The likes of Division I UW–Milwaukee proved too much to handle for the hot Chicago squads this weekend. Their two losses from this past weekend constitute the first dual meet the Maroons did not leave victorious from since the beginning of November. The No. 10 men’s side finished with a score of 183–113, while the No. 7 women’s side finished at 200–98.

“Competing against D1 schools will help get us to the next level. We want to be competitive with DI teams like Wisconsin–Milwaukee and be ready for UAA championships. The team needs to be training and competing at a high-level in order to succeed at UAAs,” said fourth-year swimmer Andrew Angeles.

Despite the loss, the South Siders still had a few standout individual performances. On the men’s side, Angeles placed first in both the 100-yard breaststroke and the 200-yard breaststroke. Second-year Kevin Ku took home first place in the 100-yard butterfly, while his classmate Mantim Lee came out on top in the 100-yard backstroke.

“It feels good to get the individual wins, but swimming and diving is a team effort. Wisconsin-Milwaukee was tough competition and we are refocusing after the meet,” Angeles said.

On the women’s side, first-year Sydney Wong finished first in the 200-yard butterfly.

“It was very exciting to win my event.  Knowing that I was up against a competitive Division 1 school motivated me to give it my all and to succeed in doing so felt great,” Wong said.

The divers also held their own against their opponents. Fourth-year Matt Staab and first-year Natalie DeMuro both finished second in the three-meter dive.

With the UAA Championships looming, The Maroons recognize the benefits of competing against a DI team this late in the season.

“This meet was a tough one for us, especially after a few weeks of intense training,” Wong said. “The conditions and outcome were not ideal, but there was a lot of team spirit and effort.”

Angeles reiterated these sentiments.

“We came into the meet after a hard week of training. The team is working on performing while we are broken down and tired,” Angeles said.

The teams will look to get back on track this Friday in their dual-meet against Lewis University.

“The team is excited for the Lewis meet. It is one of our last dual meets before the UAA Championships and it is a great opportunity for us to fine-tune our events and have fun racing,” Wong said,

The meet will take place on Friday, January 23rd against DII Lewis in Romeoville, Ill. The dual meet begins at 6 p.m.