Related Links:
2022 WIAC Swimming and Diving Championships Web Page
The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater men's and women's swimming and diving teams will compete at the 2022 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships (presented by Culver's) this Wednesday through Saturday at Schroeder Aquatic Center in Brown Deer, Wis.
Competition begins Wednesday night with the 200-yard medley relay and 800-yard freestyle relay finals starting at 6:30 p.m. The next three days contain two sessions each, with preliminaries starting at 10 a.m. and finals starting at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday and Friday and at 6 p.m. on Saturday.
All Session passes are available for spectators for $25 for adults, $15 for senior citizens/students and $10 for WIAC students. Admission for February 16 is $5 for adults and $3 for senior citizens/students, and admission for all other individual days is $12 for adults, $8 for senior citizens/students and $5 for WIAC students.
See below for a look at both teams heading into the WIAC Championships.
Men
The Warhawk men, who placed third the last time the conference meet was contested (2020), concluded the regular season with a 3-3 dual record, including a 1-2 mark in conference meets.
Zach Miller (Saukville, Wis./Port Washington),
Tyler Popke (Sun Prairie, Wis./Sun Prairie) and
Joe Wenszell (Milwaukee, Wis./Wisconsin Virtual Learning) each placed among the top eight in at least one event during their careers.
Miller is a four-time WIAC individual medalist, placing seventh in the 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard backstroke in 2020 and seventh in the 100 back and eighth in the 200 back in 2019. Popke finished sixth in the 100-yard breaststroke at the 2020 meet.
Wenszell garnered second team All-WIAC accolades in the 200-yard backstroke with his runner-up finish in 2020. He added fifth place in the 100-yard butterfly and sixth place in the 200-yard butterfly to his impressive showing at his first conference meet.
Miller ranks among the top 15 in both the 50- and 100-yard freestyle entering the meet.
Hunter Hayberger (Sandusky, Ohio/Sandusky) ranks second in the 500-yard freestyle, second in the 1,650 free and ninth in the 200 free to lead UW-Whitewater.
Wenszell and
Ethan Coons (Neenah, Wis./Neenah) are each among the top 20 in the conference in the 100- and 200-yard backstroke.
Popke is among the WIAC's top performers in the 100-yard breaststroke, entering the meet fifth in the conference. He and
Donny Gramer (Sycamore, Ill./Sycamore) rank 14th and 15th, respectively in the 200 breast.
Coons leads the team and is ninth in the conference in the 100-yard butterfly.
Jalen Stimes (Roscoe, Ill./Hononegah) owns the team's top time in the 200 fly and is 22nd in the WIAC through the end of the regular season.
Wenszell and
Dan Emary (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) own the team's top times in the 200- and 400-yard individual medley, respectively, entering competition.
The Warhawks are fourth in the WIAC in all five relay events – the 200-, 400- and 800-yard freestyle relays and the 200- and 400-yard medley relays.
Women
The UW-Whitewater women also placed third at the 2020 WIAC Championships and finished the 2022 regular season with a 3-3 dual record, including a 1-2 mark against league competition.
Abby Thompson (De Pere, Wis./De Pere) is a three-time WIAC placer, including fourth in the 200-yard butterfly and seventh in the 400-yard individual medley in 2020 and eighth in the 200 fly in 2019. Fellow senior
Anna Yeazel (Whitewater, Wis./Whitewater) finished sixth in the 400 IM and seventh in the 200-yard breaststroke in 2020.
Leanne Stigler (Beloit, Wis./Muskego) earned second team all-conference honors in 2020 thanks to runner-up finishes in the 200-yard individual medley and 400-yard medley relay. She added fourth place in the 200-yard breaststroke and 200-yard medley relay and fifth place in the 100-yard breaststroke at the meet.
Emily Connell (New Berlin, Wis./Eisenhower) leads the team and is tied for 18th in the WIAC in the 50-yard freestyle entering the week.
Morgan Nabors (Spring Green, Wis./River Valley) is 10th in the 100 free and 13th in the 200 free.
Brianna Zimdars (Whitewater, Wis./Whitewater) leads the Warhawks in both the 500-yard freestyle and 1,650-yard freestyle.
Gianna Gnewuch (Madison, Wis./Verona Area) is among the top 15 in the WIAC in both the 100- and 200-yard backstroke.
Gabby Sponseller (Goshen, Ind./Concord) is fifth in the conference in both the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke, while Yeazel ranks seventh in each event. Gnewuch is 13th in the 100 breast.
Jaclyn Fohlmeister (Lakemoor, Ill./Wauconda) leads UW-W in the 100-yard butterfly and is 16th in the WIAC. Thompson is third in the 200-yard butterfly entering the meet.
Sponseller owns the third-best time in the WIAC in the 200-yard individual medley, while Gnewuch is 11th. Thompson and Yeazel seventh and 10th in the conference, respectively, in the 400-yard individual medley.
UW-Whitewater is fourth in the WIAC in the 200- and 400-yard freestyle relays and fifth in the 800-yard freestyle relay and the 200- and 400-yard medley relays.
