday to IUPUI for a tri-meet with the Jaguars and Cleveland State for their first conference meet of the season. The tri-meet is scheduled for 1 PM central.
 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
 
UIC – On the men's side, the Panthers are 4-14-1 in the all-time series with the Flames, with meets dating back to 2001. UIC has taken the win in the last three matchups, most recently a 104-195 decision in Chicago.
 
Coming off a fifth-place finish in last season's MAC Championship, UIC returns two All-MAC selections, including 3 meter diving champion Cole Tremewan. The Flames come into the meet 1-1 on the season, with a loss to Ball State and a win over Southern Indiana under their belts.
 
On the women's side of the pool, Milwaukee is 13-6 all-time against UIC, in a series dating back to 2001. In nine home meets against the Flames, Milwaukee is 8-1, winning the last eight meets where the Panthers played host. In the last matchup between the two programs, UIC came out on top with a 123.5-176.5 decision in Chicago.
 
UIC finished seventh in the MVC last season and returns 3 meter dive champion Ciara MCliment along with 200 yard breaststroke record holder Taira Juronis. The Flames are currently 1-1 in dual meets, with a win over Butler and a loss to Illinois State. UIC also competed in a quad meet at Indiana State, going 2-1 with wins over Southern Indiana and Evansville.
 
IUPUI – The Panthers are 1-3 all-time in dual meets against the Jaguars on the men's side, in a series dating back to just 2014. Milwaukee has lost their last three matchups with IUPUI, most recently an 87-213 loss at the Klotche Natatorium in October of 2022.
 
After a runner-up finish at last year's Horizon League Championships, IUPUI's men's team is currently 5-0 in dual meets. Most recently, the Jaguars were at the Indiana Intercollegiates meet, where they placed second out of ten programs. One of the more notable returners from last year's runner-up team is Logan Kelly, the league's 2022-23 Swim & Dive Athlete of the Year and Olympic Qualifier. They also return the Horizon League Freshman of the year in Sebastian Otero.
 
Milwaukee's women's program is 3-1 all-time in dual meets against IUPUI, also dating back to 2014. The Panthers have won the last two meetings by scores of 155-144 and 153-147, with the most recent coming in October of 2022.
 
The IUPUI women also finished last season as the runners-up at the Horizon League Championships and are currently 3-3 with a third-place finish at the Indiana Intercollegiates. The Jaguars return multiple upperclassmen this season, including 2023 Horizon League Championship Co-Swimmer of the meet Emmaleigh Zietlow.
 
CLEVELAND STATE – In just one dual meet between the two schools, Milwaukee's men's program is 0-1 against Cleveland State, while the women's program is 1-0. In that meet, which occurred in October of 2019, the men fell 129-171, and the women took a 165.5-132.5 victory.
 
After a third-place finish at last year's Horizon League Championships, Cleveland State's men's program is currently 0-1, with a loss to Miami (OH) in their only meet so far. Junior Viking Jackson Nester is coming off two straight 400 yard IM conference championship performances, and is the team's most noteworthy returner.
 
The Viking's women's program finished last year at the fifth spot in the Horizon League and are currently 0-2, with losses to Miami (OH) and Bowling Green.
 
LAST TIME OUT
 
MEN - The Milwaukee men's swimming & diving program put together a strong showing at the Wisconsin Showcase on Saturday, their first official meet of the 2023-24 season.
 
"The Wisconsin Showcase is one of our favorite meets of the year, and we appreciate all the Wisconsin colleges and universities for joining us," head coach Kyle Clements said. "This meet provides us with so many opportunities. It gives us the chance to race some really fast opposition, it gives us a chance to go swim some events that we have yet to attempt this year, and it gives us a chance to see and race siblings, friends, and former teammates that swim at different Wisconsin schools."
     
Panthers recording first place finishes at the meet include Charlie House, Jay Jensen, Jackson Hodek, Nicholas Klenner, Victor Kostov, and Adam St. John. Milwaukee's 200 yard medley relay team also recorded a first place finish with a time of 1:35.09.
 
Jensen's wins came in the 200 yard freestyle and the 400 yard individual medley. His time of 4:08.58 in the 400 yard IM was nearly nine seconds faster than the second place finisher, Hodek.
 
St. John dominated the diving boards, winning the 1 meter dive with a score of 322.2, and the 3 meter dive with a score of 318.55. The senior diver's combined score of 640.75 was nearly 140 points better than the second place finisher.

House finished first in the 100 yard freestyle, touching the wall in 47.12 seconds. Hodek managed a time of 4:49.09 in the 500 yard freestyle, while Klenner's win came in the 200 yard backstroke with a time of 1:55.07. Kostov's top finish came in the 200 yard individual medley with a time of 1:58.62.
 
Milwaukee managed to sweep the top spots in the 200 yard freestyle, as Jensen, House, and Nik Wheeler all finished more than two seconds faster than the fourth place finisher. The Panthers swept the next event of the day as well, finishing 1-4 in the 500 yard freestyle.
 
WOMEN - The Milwaukee women's swimming & diving program dominated the competition Saturday at the Wisconsin Showcase, winning all but one event on the afternoon.
  
The Panthers picked up individual first place finishes from Nhia Caras, Noelle Bryan, Erika Thomas, Janelle Schulz, Mara Freeman, Skylar Ruggles, Hanna DeGrace, Allie Buytendorp, and Julie Rebek. Also securing top finishes were the 200 yard free relay and 200 yard medley relay teams with times of 1:38.98 and 1:48.01, respectively.
 
Schulz recorded the most first-place finishes of the day, recording the top spot in the 500 yard freestyle, 100 yard breaststroke, and 200 yard individual medley. Thomas also had multiple top finishes, placing first in the 200 yard freestyle and the 400 yard individual medley.
 
Rebek easily took the top spots on the diving boards, winning the 1 meter and 3 meter events by a combined 93 points. The senior diver scored 281.25 in the 1 meter, and 296.33 in the 3 meter.

Caras took the top spot in the 50 yard freestyle, touching the wall in 24.32 seconds, after which Bryan finished first in the 100 yard freestyle with a time of 53.95. Freeman's time of 58.48 secured the top spot in the 100 yard backstroke, and Ruggles took first in the 200 yard backstroke with a time of 2:06.1. DeGrace's top finish came in the 200 yard breaststroke came in a time of 2:27.19, while Buytendorp finished first in the 100 yard butterfly with a time of 1:00.1.
 
Joining Schulz in the top ranks of the 500 yard freestyle were Grace Hudson and Antoni Haupt, helping Milwaukee secure a sweep of the top spots for that event. The Panthers also swept the top spots in the 100 yard backstroke and the 100 yard butterfly.
 
"For our team, this was the next step in our season progression," Clements continued. "We have started to feel the effects of our training. The coaching staff is hearing about the fatigue and sore muscles, but we are also seeing improvement daily. More importantly, the team is seeing that improvement, which makes them look forward to all the fast swims in their near future. I love the path that we are on, and I can't wait to race again."

HORIZON LEAGUE HONORS

Following a pair of dominating performances last Saturday at the Wisconsin Showcase, St. John and Rebek were named the Horizon League Divers of the Week, the league office announced Wednesday.
 
In his first competition of the young season, St. John started strong, winning both the 3 meter and 1 meter dives at the Wisconsin Showcase in dominant fashion. The senior diver put together scores of 318.55 (3 meter) and 322.2 (1 meter) at the event, winning by an average of nearly 70 points per height.
 
Rebek topped her competition in similar fashion, winning the 1 meter and 3 meter dives by more than 90 points. In her second meet of the year, Rebek scored 281.25 (1 meter) and 296.33 (3 meter).
 
St. John and Rebek are the first Panthers to win the award yet this season.
 
UP NEXT
 
After a conference tri-meet on the road, the Panthers will play host to Davenport and Wheaton College in back-to-back dual meets. Davenport will make the trip to Milwaukee for a 3 PM start on Friday, November 3, followed by Wheaton at 1 PM on Saturday, November 4. Both meets will be held at the Klotsche Natatorium.