Feb. 21, 2012

MILWAUKEE - The 2012 Horizon League Championships are next on the schedule for the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's swimming & diving team. The event will take place at the Walter Schroeder Aquatic Center in Brown Deer, Wis., starting Wednesday and concluding Saturday evening.

The following link will be updated all weekend and serve as the one page that will get you all of the information you will need for the 2012 Horizon League Championships.

Video Preview:
The Black & Gold Network talked to Milwaukee sophomores Diana Diel and Emily McClellan in advance of the 2012 Horizon League Championships this week in Brown Deer. The Panthers, who are hosting the meet, are looking to for a championship after three-straight runner-up finishes.

Ticket Prices
Adult All Session Pass: $30.00
Adult Individual All Day Pass: $15.00
Adult Individual Single-Session: $8.00
Seniors/Student* All Session Pass: $20.00
Seniors/Student* All Day Pass: $10.00
Seniors/Student* Single-Session: $6.00
*Anyone under 17 w/valid high school student ID • Seniors: 60 and over • Students with valid HL ID admitted free

SCOUTING THE MEET:
After another tremendous regular season, Milwaukee heads to the Horizon League Championships in search of their second league title in school history. The Panthers have combined to break eight school records, six Klotsche records and - having spent nearly the entire season on the road -countless pool records from other schools.

Milwaukee has finished runner-up three-straight years at the league championships, and seems poised to make another run at the crown this year. UWM will look to add their second championship banner, with the first coming in 2001.

This year, live video of the final heats can be seen each night on the Horizon League Network. Access to the events and highlights can be viewed by logging onto HorizonLeague.org. Daily results can also be found on the Horizon League website.

The schedule looks like this: (all times CST)
Diving Preliminaries:
Daily at 1:30 p.m.
Day 1 Finals: men's 3-meter
Day 2 Finals: women's 1-meter
Day 3 Finals: men's 1-meter
Day 4 Finals: women's 3-meter

Swimming Preliminaries:
Daily at 10 a.m. (Thur.- Sat.)
Swimming Finals:
Wednesday at 7 p.m., Thursday-Saturday at 6:30 p.m.
Day 1 Finals: 200 Free Relay, 1000 Free, 200 Medley Relay
Day 2 Finals: 500 Free, 200 IM, 50 Free, 400 Medley Relay
Day 3 Finals: 400 IM, 100 Fly, 200 Free, 100 Breast, 100 Back, 800 Free Relay
Day 4 Finals: 1650 Free, 200 Back, 100 Free, 200 Breast, 200 Fly, 400 Free Relay

LAST TIME IN THE POOL:
Milwaukee wrapped up a tremendous year in the pool with a show of sheer dominance, knocking off defending-champion Green Bay, 163-78, in front of a packed Klotsche Natatorium in the final meet of the regular season.

Seniors Heidi Niespodzany and Sarah Wardecke combined to win four events on senior day to lead UWM to the lopsided victory. In all, the Panthers won all but two events on the day en route to their largest margin of victory on the season.

MAKING NOISE IN THE POLLS:
The most recent poll of the CollegeSwimming.com Mid-Major Dual Meet Championship was released in mid-February and the women dropped down just a bit, coming in at No. 16 after being ranked No. 13 in the last poll. The Panthers received 240.49 points and are the lone Horizon League team in the top-25.

LAST YEAR:
Milwaukee was crowned league champion in six events in a second-place showing at the league meet last year. Then-freshman Emily McClellan set three league records to lead UWM.

The Panthers ended the meet with 685 points, with Green Bay taking the title for the seventh-straight season with 788.5. Host Cleveland State was third with 625.5, Wright State fourth at 558, UIC fifth with 453, Youngstown State sixth with 308.5, Valparaiso seventh at 126 and Butler rounding out the standings with 93.5.

UP NEXT:
The Panthers' season will come to a close as a team, but any individual NCAA qualifiers will continue on.