Printer-friendly format Email this article Senior Kristina Hansen

Milwaukee Swim Team Set For Weekend Action At Falcon Invitational

Red-hot women's team looks to close out 2008 on high note

Dec. 2, 2008

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's swimming & diving team looks to finish of the 2008 portion of the calendar on a high note when it heads to the Falcon Invitational this weekend. The two-day meet, hosted by UW-River Falls, starts at 9 a.m. both Friday and Saturday in Minneapolis, Minn., and features 15 schools from all levels of NCAA competition.

Complete Release in PDF Format

SCOUTING THE MEET:
UWM will be making its first-ever appearance at the Falcon Invitational and will be joined there by a long list of competitors. The schools will be split into two divisions for the weekend, with Milwaukee in the "White Division" and swimming against squads from Gustavus Adolphus, UW-La Crosse, Luther College, MSU-Mankato, Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. Other schools at the meet include the following: UW-Eau Claire, Grinnell College, MSU-Moorhead, St. Benedict, St. John's, St. Thomas, UW-Whitewater and UW-River Falls.

LAST TIME IN THE POOL:
The women extended their dual-win streak to 11-straight Nov. 22, topping Valparaiso by a final score of 159-64 in a Horizon League dual meet. Freshman Sarah Wardecke led the way with two individual victories and seven others also claimed individual wins to help the Panthers top the Crusaders for the 14th-straight time in the all-times series.

Wardecke was strong again, winning the 50 freestyle in a time of 25.00 while also topping the field in the 100 breaststroke in 1:06.92.

In addition to Wardecke, seniors Molly Finn and Kristina Hansen, junior Jenny Westfall, sophomores Danielle Wenger, Ellie Gross and Kelsey George, freshman Danielle Chapman and the 200 free relay all recorded wins at the meet.

Finn topped the field in the 200 IM in a time of 2:14.64 and also came in second in the 100 backstroke in 1:03.29. Hansen edged out Finn in the 100 back, touching the wall in a time of 1:03.09. Westfall won the 1000 freestyle, heading a 1-2-3 finish for UWM in the event. Wenger also topped a 1-2-3 Milwaukee finish in the 200 freestyle, winning in 1:59.86. Gross won the 500 free in a time of 5:13.94, George the one-meter diving event with a point total of 227.85 and Chapman the 100 butterfly in 1:03.69. The 200 freestyle relay team closed out the meet with a victory in 1:41.36.

FIRST POLL IS RELEASED:
The first mid-major poll of the season was released by CollegeSwimming.com and Milwaukee enters at No. 15 with 212.23 points. The CSCAA/CollegeSwimming.com Mid-Major Division I rankings, produced since 2002, is an objective ranking system based on each team's best dual meet line-up. Miami (Ohio) leads the way with 234.97 points, with UWM the only Horizon League school in the top 25 of the poll.

WINNING STREAK CONTINUES:
With the defeat of Valparaiso, the women are now 11-2 in dual meets this season. The 11 victories ties the school record, first set in 1991-92. The Panthers are also on an 11-dual win streak, the second-longest in program history (the record is 13).

FIRST IMPRESSIONS:
Freshman Sarah Wardecke continues her strong season, winning 10 times and placing second four times in her 14 races so far this year. She has already put her name in the record book as well. She broke the school freshman record of 52.64 (formerly held by Lindsay Caldwell) in the 100 free when she won in 52.25 against Wright State Oct. 31.

SCHEDULE CHANGE:
The team announced a schedule change for later this season. The team was originally scheduled to swim at Green Bay January 31 with a 1 p.m. start time. That league dual meet has now been changed to February 7 at 3 p.m., still up in Green Bay.

UP NEXT:
Milwaukee is done swimming for the semester and does not return to action until January 23 of 2009. In the meantime, the team will head to Florida for its annual training trip from Jan. 6-15.