The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater swimming and diving program opened the season with a dual meet at Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago Saturday afternoon. The Warhawk women won the dual 110-105 while the men fell 124-105.
UW-W's 200 yard medley relay squad got the meet started off with a win in the first event.
Gianna Gnewuch (Madison, Wis./Verona Area),
Gabby Sponseller (Goshen, Ind./Concord),
Naomi Hamerla (Lac Du Flambeau, Wis./Lakeland Union), and
Zaria Terry (Madison, Wis./La Follette) combined for a time of 1:56.00 to win the event while
Emily Connell (New Berlin, Wis./Eisenhower),
Grace Jasken (Shakopee, Minn./Shakopee),
Ciara Hynes (Eureka, Mo./Eureka), and
Ava Hennig (Elk Grove Village, Ill./Elk Grove) teamed up for a third-place finish in the event.
Ethan Coons (Neenah, Wis./Neenah),
Donny Gramer (Sycamore, Ill./Sycamore), Matt Ozog, and
Ethan Bergman (Racine, Wis./Bradford) finished second for the men with a time of 1:40.42 in the event.
Dom Schlueter (South Elgin, Ill./South Elgin) was the first swimmer to touch the wall in the 200 yard freestyle registering a time of 1:48.49. He also won the 100 with a time of 48.00. Terry posted a time of 25.16 in the 50 free to win the event by nearly two seconds.
Ethan Bergman (Racine, Wis./Bradford) had a close finish on the men's side, out-touching IIT by two-tenths of a second for a time of 22.34 for the win.
Daniel Keller (Omaha, Neb./Papillion-LaVista) and Joey Wenszell finished 1-2 in the 200 individual medley registering times of 2:04.90 and 2:07.81 respectively.
Hamerla added a first in the 100 butterfly posting a time of 1:04.83, besting the competition by nearly three seconds. The men's 100 fly was a photo finish with Ozog winning the event by three-hundredths of a second with a time of 55.33.
Gnewuch and Hamerla took the top two spots in the 100 backstroke with times of 1:03.37 and 1:07.37 respectively. Wenszell was the top finisher in the event for the men posting a time of 56.83.
The Warhawks' 400 freestyle relay squads wrapped up the meet with a pair of wins.
Maren McDonnell (West Bend, Wis./East), Connell, Morgan Nabora and Terry combined for a time of 3:53.91 to win the women's race by seven seconds. On the men's side, Bergman,
Hunter Hayberger (Sandusky, Ohio/Sandusky), Tony Mrozowski and Schlueter stopped the clock in 3:18.56.
A number of UW-W swimmers added additional points to the team totals including
Brianna Zimdars (Whitewater, Wis./Whitewater) (1000 free, 500 free), Aliya Griffiths (1000 free, 100 breaststroke), Hayberger (1000 free, 500 free),
Dan Emary (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) (1000 free), Nabors (200 free, 100 free),
Raigan Good (Watertown, Wis./Watertown) (200 free, 500 free), Mrozowski (200 free, 100 free), McDonnell (50 free), Connell (50 free), Gramer (50 free, 100 breaststroke),
David Cummings (Janesville, Wis./Craig) (50 free), Sponseller (200 IM, 100 breaststroke),
Hannah Gault (Moline, Ill./Senior) (200 IM, 100 back), Jasken (200 IM, 100 fly),
Zak Nowakowski (DeForest, Wis./DeForest) (200 IM), Matt Sippin (100 butterfly), Hynes (100 free), Hennig (100 free),
Ryan Corfield (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North) (100 free), Coons (100 back),
Brady Peetz (Lake Geneva, Wis./Badger) (500 free), Gnewuch (100 breaststroke), and Keller (100 breaststroke).
