Oakland Defeats Milwaukee in #HLSD Action Friday

Oakland at Milwaukee -- Full Results
Men: Oakland 173, Milwaukee 127
Women: Oakland 157, Milwaukee 141

Oakland Defeats Milwaukee to Start Season on High Note

MILWAUKEE, Wis. -​ Sophomore Aleksander Danielewski set a Klotsche Natatorium record in the 200 backstroke Friday evening in one of many stellar swims for the Oakland swimming and diving team as the Golden Grizzlies defeated Milwaukee in the season-opening dual for both teams.

The Golden Grizzlies' men bested the Panthers 173-127, while the Oakland women battled back and forth throughout the night before notching a 157-141 victory over Milwaukee.

"This was a great start to the season," head coach Pete Hovland said. "The women were almost a carbon copy of the conference championship last season, and we just kept coming back. We were really tough for this early in the season, and we were really pleased with everyone's performance.

"Our team was able to overcome some tough conditions," added Hovland. "But the fact we're swimming this well early on bodes well for the direction we're heading." Read more

Men's Swimming and Diving Posts Strong Times in Loss

MILWAUKEE – The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's swimming & diving team won six events on the night but came up just short to defending league champs Oakland University Friday from the Klotsche Natatorium.

"You never like opening your season with a loss," Milwaukee head coach Kyle Clements said. "Oakland is obviously the top team in conference and the result tonight was to be expected. Our divers gave us a lot of points and kept us in the meet the entire time. We relied on our veterans tonight. Kenny (Stelpflug) in the 1000, Tim (Halverson) in the 200. (Ryan) Finke and Rob (Miller) were great leaders tonight, but the bottom line is that we have to get better. We want to contend in this conference this year and we have to get better and we will get better."

Senior Kenny Stelpflug started off the meet with a tremendous effort in the 1000 freestyle. In an event that often is won comfortably, two swimmers from each team all swam together seemingly the entire race. Trailing entering the final lap, Stelpflug dug deep and was able to edge out Oakland's top swimmer with a winning time of 9:48.06, less than two-tenths of a second ahead of the next swimmer. Tim Halverson also had a great showing, taking fourth in 9:51.83, just over two-tenths of a second from third overall.

Halverson also did well in the 200 free, taking third in 1:44.32, again just over two-tenths behind the previous spot. Read more

Panthers Come Up Just Short in Season Opener

MILWAUKEE – Coming down the final relay, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's swimming & diving team fell just short to Oakland University, 157-141, Friday night at the Klotsche Natatorium.

In the season-opener for both teams, Milwaukee came out of the gates hot, winning the first three individual events against the preseason favorites.

With the meet on the line heading into the final event of the night, the Grizzlies just edged out Milwaukee's top 400 free relay squad by a mere five-hundredths of a second to secure the win.

Milwaukee did win seven of the 16 events on the night, including two by the talented and deep incoming freshman class of 13. Read more