Close, but no cigar.
The Maroons fell just short of defeating DI UW–Milwaukee for the first time. Chicago lost by just one point (149.5–148.5) on the men’s side and by a larger margin (165–128) on the women’s side.
The Maroons collected 14 event wins with seven each for the men’s and women’s squads, as well as three school records.
“The team put up its best performance against UW–Milwaukee in the history of the meet,” said third-year captain Jenny Hill. “This was by far the closest we have ever come to winning the meet on either side. They have always ‘exhibitioned’ their swimmers in the second half of the meet because they would be beating us so badly, but they didn’t do so this year.”
Even with several athletes out of competition due to illness, the South Siders still posed a serious threat in the pool. One swimmer in particular managed to impress, despite having been out of the water for the majority of the season. First-year Mantim Lee won the 100-yard freestyle in 45.68 seconds, accomplishing one of the fastest event times in the country and earning an NCAA B cut as well as a school record.
In addition to Lee’s outstanding performance, third-year diver Tony Restaino broke two more school records dominating on both the one- and three-meter boards (316.28 and 332.03 respectively).
“Overall, the team’s performance was impressive in terms of times, scores, and perseverance through fatigue from a tough two weeks of training after the break,” Hill said.
Other notable times were accomplished by second-year Bryan Bunning, who led the 100-yard backstroke (52.62), third-year Andrew Angeles, who won the 100- and 200-yard breaststrokes with 57.67 and 2:10.63 times, respectively, and first-year Kevin Ku, who led the 200-yard butterfly (1:53.07).
The top finishers among the women included second-year Karen Chu in the 1,000-yard freestyle (10:46.70), first-year 200-yard freestyler Alison Wall (1:56.31), first-year Abby Erdmann in the 200-yard butterfly (2:08.95), and first-year Maya Scheidl in the 100-yard freestyle (52.89). As usual, Hill also did not disappoint, with a first-place finish in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:26.41).
This dominant performance by the Maroons was their best ever against DI UW–Milwaukee and has also set a positive attitude for the end of the season.
After losing to DePauw University last year, Chicago seeks a revenge match this Saturday in its penultimate home meet.
“There is definitely more hype for this meet than a typical dual meet,” Bunning said. “They have turned into our out-of-conference rivals.”
Watch the Maroons face DePauw and IIT on Senior Day this Saturday, January 25. The four fourth-years will be recognized prior to the meet, which begins at 1 p.m. at Myers-McLoraine Pool.
