The Wisconsin swimming season opened last Friday in the best way possible. Both the men's and women's teams won their dual against the Panthers of UW-Milwaukee, capturing first place in all events.
For the men, it was a combination of established talent and newcomers that bested the Panthers. The 400-yard medley relay was the first event, and the Badger team of senior Nick Fulton, junior Steven Wiesner, sophomore Conner Andrews, and freshman Chris Nemeth gave the audience a preview of what was to come. They finished with a time of three minutes and 27.88 seconds, beating the Panthers, who clocked in a time of 3:33.91.
Then it was up to the freshmen to live up to their hype. Freshmen Brett Nagle, Wes Lagerhausen and Jeff Moris all won their events, the 1000-yard freestyle, 200-yard freestyle and 500-yard freestyle, respectively.The men of Badger swimming couldn't ask for a better start to their season.
Since it was our first meet, it was pretty exciting for all of us to get some good performances in,"" senior Kyle Sorensen said.
They captured victory utilizing a mixture of veterans and rookies, and in doing so, got a good look at what the future holds for the team.
This coming season, it is clear that the Badgers' strength lies in their versatility, and their ability to compete at a high level whether it is a senior or freshman in the water.
It was a similar story of domination for the Badger women. However, instead of an even mix of new and established talent, the women relied mostly on their veterans, but the rookies did their fair share, capturing wins as part of relay teams or individually.
The Badgers dominated the 400-yard medley relay, with the girls in red and white capturing the top three finishing spots. Winning the event was the team of freshman Amie Osten, freshman Ashley Wanland, junior Anna Chang and senior Christine Zwiegers, clocking in with a time of 3:50.69.
""We've been working really hard from the start of the season,"" Wanland said, reflecting on the Milwaukee meet. ""It's starting to pay off. [Both teams] are going to do really well this year.""
Many Badger women took top honors in multiple events, one of them being Wanland, who also finished first in the 100-yard breaststroke. Junior Gabby Maddalena finished first in both the 1000-yard freestyle and the 500-yard freestyle, clocking in at 10:07.60 and 4:59.05, respectively. Junior Rosie Morahan captured victories in both the 100-yard and 200 free. Zwieger added to her relay win with a solo victory in the 50 free with a time of 24.24.
Looking ahead to the rest of the season, head coach Eric Hansen stressed consistency and improvement.
""Everybody needs to continue doing the things they've been doing,"" Hanson said. ""We've been working hard and making progress. If everybody stays on the same page and continues to push each other, then we're going to be where we want to be at the end of the year.""
