Swimming & Diving Prepare For Final Home Appearance

Posted: Wednesday, January 25, 2006

EAU CLAIRE - The UW-Eau Claire men's and women's swimming and diving teams look to continue post-break success when they host UW-Whitewater this Friday at the McPhee Pool in the last home meet of the season and second to last meet before the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Championships.

The Blugold women are 0-2 in WIAC dual meets and 2-2 in all dual meets this year. They defeated MSU-Mankato in their first dual meet of the year, but then fell to UW-Stevens Point a week later. In December, Eau Claire fell to WIAC rival UW-La Crosse. The team then came back strong after their break, which included events in Puerto Rico, and defeated Macalester College last Friday at Macalester. Eau Claire also captured second place in the Gene Davis Invitational out of nine teams and third out of six teams in the WIAC Conference Relays.

The Blugolds performed well at their latest meet, the 136-106 victory over Macalester College. Cori Severson (Sr.-Brainerd, MN) broke the pool record in the 100-meter freestyle on a 1:01.67 finish. Severson teamed up with Emily Diehl (So.-Prairie du Sac/Sauk Prairie), Annie Gorman (Sr.-Menomonie), and Kyle Welke (So.-Eau Claire/North) to set another pool record, this one being on a 1:54.85 200-meter freestyle race. The team's 136 points were also the most for the team in any dual meet this year.

The men are also 0-2 in conference dual meets while going 1-3 in all the dual meets. The team lost to MSU-Mankato, Stevens Point and La Crosse. Like the women's team, they came back from break to find victory with a 189-35 blowout victory over Macalester College. The Blugolds have also nabbed third at the nine-team Gene Davis Invitational and another third at the WIAC Conference Relays out of six opponents.

Eau Claire dominated Macalester College by winning 12 out of 13 events. There were many multiple winners. Patrick Finley (Fr.-Waunakee) was the champ in the 200-meter freestyle with a 2:07.13 time and in the 400-meter freestyle with a 4:31.96 time. Cale Schmidt-Jackson (Jr.-Duluth, MN/East) took first in the 200-meter individual medley in 2:22.58. He then took the top place in the 100-meter breaststroke on a 1:13.95 effort. Schmidt-Jackson joined Brian Schwartz (Jr.-Bemidji, MN), Chris Petersen (Fr.-Green Bay/Ashwaubenon), and Brian Hauerwas (So.-Racine/CASE) for a first-place 2:09.69 200-yard medley relay. Peter Shafe (Jr.-Burlington), Nick Peterson (Jr.-Lake Elmo, MN/North St. Paul), Finley, and Schwartz took home another relay prize with their 1:43.36 200-meter freestyle race. The 189 points are the most points all year for Eau Claire in dual meets and make for the lone dual meet victory.

All Blugold teams defeated the Warhawks in last year's meet. The women won 150-85 while the men conquered by a 138-105 final. For both teams, that meet came in the middle of four straight dual meet victories. The men's Warhawk team has just lost one dual meet out of nine, that loss being to Loras College, and has placed well in all events. The women have performed well, too, not having lost a single dual meet yet in ten such events.

The event begins at 5:00 p.m. this Friday in the McPhee Pool.