Drew Teduits, Nick Schafer and Matt Hutchins Set Pool Records; Wisconsin Downs UW-Milwaukee

Photo Credit: Griffin Scott

MADISON – Drew Teduits, Nick Schafer and Matt Hutchins each set individual pool records Friday night to lead the Wisconsin swimming and diving teams to a sweep of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The Badger men came out ahead 145-93, while the women’s team picked up a 137-72 victory.

Wisconsin Press Release

The pool record board was rewritten at the UW Natatorium on Friday, as three new marks were posted and the Wisconsin swimming and diving program had an impressive display in victory over in-state foe UW-Milwaukee.

Their final weekend competing at the Nat, seniors Nick Schafer and Drew teDuits stole the show with pool records in the 200-yard breaststroke and 200-yard backstroke, respectively, while sophomore Matt Hutchins joined in on the fun with a pool record of his own in the 1650-yard freestyle.

On the day, Wisconsin won all but one event, as the UW men came away with a 145-93 victory and the women posted a 137-72 win.

“I thought we were pretty good today and Milwaukee is a solid team,” UW head coach Whitney Hite said. “We’re closing in on conference championships at this point in the season, so I thought we did a nice job preparing.”

In the 200-yard backstroke, teDuits turned heads and broke his two-year-old pool record by touching in one minute, 42.20 seconds. On the women’s side for UW, Madison Blaydes achieved her first individual victory of the season with a time of 2:02.96.

“The pool record by Drew in the backstroke was really good for this point in the season,” Hite said. “It’s a good sign for what’s ahead with him.”

Schafer left his mark in the 200-yard breaststroke, winning the event in 1:55.52 to break a 10-year-old UW Natatorium pool record. The women’s duo of Anna Meinholz (2:18.82) and Maria Carlson (2:18.87) captured first and second for UW in the event.

“The 200 breaststroke out of Nick was really outstanding,” Hite said. “Any time you break a pool record it’s great, especially since this pool has been around for some time and has had some very good swimmers come through these halls.”

Wisconsin swept the distance events, beginning with sophomores Hutchins and Danielle Valley in the 1650-yard freestyle. Hutchins’ time of 15:17.17 won the event and broke the previous pool record set in 2013, while Valley touched in 16:35.63.

Seniors Katie Delaney and Nick Caldwell led the way in the 500 freestyle, as both finished in first place with times 5:03.80 and 4:30.15, respectively.

In the day’s opening event, it was Annie Tamblyn, Meinholz, Ivy Martin and Chase Kinney who combined to win the 200-yard medley relay in 1:40.43. Representing the men was teDuits, Schafer, Austin Byrd and Cannon Clifton, who cruised to victory with a time of 1:30.41.

Closing in on their final meets at the Nat, seniors Caroline Palm and Delaney gave it there all in the 200-yard freestyle and finished first and third with times of 1:50.46 and 1:55.52, respectively. Canberra, Australia, native Sean Maloney won the event for the UW men.

Madison native and senior Martin, who has yet to lose in the 50-yard freestyle this season, continued her reign by placing first in 22.36. Not far behind was sophomore Kinney (22.76). On the men’s side, teDuits took first for the men in 21.04 and Brett Pinfold finished second (21.19).

Senior Aja Van Hout’s time of 4:17.12 earned her the win in the 400-yard individual medley, as she just narrowly missed the pool record of 4:16.91. Freshman Max Dolan led the way for the UW men, picking up a first-place finish in dominant fashion with his time of 3:57.44.

Palm continued to impress in the 100-yard freestyle, winning the event and clocking in with a personal best time of 51.85. Sophomores Clifton (44.76) and Ryan Barsanti (46.62) finished first and second for the men.

To close out the meet, Wisconsin coasted to wins in the 200-yard freestyle relay. For the women, it was Martin, Kinney, Van Hout and Tamblyn finishing in 1:30.64, while Clifton, Pinfold, Caldwell and Ryan O’Donnell touched first for the men in 1:22.72.

“Any time you can break some pool records and have some pretty great performances, it bodes well for what’s ahead,” Hite said. “It’s not surprising, because we’ve been swimming well all season and I expect that to continue as we go into the final part of our season.”

Wisconsin is back in action Saturday against UW-Green Bay in what will mark the final dual meet of the regular season and Senior Day. Swimming is set to begin at 11 a.m. inside the UW Natatorium.

UW-Milwaukee Men’s Press Release

K.J. Heger broke his own school record to lead the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men’s swimming & diving team in a narrow, 145-93 loss to Wisconsin Friday afternoon from the UW Natatorium.

“This was a good meet for us, ending our season with another fast performance,” head coach Kyle Clements said. “It was good to start off with some great diving performances and we carried on from there. Everything was solid. We’re right at that point where we’re starting to get tired from training and we’re getting ready to start resting for post season. We had a nice dual meet season and now we’re ready to show what we’ve been working for all year during the championship season.”

In the final regular-season meet of his college career, Heger stole the show. The senior dominated all competition with a resounding score of 379.65 on three-meter to break his own school record set last season, also resetting the Badger pool record. He has now broken the school three-meter record an incredible five times thus far in his Panther career.

Just behind Heger, Andy LaFleur came in third overall at 288.34, with Andres Villa fourth at 287.55.

Heger also posted an emphatic win in the one-meter competition, topping the field with a score of 328.27. LaFleur posted a season-best score, actually tying with Villa for third at 289.05.

Rob Miller also notched a big win for Milwaukee on the day. The senior posted an in-season best time of 1:56.21, over a full second ahead of the next swimmer. Fellow senior Ryan Finke was third at 1:58.12 and Yevgeniy Foster was fourth overall.

In the 400 IM, Nic Halverson and J.J. Melville finished 2-3 overall. Halverson posted his fasted in-season time of the year at 4:11.57 for second with Melville not far behind for third.

Max Gatzke led a trio of Panthers in the 500 free. The junior came in second overall at 4:45.89, just ahead to Tim Halverson (4:50.44) and Finke (5:06.38).

Gatzke posted one other second-place showing on the day, battling hard in the mile and touching the wall at 16:02.11 in his first time competing in the event this season.

UWM also had a runner-up finish in the 200 free relay. Mike Lucchesi, Tanner Nimke, Erik Wahlgren and Nick Menninga teamed up to post a time of 1:24.51 for second to close out the meet.

The Panthers now get ready to host the Horizon League Championships from Feb. 25-28 just up the road at Walter Schroeder Aquatic Center in Brown Deer, Wis.

UW-Milwaukee Women’s Press Release

Freshman Charli Wike and the 200 free relay each tallied wins on the day for the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women’s swimming & diving team in a close 145-93 loss to Wisconsin Friday afternoon from the UW Natatorium.

For the second-straight week, Wike took first in the 200 breaststroke. The freshman posted a time of 2:24.53 for the win, the third-straight time out she’s won the event. Adrienne DiFoggio was second at 2:27.10, just ahead of Natalie O’Connell (2:27.53) for third.

UWM also took the top spot in the 200 free relay. Anna Yontz, Sierra Townsend, Arica Smith and Mandie Siehs teamed up to post a winning time of 1:36.30, just shy of their best time this semester.

Natalie Johnson posted a pair of runner-up finishes on the day for Milwaukee. The sophomore started her day by taking second in the mile with a strong time of 17:32.32, just ahead of Kelly Theis (second) and Abby Duke (third).

Johnson also came in second in the 500 free, touching the wall at 5:04.94, just missing the top spot by one second. Theis was second at 5:25.91, with Katie Duranso and Duke right behind.

In the 200 backstroke, freshman Sara Bentley flirted with her PR, taking second overall in 2:05.75. Classmate Maddy Nelson was close behind at 2:08.98 for fourth.

Mandie Siehs also had a second-place showing for Milwaukee against the Badgers. The newcomer touched the wall at 1:55.44 in the 200 free, just touching out a Wisconsin swimming for the silver medal.

In diving, Rachel Margis continued to do well. The three-time defending Horizon League Diver of the Week finished just second on both boards. Margis posted a score of 291.45 on the one-meter, a mere two points shy of the win. Her score of 313.50 on three-meter was just behind her season best and also was good enough for second on the day.

The Panthers now get ready to host the Horizon League Championships from Feb. 25-28 just up the road at Walter Schroeder Aquatic Center in Brown Deer, Wis.

UW-Milwaukee vs. Wisconsin Dual Meet – Results

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