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Jacob Cunningham
Steve Woltmann

Strong Debuts Abound for Flames in Season Opener

Two Freshmen Are Among Six Flames With Event Wins

2/21/2021 8:11:00 PM

UIC received several strong performances in the first dual meet of the season at Milwaukee Sunday afternoon.  Several returning veterans picked up where they left off last year, and a number of freshmen had debuts to remember.

With a less than full contingent making the trip, the Flames only entered one or two swimmers in several races.  A deeper Milwaukee squad won the meet on both the men's and women's sides.

"I'm proud of the group that competed today," Tim Loeffler said.  "It was a small group but they never quit and made the most of their opportunity to compete.  I'm excited to see us build as a team with each meet we have this year."

Veterans Jacob Cunningham, Bryce Wyma, Beth Kelzer, and Christina Neri, as well as divers Cydney Liebenberg and Felix LaFortune, all turned in excellent meets.  Freshmen Jan Komorowski, Liam Davis, Alex Dvorak, Izabella Del Rosario, and Omega Pinnix all served notice that they will compete for points and wins throughout the season.

Event Winners
  • Jan Komorowski won his first collegiate event with a 26-second margin in the 1000 free.  Later in the meet, he took first in the 500 by 12 seconds.
  • Bryce Wyma was the fastest swimmer in the 50 free.  It was his first career win in that event.
  • Cydney Liebenberg was the champion on the 3-meter and 1-meter boards.
  • Felix LaFortune took first in 1-meter and 3-meter diving.
  • Liam Davis was the winner in the 200 fly.
  • Jacob Cunningham won the 100 free.
Top Performers
  • Christina Neri was second in the 1000 free and third in the 500.
  • Jacob Cunningham was third in the 200 free.
  • Alex Dvorak came in second in the 200 IM and in the 200 breast.  Mitch Johnson was right behind him in the individual medley.
  • Ryan Murphy was third on the 1-meter board and second on the 3-meter.
  • Izabella Del Rosario came in second in the 200 fly.
  • Beth Kelzer, Nikki Eyssen, and Omega Pinnix put up a strong showing, finishing second through fourth in the 100 free.
  • Sydney Tobias was second in the 200 back.
  • Ashton Amerman came in second in the 500 free.
  • Sam Malecki was second in the 200 breast.
Relays
  • Tobias, Malecki, Del Rosario, and Pinnix came in fourth in the 200 medley relay.
  • Wyma, Dvorak, Michael Shelstad, and Johnson were second in the 200 medley.
  • Kelzer, Eyssen, Del Rosario, and Neri were second, just 0.02 seconds behind, in the 400 free relay.
  • Cunningham, Davis, Wyma, and Komorowski came in second in the 400 free.
Up Next
  • The Flames will face Cleveland State on Saturday.
  • Loeffler anticipates having as full a squad as possible on hand against the Vikings.
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