Milwaukee, Wis. – Two weeks after beginning their season at a quad meet hosted by the University of Chicago, the Wheaton swimming teams returned to competition on Saturday afternoon. The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee welcomed Wheaton to renew their non-conference series, and the hosting Panthers defeated the Thunder in both the men's and women's competitions. UW-Milwaukee topped the Wheaton women's team by a score of 125-72, while the Panthers' men's squad downed the Wheaton men, 132-68.
Tess Boyer earned the only event victory of the meet for Wheaton today to continue the impressive start to her collegiate career. She bested seven competitors in the women's 400 yard IM with a time of 4:33.80 to add nine points to Wheaton's total score. Her time mark in the 400 IM is currently fourth in all of Division III.
The Thunder women's squad posted a number of runner-up placements on Saturday.
Sophie Pelling came in second in the 50 yard freestyle, edging out a Panther challenger by .01 second. Fellow senior
Carolyn Bubar earned a second-place finish in her 100 yard butterfly race, and
Katie Yonan followed this up by touching the wall second in the 100 yard freestyle.
Olivia Wiebe was the runner-up in the women's 100 yard backstroke event, and
Madison Harris earned a second-place finish of her own in the 500 yard freestyle. The Wheaton women then ended Saturday's meet with a second-place finish in the 200 yard freestyle relay, as a quartet of Pelling,
Rebecca Darter, Bubar, and Yonan pipped a Milwaukee grouping to the wall by .16 seconds to earn an additional four points.
Both Wheaton squads will return to the pool next Saturday when the Thunder welcome the Calvin Knights to Lederhouse Natatorium for Wheaton's home opener. The dual meet is scheduled to begin at 1 PM.
Michael O'Connor was a standout performer for the Wheaton men's team today, as the senior placed second in his 200 yard freestyle event, gaining four points and missing out on the top spot by only two-thirds of a second. Anthony Fitzgerald was just behind his fellow senior in third place and added a runner-up placement of his own in the 100 yard backstroke later in the day.
AJ Staiti continued the upperclassmen's point-gathering by finishing third in his 50 yard freestyle race, edging out teammate Elijah Chen by just .02 seconds. Staiti then came in second place in the following 100 yard butterfly to contribute four more points to Wheaton's tally.
O'Connor was back at it again in the 100-yard edition of the freestyle, pipping Ben Coley to second place with a time of 49.16. Isaac Eilmes posted a second-place performance of his own in the men's 500 yard freestyle as the top Wheaton finisher in the field.
The Thunder men wrapped up their showing on Saturday by earning second in the 200 yard freestyle relay thanks to a combination of Fitzgerald, Staiti, Coley, and O'Connor.
