BROWN DEER, Wis. (Blugolds.com) - For the eight consecutive year, the UW-Eau Claire women's swimming & diving team finished third of six teams competing at the WIAC Championships hosted by UW-Stevens Point.

The Blugolds accumulated 724 points over three days to earn the third spot. Stevens Point was crowned the conference champion with 839 points while UW-La Crosse earned second with 813.50 points. Eau Claire was also honored with two major awards; Head coach Art Brandt was named coach of the year while Nicole Dorvinen (Jr.-Green Bay, Wis./Bay Port) was honored as the top swimmer of the meet.

In the final day of competition, Dorvinen earned the championship title in the 200-yard butterfly race, her third individual title in three days. Dorvinen swam the race in 2:05.41, surpassing the WIAC record she set last year by nearly two seconds. The mark qualified as a DIII "B-cut."

Casey Preissel (Sr.-Wisconsin Dells, Wis.) earned another individual title today as well, setting a new school record with a time of 2:07.00 in the 200-yard backstroke. Her "B-cut" mark bested the old school record by nearly three seconds. Sara Eggebrecht (So.-Abbotsford, Wis./Colby) also had a strong performance in the event, finishing third.

Other top Blugold performances came in the 100-yard freestyle race. Megan Finley (Sr.-Waunakee, Wis.) and Julia Olson (Jr.-Faribault, Minn.) each earned a "B-cut" with their respective third and fourth place finishes.

Out of the pool, one Blugold earned an honor given to only six swimmers at each championship. Maddy Smith (Sr.-Hales Corners, Wis./Whitnall) was honored as the All Sportsmanship team Eau Claire representative.

Blugolds who qualified will have a month off to prepare for the NCAA Division III Championships in Knoxville, Tenn. The championships will take place March 23 to 26.