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The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater capped the 2023 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Swimming and Diving Championships with a pair of golds, two program records three major awards as the Warhawk men and women both finished fourth. Freshmen Zaria Terry (Madison, Wis./La Follette) and Dom Schlueter (South Elgin, Ill./South Elgin) were impressive in the 100 freestyle writing their names in program history to highlight the final day of competition. Following the completion of the championship, Schlueter was named the Men's Newcomer of the Year while Terry was honored as both the Women's Simmer of the Meet and Newcomer of the Year.
 
Schlueter is the first Newcomer of the Year for UW-Whitewater since the award's inception during the 2019-20 championship. Terry is also the first Newcomer of the Year for the Warhawk women. She is the fourth to garner Swimmer of the Meet honors and first since Renata Schlomann in 2019-20. Terry is the first in WIAC history, men's or women's, to earn both Swimmer of the Meet and Newcomer of the Year in the same championship.
 
Terry continued her dominance Saturday winning a third gold in her first conference championship meet in epic fashion. The freshman cut over half of a second off of her school record time in the 100 freestyle. Touching the wall in 50.80, Terry registered her second NCAA B cut time in as many days. She is just the fourth member of the Warhawk women's swimming and diving team to earn three individual event titles in the same championship meet joining Barb Lietz from 1988 (100 and 200 breaststroke, 200 individual medley), Jessica Lenhart in 2018 (500 free, 100 and 200 fly) and Renata Schlomann in 2020 (50 and 100 free, 100 back). Emily Connell (New Berlin, Wis./Eisenhower), Ava Hennig (Elk Grove Village, Ill./Elk Grove), Ciara Hynes (Eureka, Mo./Eureka) and Maren McDonnell (West Bend, Wis./East) added top 16 finishes in the event for the Warhawks.
 
A school record also fell in the men's race as fellow freshman Schlueter wrote his name into UWW history with a time of 45.50 in the 100 free. His time breaks a program that had stood for 10 years, surpassing Landon Joiner's 46.03 set in 2013. Ethan Bergman (Racine, Wis./Bradford) added points to the team total finishing 11^th in the event. Schlueter surpassed his own record about an hour later Saturday in the final event of the day.
 
The final race of the 2023 championships was the ever-exciting 400 freestyle relay. Bergman led off the foursome followed by Hunter Hayberger (Sandusky, Ohio/Sandusky) and Donny Gramer (Sycamore, Ill./Sycamore). Schlueter, the anchor, entered the pool in fourth place but was absolutely flying en route to registering a split time of 45.33 to break his own record from minutes earlier. His time bolstered UWW's combined time of 3:08.56, a season-best by more than 7.5 seconds, to take bronze in the relay. The Warhawk women were fifth in the event.
 
In the 200 breaststroke, Gabby Sponseller (Goshen, Ind./Concord) captured bronze with a time of 2:25.28 after cutting nearly three seconds off her preliminary clocking. Grace Jasken (Shakopee, Minn./Shakopee) and Aliya Griffiths (Labanon, Ore./Lebanon) finished 13^th and 14^th respectively in the event. Daniel Keller (Omaha, Neb./Papillion-LaVista) posted a top eight finish for the Warhawk men in the event. His time of 2:10.21 was seventh while Gramer finished 10^th followed by Zak Nowakowski (DeForest, Wis./DeForest) in 11^th.
 
Hannah Gault (Moline, Ill./Senior) cut just under three seconds off of her prelim time in the 200 butterfly for a finals clocking of 2:21.88 for seventh. Three Warhawk men finished consecutively in 9^th-11^th in the 200 fly led by Joey Wenszell's time of 1:59.99. He was followed by Matthew Ozog (Bartlett, Ill./South Elgin) and Matt Sipin (Round Lake, Ill./Grayslake Central) while Jalen Stimes (Roscoe, Ill./Hononegah) added 14^th place points for the Warhawk accumulation.
 
Naomi Hamerla (Lac Du Flambeau, Wis./Lakeland Union) led a group of five UWW women to place among the top 16 in the 200 backstroke. Her time of 2:15.64 was good for eighth. Gianna Gnewuch (Madison, Wis./Verona Area) (9^th), Izzy Doczy (Greendale, Wis./Greendale) (10^th), Brianna Zimdars (Whitewater, Wis./Whitewater) (13^th) and Raigan Good (Watertown, Wis./Watertown) (16^th) all added points to the Warhawk total. On the men's side, Ethan Coons (Neenah, Wis./Neenah) was the top representative for UWW with an 11^th place time of 1:59.46. Jalen Stimes (Roscoe, Ill./Hononegah) and Kevin Chang (Madison, Wis./Madison Memorial) also added points to the team total.
 
The fastest heat of the 1,650 freestyle was also swam Saturday. Hayberger led the Warhawks with a fifth place time of 16:42.26.
 
As major awards were announced Saturday, Stimes and Zimdars represented UW-Whitewater on the 2023 All-Sportsmanship Team.

Friday Recap
Freshman Zaria Terry (Madison, Wis./La Follette) picked up her second individual conference title in as many days and fellow freshman Ethan Bergman (Racine, Wis./Bradford) set a program record in the third day of competition in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Swimming and Diving Championships in Brown Deer Friday. 

Terry captured a second gold with a blistering pace in the 100 butterfly Friday. Her finals time of 55.81 is a NCAA B-Cut time and a hundredth of a second off of the program record in the event. Phenomenally, Terry cut over a second-and-a-half off of her prelim time for the finals clocking that won the event by nearly two seconds. Naomi Hamerla (Lac Du Flambeau, Wis./Lakeland Union) and Ciara Hynes (Eureka, Mo./Eureka) added points to the team total with 12th and 14th place finishes respectively in the event. 

Bergman registered a program record time in the prelims of the 100 fly Friday morning coming into the wall in 51.00. He went on to finish sixth in the finals Friday evening with a time of 51.18. Teammate Matthew Ozog (Bartlett, Ill./South Elgin) added 11 points to the team total with an eighth place finish while Ethan Coons (Neenah, Wis./Neenah) and Matt Sipin (Round Lake, Ill./Grayslake Central) were among the top 16. 

In the 400 individual medley, Daniel Keller (Omaha, Neb./Papillion-LaVista) came in eighth posting a time of 4:14.49. Joey Wenszell and Zak Nowakowski (DeForest, Wis./DeForest) added points to the team total with top 16 finishes while Hannah Gault (Moline, Ill./Senior) was 10th on the women's side. 

Dom Schlueter (South Elgin, Ill./South Elgin) brought home a silver in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:41.59, just over three-tenths behind gold pace Friday. Hunter Hayberger (Sandusky, Ohio/Sandusky) added 13-place points to the team total. On the women's side, three Warhawks finished among the top 16 including Ava Hennig (Elk Grove Village, Ill./Elk Grove) (13), Maren McDonnell (West Bend, Wis./East) (14) and Andi Bullman (15). 

Gabby Sponseller (Goshen, Ind./Concord) added another top eight finish to her 2023 championships with a fifth place time of 1:08.12 in the 100 breaststroke. Grace Jasken (Shakopee, Minn./Shakopee) and Aliya Griffiths (Labanon, Ore./Lebanon) finished 13th and 14th respectively in the event. Donny Gramer (Sycamore, Ill./Sycamore) finished just outside the top eight with a time of 59.79. Tony Mrozowski came into the wall 11th in the event. 

In the 100 backstroke, Izzy Doczy (Greendale, Wis./Greendale), Gianna Gnewuch (Madison, Wis./Verona Area), Hamerla, Emily Connell (New Berlin, Wis./Eisenhower), Coons, Ozog, Jalen Stimes (Roscoe, Ill./Hononegah) and Kevin Chang (Madison, Wis./Madison Memorial) all added team points with top 16 finishes. 

The 200 freestyle relay capped the event with both UWW squads finishing fourth. In the women's race, Terry was the lead for Doczy, Hynes and Connell who posted a time of 1:38.87. Bergman ledoff the men's squad that also included Coons, Gramer and Schlueter for a clocking of 1:24.85. 

The 2023 WIAC Championships will conclude Saturday. 

Thursday Recap
Freshman Zaria Terry (Madison, Wis./La Follette) won her first individual event at the 2023 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Swimming and Diving Championships Thursday in Brown Deer. The UW-Whitewater men and women are in fourth place after two days of competition.

Terry cut nearly four-tenths of a second off her seed time in the 50-yard freestyle to post the top time in the preliminaries Thursday morning. She registered a nearly identical time in the finals Thursday evening, 23.76, to take gold in the event. Emily Connell (New Berlin, Wis./Eisenhower) added a top-eight finish in the event with a time of 25.01 to take eighth. Izzy Doczy (Greendale, Wis./Greendale) also added points to the team total finishing 16th. On the men's side, Ethan Bergman's (Racine, Wis./Bradford) 21.63 was good for eighth and Donny Gramer (Sycamore, Ill./Sycamore) added to the team total finishing 14th. 

Fellow freshman Dom Schlueter (South Elgin, Ill./South Elgin) shined in the 200-yard individual medley. He registered a season-best clocking of 1:54.06 to finish third in his first conference championships. Daniel Keller (Omaha, Neb./Papillion-LaVista) and Joey Wenszell finished 11th and 12th respectively in the event. Gabby Sponseller (Goshen, Ind./Concord) posted a fifth place finish in the event with a time of 2:11.51 while Gianna Gnewuch (Madison, Wis./Verona Area) was 15th for the Warhawk women. 

Hunter Hayberger (Sandusky, Ohio/Sandusky) improved on his sixth place finish in the 500-yard freestyle last season with a fourth place time of 4:41.65 clocking in 2023. Brady Peetz (Lake Geneva, Wis./Badger) and Dan Emary (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) added team points with 12th and 14th place finishes respectively. For the UWW women, Brianna Zimdars (Whitewater, Wis./Whitewater) and Ciara Hynes (Eureka, Mo./Eureka) were 15th and 16th in the event. 

Thursday's competition wrapped up with the 400-yard medley relay. The Warhawk men combined for a fourth place time of 3:29.91 while the women were fifth coming into the wall in 3:59.37. 

The championships continue Friday and will conclude Saturday at the Schroeder Aquatic Center. 

Wednesday Recap
The first day of competition in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships wrapped up Wednesday evening in Brown Deer. 

Day one featured a pair of relays and the women's three-meter diving competition. 

The Warhawk women opened the championships with a fifth place finish in the 200-yard medley relay. 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 clocking of 1:50.00. The UWW men were fourth in the event as Ethan Coons (Neenah, Wis./Neenah), Donny Gramer (Sycamore, Ill./Sycamore), Matt Ozog and Tony Mrozowski teamed up for a time of 1:35.96. 

Sponseller and Gnewuch were joined by Ava Hennig (Elk Grove Village, Ill./Elk Grove) and Emily Connell (New Berlin, Wis./Eisenhower) for a time of 8:11.28 to add fifth place points to the team total in the 800-yard freestyle relay. The men added a second fourth on the day with Dom Schleuter leading off the relay followed by Daniel Keller (Omaha, Neb./Papillion-LaVista), Hunter Hayberger (Sandusky, Ohio/Sandusky) and Ethan Bergman (Racine, Wis./Bradford). The foursome shaved nearly 15 seconds off their seed time for a season best clocking of 6:59.18. 

The championships continue through the rest of the week with morning preliminary sessions followed by finals sessions in the evening. The WIAC crown will be announced at the end of the championship meet Saturday.