Wisconsin Posts Wins Over Iowa, UW-Milwaukee
October 13, 2005 | Women's Swimming & Diving
The Wisconsin women's swimming and diving team posted wins over Big Ten foe Iowa in-state rival UW-Milwaukee Thursday in a triple-dual meet at the UW Natatorium. The Badgers defeated the Panthers 184-59 and also claimed a 164-78 win over the Hawkeyes. Freshmen Yi Ting Siow and Jennifer Illescas led Wisconsin with two victories apiece. Siow also set a pool record in the 200-yard breaststroke.
'Everyone has been training so hard and I'm really pleased with the progress we have made, but we're so young, it's just nice to see everybody come together as a team,' Eric Hansen, head swimming coach, said. 'We swam inspired. We are a totally different team than we were last week because this really meant something to these kids.'
Siow (Seremban, Malaysia), a two-time Olympian, finished first in the 200-breaststroke in a time of 2:14.51, which was a pool record at the UW Natatorium. Ilkay Dikmen of Illinois had previously held the record, which was set in 2004 in a time of 2:15.05. Siow also posted a win in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 2:05.93.
Illescas (East Elmhurst, N.Y.), meanwhile, claimed the crown in the 1000-yard freestyle in a time of 10:14.01 and also won the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5:02.01.
Junior captain Susan Johnson (Toledo, Ohio) won the 200-yard backstroke with a mark of 2:01.80. She also helped the 400-yard freestyle relay team to a win in a time of 3:30.85, joining teammates Sarah Hernandez (Chico, Calif.), Emily Carpenter (Lee's Summit, Mo.) and Anna Trinidad (Colorado Springs, Colo.).
'Yi Ting's record was a nice surprise but she is ultra-talented,' Hansen said. 'Susan Johnson swam well again, and Sarah Hernandez is on her way back.'
Carpenter won the 200-yard freestyle (1:52.23) for the second week in a row while Trinidad placed second in the event (1:53.89). Trinidad also tallied a second-place finish in the 100-yard freestyle in a time of 52.50. Sophomore Katie Imhoff-Smith (Waukesha, Wis.) also posted a win in the 200-yard butterfly (2:05.22) and Jenny Gelden (Kenosha, Wis.) finished second (2:05.79).
The 400-yard medley relay team of Johnson, Amalia Sarnecki (Ann Arbor, Mich.), Gelden and Hernandez also notched a win with a time of 3:49.72.
On the boards, senior Amanda Witte led the Badgers with a second-place finish on the 1-meter (260.78) and a third-place finish in the 3-meter (248.55).
'I thought we competed well,' Josh Seykora, head diving coach, said. 'Our level of performance is obviously not where we want it to be and our focus was a bit of an issue but we are still headed in the right direction. Compared to last week, I thought we were a lot more focused and we stood up and did what we had been training for. Amanda had a really good meet. It was very consistent.'
Wisconsin (3-0) will head to Dallas, Texas, for the SMU Invitational Oct. 20-23. The next home meet for the Badgers is slated for Nov. 10 against Northwestern.
