UW-Milwaukee, Butler, North Dakota vs. Illinois-Chicago

CHICAGO, Illinois, November 10. JUNIORS Molly Finn and Ashley Hall each won twice to lead the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's swimming & diving team to victories over the University of Illinois at Chicago and Butler University on Saturday.

Sophomores Shannon Berndt and Kerry Rossow and freshman Danielle Wenger also added individual wins as the Panthers downed the Flames, 195-104, and the Bulldogs, 246-45.

"It was a good day overall for us," UWM head coach Dave Griffore said. "I'll take the wins. We had some great swims, but we are still trying to put it all together and we are not there yet."

Finn won the 200 butterfly and 400 IM, while also taking second in the 100 fly. Hall won both diving events, marking the third time this season she has accomplished the feat.

Finn recorded a time of 2:08.36 in the 200 fly, with senior Briana Fergusson close behind, taking third in 2:14.26. Finn's winning time in the 400 IM was 4:37.71 and her time in the 100 fly was a season-best 59.17.

Hall led the way for UWM on the one-meter board, as the Panthers placed four in the top five. Hall won with 233.10 points, with senior Megan McLoone (third with 204.50), sophomore Rachel Grimm (fourth with 202.65) and freshman Lauren Roy (fifth with 199.70) also in the mix. She won the three-meter competition with a total of 265.35 points, with Grimm second at 229.85.

Other winners for UWM included Berndt in the 200 breaststroke in 2:25.37 and Rossow in the 100 breast in 1:06.54. She also took second in the 200 breast in 2:26.44, while Berndt was third in the 100 in 1:07.41.

Wenger won the 500 freestyle in a season-best 5:08.81, knocking over nine seconds off her previous best. She also took second in the 1,650 free in 17:53.50.

"Danielle Wenger's 500 was what we were waiting for," Griffore said. "It was a solid day for a lot of people today."

The 200 medley relay of junior Kate Riebe, Rossow, freshman Amanda Nelson and senior Jess Kelly was also victorious, winning in 1:49.83.

The UW-Milwaukee men were led by Junior Robby Leibold and sophomore Patrick Rongitsch, who each won twice, in splitting with the University of Illinois at Chicago and North Dakota.

Sophomore Jeremy Waldhart also added an individual victory as the Panthers beat the Fighting Sioux, 159-139, but fell to the Flames, 161-138.

"We knew it was going to be a tough meet, they just pulled away at the end," UWM head coach Dave Griffore said. "I was pleased with our performance overall. We know will we will have a chance to swim against them [UIC] again when it counts."

Leibold continued his impressive start to the season, winning two more times in addition to a third-place finish. He now has nine wins in 14 races this season.

He won the 1,650 freestyle in 16:19.92 and then added a win in the 500 free with a season-best time of 4:42.26. He also placed third in the 200 fly in a time of 1:55.67.

Rongitsch won both boards, recording point totals of 271.40 on the one-meter and 270.10 on the three-meter board.

Waldhart won for the third time this season, taking first in the 200 backstroke in a season-best time of 1:56.26.

Senior Chase Gravengood had a solid meet, contributing three second-place finishes to help out the Panther effort. He took second in the 200 breaststroke (2:12.59), the 100 butterfly (51.49) and the 400 IM (4:13.02). In the 200 breast, he was touched out of a victory by less then a half-second.

Milwaukee will be off until the end of the month. The swimmers will head to the Wheaton Invitational and the divers will hit the road for the Miami (OH) Invitational at that time. Each of those meets is scheduled for Nov. 30 and Dec. 1.

Special thanks to UW-Milwaukee for contributing this report.

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