Jan. 14, 2012
Results
GREEN BAY, Wis.- The UIC men's and women's swimming & diving teams had an exciting day against Green Bay on Saturday at the Dorschel Natatorium. The men's squad came out on top of Green Bay, finishing with a final score of 158-83, while the women ended the day in a draw with the Phoenix, 121-121.
"The team has been training very hard the past few weeks and it showed in the way we raced today," head coach Paul Moniak said.
The men's team (6-2, 2-1 Horizon League) was triumphant against the Phoenix, as they captured a win for the fifth consecutive season. Luke Martinez (Sugar Grove, Ill./Marmion Academy), Gabe Cury (Novo Hamburgo, Brazil/Instituicao Evangelica de Novo Hamburgo), Zach Van Swol (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way East) and Will Ikeda(Skokie, Ill./Niles North) led the Flames in performances and first-place finishes on the day.
Martinez began the individual events by topping all swimmers in the 1650 free, finishing at 16:26.92. He was joined in the 200 fly by Josh Jacobson(Edwardsville, Ill./Edwardsville), where Martinez took first (1:57.36) and Jacobson claimed second (1:59.95).
Cury took the 50 free with 21.25 and was in a tight race with Tyler Evans of Green Bay in the 100 free, where he took a close second in 47.09.
Van Swol led UIC through the 200 IM, where he finished first in 1:55.08, and additionally took the 500 free with 4:41.06, reaching a personal best on the season.
Ikeda surpassed all other swimmers in the 200 breast, finishing in 2:06.75.
The 400 medley relay team of Sebastian Ostrowski (Darien, Ill./Hinsdale South), Ikeda, Vince Errichiello (Westmont, Ill./Downers Grove South) and Daniel Corley (Crozet, Va./Western Albemarle) finished first in 3:28.70, a season best. Another first place was achieved in the 400 free relay, with Corley, Van Swol, Joel Demuth(Naperville, Ill./Naperville North) and Cury leading the way to finish in 3:07.51.
The women's squad (5-3-1, 1-1-1 Horizon League) went back-and-forth the entire day, as they ended the meet in a tie. Often in neck-and-neck races with the Phoenix, the Flames were led by the performances of Marissa Yontz (Canton, Ill./Canton), Emily Gniatczyk (Glen Ellyn, Ill./Glenbard South), Clair Martin (Waukesha, Wis./Waukesha South), Melanie Waszak (Lemont, Ill./Lemont) and Andrea Longlade(Windsor, ON, Canada/St. Thomas of Villanova Secondary School).
Yontz was in a close race in the 200 free with Amanda Walker and Heather Bodin of Green Bay, before she was able to come up with a second-place finish in 1:54.73, a personal and season best.
Gniatczyk edged away from Green Bay's Emilee Harry and took the 100 free with 53.53, while the 200 back was led by Martin, finishing in 2:06.45.
Waszak topped all competitors in the 500 free with 5:07.99, a best on the season, and Longlade claimed first in the 200 breast with 2:23.25.
In relay events, the women marked season-best times. The team of Martin, Monica Pinkus (Chicago, Ill./Northside College Prep), Waszak and Yontz claimed the 400 medley relay, coming in at 3:54.61. The first-place 400 free relay team was then led by Gniatczyk, Pinkus, Kelsey Millin(Monona, Wis./Monona Grove) and Yontz, finishing in 3:31.65.
The Flames next face off against Valparaiso on Friday, Jan. 20 at 5 p.m. (CT) at the Flames Natatorium. The women's team will additionally compete against Illinois State.
