UW-Eau Claire swim and dive teams had their first dual conference meet of the season at UW-Oshkosh on Oct. 15. 

The men’s and women’s teams are 1-0 so far this season, with both teams taking the win. They won 24 out of the 26 events at the meet. 

The team broke records and made cuts at the first dual meet of the year, according to Blugold Athletics. 

Kadin Denner, a second-year transfer student and distance freestyler, set a pool record for the 1000-meter freestyle. His time was 9:51.88. 

Additionally, Quincy Kabe, a third-year diver and accounting student, got 1-meter and 3-meter NCAA diving zone cuts. His score was 315.30 on the 1-m and 321.52 on the 3-m. 

Grant Lee, a second-year accounting and finance student, said the team was very pleased with their performance at Oshkosh this past weekend and is hopeful for what the rest of the season has in store. 

“I think we all did really well. We had a lot of great swims on the men’s and women’s sides across the board,” Lee said. “This was definitely a strong starting point for the season.” 

Elaine Proefrock, a second-year exercise science and kinesiology student, won three events at the meet. She placed first twice in the 1000-yard freestyle and once in the 500-yard freestyle. 

“The culture and comradery the team shares with one another are some of our strengths,” Lee said. “Every day we come in with the same mindset. We’re ready to work and ready to put our best foot forward no matter what is thrown our way.”

Maya Frodl, a third-year pre-health biology student, said that the team is known for their energy and enthusiasm in the pool. 

“Our energy helps with our performance in the pool. I think we executed that perfectly this weekend,” Frodl said. “The energy on the deck was electrifying and it translated to a lot of people’s swims.”

According to Frodl, the UW-Eau Claire swim and dive teams are some of the few teams in the conference who succeed at making an individual sport into a team environment. 

“Our goal is just to be there for each other,” Frodl said. “Swimming can be a very mentally draining sport and we are good at being there for the people who need it most.”

The team is coming off a very close conference loss from the 2021-2022 season, according to Lee. 

Both the men’s and women’s teams placed second last season, with the women’s team scoring 825 points and the men’s team scoring 930 points. 

The men’s team lost to UW-Stevens Point by only two points. For the women’s team, UW-Lacrosse is the school to beat. 

 They won by 56 points last year, according to Blugold Athletics. 

According to Lee, they have been putting in a lot of effort to get their times up and come back stronger this year. 

“The team works really hard to maintain a positive attitude,” Lee said. “The more positivity and encouragement we have going around the pool the better we are going to perform.”

Lee said the team is hoping to keep up the good performance. They were very happy with the strong start at their first dual meet and are looking forward to seeing where the season takes them. 

Their next conference dual meet will be at 1 p.m. on Oct. 22 at UW-Stevens Point. 

Allessi can be reached at [email protected].