Wheaton, Ill. -- The Wheaton men's and women's swim teams kicked off their busy weekend this afternoon with their second home dual meet of the season, as the Thunder hosted the UW-Milwaukee Panthers. The visiting squads triumphed in both competitions, as the Milwaukee men topped Wheaton, 142.50-61.50, and the Panther women's team defeated their Thunder counterparts by a score of 162 to 42.

The 200 yard medley relay was the first event of the day, and the Wheaton women's contingent of Olivia Wiebe, Elli Bennett, Abby Pardridge, and Sophie Pelling came in second place with a combined time mark of 1:51.41, besting the third-placed Panther grouping by 0.5 seconds. 

Katie Yonan put in a quality performance on Friday afternoon, as the sophomore claimed a pair of top three finishes. First, she led the way for the Thunder in the 200 yard freestyle with a second-place 2:00.16 time, a comfortable two seconds faster than the next Milwaukee swimmer. Later, Yonan swam to a third-place standing in the 100 yard version, as she earned a mark of 55.07 seconds. Scottie McKeaney touched the wall just .07 seconds after her teammate to claim fourth.

Elli Bennett registered a second place finish of her own in the 100 yard breaststroke, edging out her Panthers counterpart in third place by a mere .01 seconds. Abby Pardridge built off her relay success by being the only Thunder swimmer to earn a top four standing in the 100 yard butterfly, with the senior posting a 1:01.27 time mark. Olivia Wiebe continued the positive opening to her collegiate career via a third-placed finish in the 500 yard freestyle swim, topping her fourth-placed Milwaukee competitor by a full six seconds.

The Wheaton women ended the day's action with another second place finish in a relay event, this time coming in the 200 yard freestyle race. Scottie McKeaney joined forces with Yonan, Pelling, and Pardridge to earn runner-up status with a collective time of 1:39.99.
 

---

The meet got off to the perfect start for the hosts on the men's side when a Wheaton relay team consisting of Abe Plimpton, Anthony Fitzgerald, Kael Gannon, and AJ Staiti claimed first place in the 200 yard medley event. The upperclassmen group began the day with a statement performance, finishing the swim a full 2.39 seconds ahead of their nearest challengers. 

Fitzgerald cemented his strong showing by winning the 100 yard breaststroke event with a finals time of almost exactly one minute, a comfortable four seconds faster than the second-place Milwaukee swimmer. David Stevenson earned third place in the same race. Fitzgerald was also the highest Thunder finisher in the 100 yard butterfly, touching the wall just .03 seconds ahead of teammate Harrison Smith. Smith took third place and led Wheaton in the 200 yard free with a 1:48.19 time mark.

AJ Staiti placed just as high in the 50 yard version, as the junior registered a time of 22.44. Abe Plimpton continued his solid start to the season with a second place finish in the 100 yard backstroke event, as the senior clocked a finals mark of 55.08, narrowly edging out his tailing Panther opponent.

The Thunder will not have to wait long for another chance to earn their first team win of the young campaign. Wheaton hosts Franklin College in a dual meet tomorrow afternoon at 1 PM.