2019 WIAC Women's Swimming & Diving Championship Preview

University of Wisconsin-La Crosse will aim for an eighth consecutive title at the 2019 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Women’s Swimming & Diving Championship (presented by Culver’s) that will be held at Walter Schroeder Aquatic Center in Brown Deer, Wis., Feb. 14-16. UW-Eau Claire is serving as the host institution for the 48th meeting of women’s teams that will be held in conjunction with the 57th edition of the men’s championship.
 
Preliminaries will begin at 10:00 a.m. all three days with the finals commencing at 6:30 p.m. the first two evenings and 6:00 p.m. the final night. Medals will be awarded to the top eight finishers in each of the individual events and to the individuals comprising the top three relay teams.
 
The Eagles claimed the 18th conference crown in program history a season ago, accumulating 863 points to surpass UW-Whitewater’s second-place total of 730.50 points. UW-Eau Claire took third with 689 points, UW-Oshkosh fourth with 409.50 and UW-Stevens Point fifth with 387.
 
UW-La Crosse’s 18 league titles rank second behind UW-Eau Claire’s 19 first-place finishes, while UW-Stevens Point has collected six team championships. Former conference member UW-Madison secured four titles. This year’s meet features 14 student-athletes that have combined to win 19 individual and 34 relay first-place medals at previous conference championships.
 
UW-La Crosse’s Victoria Campbell is the defending champion in the 200-yard freestyle and was a member of the triumphant 800-yard freestyle relay squad. She was joined on the relay team by Jaime Kloehn and Ellie Ellie Szczupakiewicz. In 2017, Campbell and Kloehn contributed to the first-place 800-yard freestyle relay team, while Campbell also added a 400-yard freestyle relay title, along with Maddie Volk.
 
Maria Vaudreuil claimed the 100-yard breaststroke and 200-yard breaststroke a season ago and Lilly Larsen secured the 200-yard backstroke.
 
UW-Eau Claire’s Samantha Senczyszyn has earned Swimmer of the Meet honors at the 2016 and 2017 championships and collected six individual titles and seven relay crowns in her career. In 2017, she posted first-place finishes in the 50-yard freestyle, 100-yard freestyle, 400-yard individual medley, 200-yard freestyle relay, 200-yard medley relay and 400-yard medley relay. In 2016, Senczyszyn was victorious in the 100-yard breaststroke, 200-yard breaststroke, 200-yard individual medley, 200-yard freestyle relay, 400-yard freestyle relay, 200-yard medley relay and 400-yard medley relay.
 
The Blugolds’ Jessica Short has seven individual first-place finishes and seven relay titles to her credit. She has won three consecutive championships in the 100-yard backstroke and could become just the second individual in league history to win the event four times, joining UW-La Crosse’s Brooke Reynolds (2012-15). A year ago, she added the 100-yard freestyle and 400-yard freestyle relay. In 2017, Short won the 200-yard backstroke, 200-yard individual medley, 200-yard freestyle relay, 200-yard medley relay and 400-yard medley relay. At the 2016 championship, she was victorious in the 200-yard backstroke, 200-yard freestyle relay, 400-yard freestyle relay and 400-yard medley relay.
 
Brittany Farr, Olivia Hanzak and Emily Ries joined Short on last year’s 400-yard freestyle relay squad, while Farr was also a part of the 200-yard freestyle relay, 200-yard medley relay and 400-yard medley relay teams in 2017.
 
UW-Whitewater’s Erin Hawker is the reigning Swimmer of the Meet after posting first-place finishes in the 200-yard individual medley and 400-yard individual medley, 200-yard freestyle relay, 200-yard medley relay and 400-yard medley relay. Olivia Theobald joined Hawker on the 200-yard freestyle relay, 200-yard medley relay and 400-yard medley relay teams, while Bailey Weston was a third member of the 200-yard freestyle relay unit.
 
UW-Oshkosh has received strong performances from Sydney Challoner and Hannah Cunningham in swimming events in 2018-19, while Johnna Seelman has posted the team’s best diving scores.
 
UW-Stevens Point’s Anna O’Malley, Anna Pilecky and Sydney Richetto have produced the team’s best swimming performances in 2018-19, while Jess Posch owns the top diving scores.
 

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