Caldwell And Berndt Help Lead UWM Women To TitleJan. 20, 2007
MILWAUKEE - Led by two wins each from senior Lindsay Caldwell and freshman Shannon Berndt, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's swimming & diving team won the championship at the Bill Ritter Invitational on Saturday for the second-straight season and the fourth time in the past five years. The Panthers finished with 1,086 points, beating UW-Green Bay (1,057), Illinois State (818) and UIC (528). Green Bay is the defending league champion and had entered the meet at 9-1 in duals this season. "It makes for a great meet, but if you look at last year, we won this event and went on to finish third at the league championships," UWM head coach Dave Griffore said. "I don't think winning this meet helps you at the end of the year, but shows that we have good depth. The kids competed hard and we have a lot of depth that came out and that was the difference in the meet." Caldwell won the 100 and 200 freestyle, topping the field in the 100 in 52.24 and the 200 in 1:54.61. That gave her three wins on the weekend, having claimed the 50 free on Friday. She also played a key role on the Milwaukee relay teams, swimming with the first-place 400 free and 400 medley relays, the second-place 800 free relay and the third-place 200 free relay team. Berndt started the day helping UWM take second in the 200 medley relay and then won the 100 breaststroke in 1:05.74 and the 200 breaststroke in 2:27.55. Her time in the 100 breast was a pool and UWM freshman record. "For her to swim this fast coming out of Christmas training, then the sky is the limit for how fast she can swim at the end," Griffore said. Personal highlights included a first-place showing from sophomore Molly Finn in the 200 butterfly, and close second-place finishes from junior Briana Fergusson in the 100 butterfly (first place was a pool-record effort from GB's Ashley Warzon) and sophomore Kristina Hansen, who was touched out in the 100 backstroke (1:01.31 to 1:01.05). Finn also took second in the 400 IM.
Other top finishers for UWM included the first-place 400 free relay team of Hansen, freshman Jenny Westfall, junior Jess Kelly and Caldwell in 3:35.80, while freshman Bailey Nennig was third in the 200 breast and fourth in the 400 IM. Freshman Kerry Rossow chipped in, taking third in the 100 breast. Griffore talked about the diving team going 1-2-3 on both boards on Friday as one of the keys to the meet. "The diving was unreal. They did a fantastic job. It's important for the team to realize that when the swimming and diving teams come together at the end of the year, we will he a tough team to beat." The women will be home for the final time this season next week Saturday, taking on Western Illinois in non-conference action Jan. 27. The meet with the Westerwinds is scheduled for a 2 p.m. start. |
