Falcon Invitational: Day One

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota, December 5. STRONG performances across the board led the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's swimming & diving team to a first-place standing after day one of the Falcon Invitational at the University Aquatic Center. The Panthers currently top the field with 455 points, well ahead of North Dakota and its second-place, 347 point total.

Other teams rounding out the "White Division" include Minnesota State in third with 249 points, South Dakota fourth with 206, Minnesota fifth with 185, Gustavus Adolphus sixth with 184 points and UW-La Crosse seventh at 79 points.

Sophomore Jake Kalinowski recorded the only individual win, but it was a good one. He won the 50 freestyle in 20.84 seconds after going 20.72 in the morning preliminaries. That approached Josh Baseheart's school mark of 20.23 and easily topped Kalinowski's former career-best mark of 21.03 set last season.

Kalinowski also recorded a fifth-place showing in the 200 freestyle in 1:43.42 and led off the 200 freestyle relay team that placed second to start the meet. He teamed with senior Andrew Belton, junior Ed Lichinsky and freshman Kyle Trelka in 1:23.78, a season-best for the team and close to the school mark of 1:23.17 in the race. They were just touched-out of the win on the day, as North Dakota pulled out the victory in 1:23.46.

The 100 butterfly was another highlight for UWM, as the team placed five swimmers in the eight-person championship heat. Freshman Jordan Diel led the way, taking second in 49.99. His time of 49.75 in the preliminaries broke the Milwaukee freshmen record in the event of 49.80 held by Andrew Babcock. In addition to Diel, Lichinsky was fourth in 51.68, while freshmen Sky Boggio (sixth), Evan Green (seventh) and Greg Wise (eighth) all helped out.

Trelka gave Milwaukee a second-place finish in the 100 backstroke in a time of 52.59, while freshman Sam Keele was third in the 100 breaststroke in 58.07 and junior Jeremy Waldhart third in the 200 IM in 1:56.12.

Sophomore Dan Heraly was the Panthers top finisher in the 500 freestyle, touching the wall in a season-best 4:41.80 to take fourth. In the three-meter diving event, freshman Jake Koll crushed his season-best with a third-place, 268.85 point showing. His previous high this season had been 225.30 points.

For the women, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's swimming & diving team sits in second place after day one of the Falcon Invitational. The two-day meet, which began Friday, sees the Panthers with a team point total of 372, trailing only North Dakota and its point total of 406.

Senior Ashley Hall and junior Bailey Nennig topped the list of highlights, with Hall winning the one-meter diving event and Nennig nearly breaking the school record in the 200 IM.

Point totals of the remaining teams in the "White Division" include Minnesota in third with 322, South Dakota and Minnesota State tied for fourth with 243 and UW-La Crosse sixth with 119 points.

Hall led a strong showing for the UWM diving team, as the Panthers finished first, third and fourth in the event. Hall recorded 251.20 points and sophomores Kelsey George (third at 238.35) and Lauren Roy (fourth at 228.50) also contributed.

Nennig's winning time of 2:07.12 in the 200 IM nearly broke the school record of 2:06.75, currently held by senior Molly Finn. Finn actually finished second in today's race behind Nennig in 2:08.91. Nennig also chipped in with a fourth place effort in the 100 breaststroke in 1:06.18, while Finn was third in the 100 butterfly in 57.87. That race was a tight one, as just over three-fourths of a second separated first from third.

Milwaukee also got a strong showing in the 500 freestyle, as sophomore Danielle Wenger was second in a season-best 5:04.92 – less than a second off the school mark – and sophomore Ellie Gross was third in a season-best 5:08.10.

Special thanks to UW-Milwaukee for contributing this report.

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