The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater men's and women's swimming & diving teams opened up their 2025-26 season with a home dual against Illinois Tech. The men's team fell in a tightly contested battle, with a total of 128-143. The women's team shined against IIT, totaling 177-72.

Men's Swim Recap
Freshman Daniel Madson (Kiel, Wis./Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah) started the individual events for the Warhawks with a first place finish in the 1000 free. Madson timed in at 10:38.86, pulling ahead late with a 1:00.08 final 100 yards. Madson also had a strong showing in the 500 free, timing in at 5:04.41 for second place, only 1.2 seconds behind the top-place IIT finisher. 

The Warhawk men had strong showing from their seniors in the freestyle sprints, with Ethan Bergman (Kenosha, Wis./Bradford) placing first in the 50 free with a 22.04. Dom Schlueter (South Elgin, Ill./South Elgin) followed it up with a 47.72 to take fist in the 100 free. 

The Warhawks put up a fight, with multiple close finishes with eScarlet Hawks. Ethan Schmohe (Sullivan, Ill./Sullivan) was less than a second behind the top place finisher in the 100 backstroke, timing in at 55.11. 

In the final event of the day, the 200 free relay team finished the day on a strong note. Ethan Bergman (Kenosha, Wis./Bradford), Ethan Schmohe (Sullivan, Ill./Sullivan), Owen Phillips (Ottawa, Ill./Ottawa Township), Dom Schlueter (South Elgin, Ill./South Elgin) topped the heat with a 1:28.30 finish.

Women's Swim Recap
The women's 400 medley started the day off with a top finish. The squad of Hannah Gault (Moline, Ill./Moline), Amelia Davey (Middleton, Wis./Middleton), Paige Malitz (Wausau, Wis./DC Everest), and Addi Sanow (Munster, Ind./Munster) touched at 4:25.21 to start the Warhawks' day in the pool. Later in the meet, Sanow had her own succes as an individual, grabbing first in the 200 freestyle with a time of 2:05.99.

Carly Pierzchalski (Crystal Lake, Ill./Harry D Jacobs) kept the momentum going with a first place finish in the 1000 freestyle, timing at at 11:30.68

Sophomores Jenna Denton (O'Fallon, Ill./O'Fallon) and Nikolina Gallo (Greendale, Wis./Greendale) also had some success in the start of their second year at UW-Whitewater. Denton led a close heat at the 100 butterfly, with a 1:00.78 time to take first by just under a second. Then Gallo timed in at 5:36.27 in the 500 free to give the Warhawks a strong lead heading into the last few events.

In the penultimate women's heat of the meet, Hailey Vogel (Rockwell City, Iowa/Fort Dodge) topped the 100 breast. Vogel timed in at 1:00.62 leading the race nearly the whole time. 

The women finished off the day with the top two spots in the 200 freestyle relay. The squad that placed first (timing in at 1:43.60) consisted of Grace Linstroth (Port Washington, Wis./Port Washington), Izy Doczy, Addi Sanow (Munster, Ind./Munster), and Jenna Denton (O'Fallon, Ill./O'Fallon).  The second squad of Carly Pierzchalski (Crystal Lake, Ill./Harry D Jacobs), Nikolino Gallo, Rylie Bergemann (Racine, Wis./Union Grove), and Emma Reed (Walworth, Wis./Badger) timed in right behind them at 1:52.03.

Men's Dive Recap
Drew Schmitz (Appleton, Wis./North) took first in both the 1 meter and 3 meter competitions, facing off against two IIT divers. Schmitz tallied 221.85 points in the 1 meter and 197.93 in the 3 meter.

Women's Dive Recap
In the 1 meter, Olivia Santiago (Auburn, Cal./Placer) and Brookelyn Kelpfer both competed in the 1 meter dive. Santiago totaled 177.30 points with Kelpfer collecting 159/75

In the 3 meter, Santiago and Kelpfer matched up again, with an even closer finish. Santiago tallied 189.68 points and Kelpfer finished with 183.38. 

Up Next
The Warhawks will return to an action in less than a week, heading to Carthage for a dual match on October 17th and then staying in Kenosha for the Wisconsin Invite. Due to facility issues, the Wisconsin Invite (originally hosted in Brown Deer) will be moved to Kenosha. The swim events will be held at Carthage College, with the diving events at RUSD.