The men’s and women’s swim and dive teams got off to a rocky start during their opening meet of the season but had a couple of bright spots.
UW Oshkosh lost the meet to Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference powerhouse UW-Eau Claire. The men fell by a score of 180.5-57.5.

Sophomore Jarrett Lieder was a bright spot for the team as he won the 1,000-yard freestyle and 500-yard freestyle races.

Lieder said coming into the season in a better position physically has been key in him starting the season strong.

“This year I think I’m coming into the season in better swimming shape but more importantly I know what being a UWO swimmer is like and the experience is helpful in all aspects,” Lieder said.

Lieder was also part of the 200-yard freestyle relay that consisted of junior Michael Gerondale, senior Ian Sewell and freshman Case Geidl, which took third place.
Head coach Christopher Culp had a glowing evaluation of Geidl after his first race.

“I think he’s going to be excellent for us,” Culp said. “He’s coming in and probably one of our top swimmers. I’m really excited to watch him develop over the season and see what he’s capable of doing.”

The women were also unable to top the Blugolds as they lost by a score of 188-53.

Senior Sydney Challoner had a nice day in the pool as she notched wins in the 200-yard individual medley as well as the 100-yard breaststroke.
Challoner was happy with her performance and she said that it will give her confidence moving on in the season.

“It gives me confidence in the rest of the season that I am starting on the right track by being able to compete and even win against a fast team like Eau Claire,” Challoner said.

Culp said there was a good inkling that Lieder and Challoner were going to swim well in Eau Claire.

“They’re both team leaders that work very hard,” Culp said. “We were pretty sure that they were most likely going to win their events.”
Culp said a point of emphasis after the meet was cutting time on their turns during the race.

“We talked about our performance, and we talked about how our turns need work,” Culp said. “We immediately worked on that on Monday and Tuesday this week.”
Culp said he is excited about a couple of incoming freshman this year.

“Hannah Cunningham looks like she’s going to be really strong for us,” Culp said. “Rachel Jaworski, she’s going to be great. Alex Schuster, she’s going to be great. Alyssa Hassel is going to be great because she doesn’t have a bad stroke.”

The Titans’ next meet will be Oct. 20 at the Wisconsin College Showcase in Brown Deer, Wisconsin.