The UW-Eau Claire swim and dive team won against UW-Oshkosh during the Blugold’s first home meet for the season on Saturday.  UW-Eau Claire dominated the Titans with the women finishing on top with a score of 188-53 and men winning with a score of 180.5-57.5.

Throughout the meet, both the men and women won 11 events each.

Dylan Glumac-Berverich, a third-year, earned a NCAA zone cut that qualified him for the national competition in both his 1-meter and 3-meter dives.

“It feels good,” Glumac-Berverich said, “The earlier you can get yourself qualified, the better because it lets you experiment more with your list and allows you to not have to worry about qualifying late in the season.”

The women’s team began the meet strong with a first place finish in the 200-yard medley relay. Jessica Short, Sam Senczyszyn and Brittany Farr, all fourth-year students, and Emma Steffel, a first-year, finished with a time of 1:53.92.

Paige Pelikan, a first-year, won the 1000-year freestyle race and Katherine O’Connell, a first-year, came out on top in the women’s 100-yard freestyle, earning more first place titles for the women.

Meanwhile, Kate Stensberg, a second-year, swiped first in the 200-yard freestyle and Senczyszyn came out on top again in the 50-yard freestyle. To finish off solo freestyle races, Anna Theisen got first with a time of 5:37.57 in the 500-yard freestyle.

The women’s 200-yard freestyle relay team made entirely of Senczyszyn, Olivia Hanzak and Emily Ries, second-years respectively, snagged an additional first place title with a time of 1:42.46.

Reilly Peterson, a fourth-year, dominated the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 1:05.22 while Maddie Kooima, a first-year, took first with a time of 1:03.89 in the 100-yard backstroke.

Finally, for the women’s dive team, Sarah Dahlk, a first year, took two dive wins home with her. Dahlk placed on top for both the 1-meter dive at 191.40 and the 3-meter dive with a time of 183.40. Saturday was Dahlk’s first time competing in the 3-meter dive.

“I’m proud of how the team and I preformed,” Dahlk said. “I’m glad that I could help contribute to the team victory this weekend. It shows that the hard work we’ve been putting in is paying off.”

On the men’s side, 200-yard medley relay team also earned a first place title with a final time of 1:42.18. This team was made up of Max McCanna and Connor Pendill, both third-years; and Michael Bylander and Colin Koss, both first-years.

Nicholas Meints, a third-year, went on to take the title in the 200-yard freestyle as well as the 100-yard backstroke with a finishing time of 59.99.

“I feel good,” Meints said. “We swam well as team over the weekend and I’m excited for our meet this weekend.”

Like the women, the men’s 200-yard freestyle relay team also took first place with a time of 1:31.05. The team was made up of Koss, Dane Detert, a second-year; and Caleb Odmark and Andrew Strauch, both fourth-years.

Joseph Ackerson, a second-year, also won first place in the 50-yard freestyle. Strauch landed on top in the 200-yard IM. Greg Pehl, a second-year, had a time of 54.99 in the 100-yard freestyle leaving him with first place and Jack Poppitz, a first-year, won the 10-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:03.19.

For men’s diving, Glumac-Berberich took first in the 1-meter dive and and the 3-meter dive.

“The team swam really well after a tough few weeks of practice and had some great races,” said Head Coach Annie Ryder. “Our focus for dual meets continues to be on racing tough rather than times. They learn the process of racing and then we switch gears to time towards the end of the season. Our divers did extremely well and continue to make improvements. I’m very proud of their effort, their intensity and the way they support their team.”

The Blugolds will face the UW-Stevens Point Pointers on Saturday, Oct. 20 in Stevens Point.

Schumacher can be reached at [email protected].