ST. PAUL, Minn. (Blugolds.com) – The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire swimming and diving teams competed at the Border Battle hosted by the University of St. Thomas on Saturday with both the men and women coming home with second place finishes.
Team Scores | Swimming Results | Diving Results
The Blugold women tallied a team score of 661.50 while the St. Thomas won the meet with a score of 830. Sam Senczyszyn (Sr. – Grafton, WI) had a strong day for Eau Claire, earning an NCAA B cut with a time of 1:03.86 in the 100-yard breaststroke to take first place. The senior also won the 50 freestyle with a time of 24.00.
The 200-yard medley relay team of Jessica Wilson (So. – Brookfield, WI/Wauwatosa West), Emily Ries (So. – Eau Claire, WI/Memorial), Emma Steffel (Fr. – Green Bay, WI/Ashwaubenon) and Senczyszyn took third with a time of 1:52.12).
Ries, Wilson, Brittany Farr (Sr. – Madison, WI/James Madison Memorial) and Senczyszyn also tallied a third place finish in the 400 freestyle relay with a time of 3:42.98.
On the men's side, Eau Claire recorded a team score of 589 while St. Thomas took first with a score of 795.
Coming off a recording-breaking performance on Friday night, diver Dylan Glumac-Berberich (Jr. – Fridley, MN) came home with two more wins, taking first in the 1-meter dive with a score of 292.30 and in the 3-meter with a 298.85.
Collin Miller (Jr. – Rochester, MN/Schaeffer Academy also had a great day for the Blugolds, winning the 100-yard breaststroke (58.56) and 50 free (21.26) and also anchored the 400 freestyle relay, coming from behind to win with a time of 3:13.85. Also swimming on the relay was Caleb Odmark (Sr. – White Bear Lake, MN), Nicholas Meints (Jr. – Parker, CO/Ponderosa) and Dane Detert (So. – New Berlin, WI/West).
In the 200 breaststroke, Jack Poppitz (Fr. – Apple Valley, MN/Eastview) took second with a time of 2:15.90 while the men's 200-yard relay team of Meints, Michael Bylander (Fr. – Baxter, MN/Brainerd), Conner Pendill (Jr. – Savage, MN/Burnsville) and Miller was third with time of 1:39.51.
Andrew Strauch (Sr. – Lakeville, MN/North) and Greg Pehl (So. New Brighton, MN/Irondale) finished in second and third in the 200 butterfly, clocking in at 2:01.62 and 2:03.70, respectively. Pehl also tallied a third place finish in the 100 butterfly (54.87).
In the 200 freestyle, Odmark tied for third (1:49.71) while Meints also had a third place finish in the 200 backstroke (2:01.20).
"The team swam incredibly well and incredible fast today," said Head Coach Annie Ryder. "We have had a really tough week of practice and competed last night. The team absolutely swam up to the competition level and many of them had season best times. I'm so proud of them for the way they raced, have been practicing, and the excitement around the season. Today was important in that they had a lot of fun as a team but most importantly they saw that they could race and swim fast even when tired. We are looking forward to a strong November."
The Blugolds will be back in action on November 3 as they travel to UW-La Crosse to take on the Eagles at 1 p.m.