Day 1 Recap

Pointers Lead Men�s and Women�s Standings Despite Eagles� Big Performances

     It was a record-setting day for the UW-La Crosse women�s swimming and diving team during the opening day of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championships Thursday, however, host UW-Stevens Point spoiled the Eagles� outstanding performances by taking a five-point lead in the team standings.

     The Pointers also took the first-day lead in the men�s competition, holding a 41-point advantage over UW-La Crosse.

     The Eagles won all five swimming events on the women�s side, setting three conference records. The 200-yard freestyle relay team of Anne Melvin, Lexi Fink, Shara Geurts and Krista Melvin opened the competition with a record-setting swim of 1:36.45.

     Freshman Carlene Empanger followed with a conference record time of 5:06.88 in the 500-yard freestyle and sophomore Fallon Toomsen successfully defended her 200-yard individual medley title with a record-setting time of 2:10.46.

     Sophomore Anne Melvin edged out defending champion Alissa Bartz of UW-Stevens Point in the 50-yard freestyle, posting a winning time of 24.48 seconds to win by just .16 seconds. Anne Melvin and Toomsen were also part of the winning 400-yard medley relay team along with Steph Karis and Krista Melvin that won in 3:59.22.

     UW-Stevens Point�s relay teams both finished second, but, besides Bartz, had no other individuals finish in the top two of any event, despite holding the slight team lead. UW-Oshkosh�s Rachel Heitkamp dominated the women�s three-meter diving, winning by over 81 points with a final score of 486.65.

     The UW-Stevens Point men won the 200-yard freestyle relay in 1:24.00 and the 400-yard medley relay in 3:29.23. Alex Anderson, Thad Gunther and Aaron Marshall swam on both relays, while Matt Sievers was on the freestyle squad and Garth Newport swam on the winning medley team.

     Anderson, a freshman, was the only three-event winner of the opening day, also capturing the 200-yard individual medley in 1:55.21.

     Sievers, a junior, pulled off one of the biggest surprises of the day, winning the 50-yard freestyle in 21.37, cutting nearly a half-second off his seed time, which ranked fifth in the conference entering the meet.