2004-05 WIAC Women's Swimming & Diving Season Headlines

2004-05 WIAC Women's Swimming & Diving Season Headlines

Gustavus Adolphus' Parker and UW-La Crosse's Melvin Named To Academic All-America Women's At-Large Team

RELEASED: Friday, June 17, 2005

Madison, Wis.--Amanda Parker of Gustavus Adolphus College and UW-La Crosse's Anne Melvin have been named to the 2005 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America College Division Women's At-Large Team. Parker was named to the first team, while Melvin was a second team selection.

The Academic All-America Team is comprised of all NCAA Division II, Division III and NAIA athletes from around the country. It includes the sports of crew, field hockey, golf, gymnastics, lacrosse, rifle, skiing, swimming and diving, tennis and water polo.

Parker, a senior gymnast from Ames, Iowa, claimed Academic All-America First Team honors for the second consecutive year. She is majoring in political science and carries a 3.98 grade point average. Parker recently received a NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship and was named the 2005 National Collegiate Gymnastics Association (NCGA) Senior Athlete of the Year. She was also named the 2005 WIAC Judy Kruckman Scholar-Athlete in women's gymnastics. Parker is a nine-time NCGA All-American, including a national champion in the all-around and vault in 2002.

Melvin, a senior swimmer from Abbotsford, Wis., secured Academic All-America Second Team status for the second straight season. She is majoring in nuclear medicine technology and posts a 3.82 grade point average. Melvin was named the conference's Judy Kruckman Scholar-Athlete in women's swimming and diving earlier this year. She claimed All-America honors in the 200 medley relay this season and secured All-America honorable mention status in the 100-yard butterfly, 200 medley relay, 400 freestyle relay and 400 medley relay.

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Three Named To Academic All-District Women's At-Large Team

RELEASED: Thursday, May 26, 2005

Madison, Wis.--Three Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) student-athletes have been named to the 2005 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Five College Division Women's At-Large Team. UW-La Crosse's Anne Melvin and Gustavus Adolphus' Amanda Parker were named to the first team, while UW-La Crosse's Elizabeth Miles captured second team honors.

The academic all-district at-large team is comprised of all NCAA Division II, Division III and NAIA student-athletes from Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Minnesota and is voted on by members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). It includes the sports of golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, rifle, swimming and diving, tennis and water polo.

Melvin, a senior swimmer from Abbotsford, Wis., is majoring in nuclear medicine technology and posts a 3.82 grade point average. She was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America Second Team a year ago and earlier this season was named the conference's Judy Kruckman Scholar-Athlete in women's swimming and diving. Melvin claimed All-America honors in the 200 medley relay this year and secured All-America honorable mention status in the 100-yard butterfly, 200 medley relay, 400 freestyle relay and 400 medley relay.

Parker, a senior gymnast from Ames, Iowa, is majoring in political science and carries a 3.98 grade point average. She recently received a NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship and was named the 2005 WIAC Judy Kruckman Scholar-Athlete in women's gymnastics. Parker was also named the 2005 National Collegiate Gymnastics Association (NCGA) Senior Athlete of the Year. She was a CoSIDA Academic All-America At-Large First Team selection in 2004. Parker is a nine-time NCGA All-American including a national champion in the all-around and vault in 2002.

Miles, a senior swimmer from Minnetonka, Minn., claimed Academic All-District Second Team honors for the second consecutive year. She is majoring in social studies and history and maintains a 3.84 grade point average. Miles won the 200-yard butterfly at the WIAC championships this year for the fourth straight season and placed second in the 1,650-yard freestyle. She has also earned three All-America honors during her four-year career.

Melvin and Parker are now eligible for the 2005 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Team, which will be announced June 16.

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UW-La Crosse Leads WIAC Contingent at NCAA Women's Swimming & Diving Championships

Holland, Mich.--University of Wisconsin-La Crosse finished 15th out of 54 teams at the NCAA Division III Women's Swimming and Diving Championships on March 10-12. The national event was hosted by Hope College (Mich.) and held at the Holland Aquatic Center.

The Eagles totaled 83 team points, while UW-Oshkosh tied for 30th with 31 points, UW-Stevens Point finished 35th with 22 points and UW-Eau Claire tied for 47th with seven points.

Emory (Ga.) captured its first-ever NCAA Division III women's swimming and diving title with 399.50 points to outdistance three-time defending champion Kenyon (Ohio), which placed second with 313 points. Denison (Ohio) placed third with 305.50 points, followed by Williams (Mass.) with 272.50 points and Amherst (Mass.) with 243 points.

UW-La Crosse's Krista Melvin placed 13th in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:55.27, while teammate, Carlene Empanger finished 14th with a time of 1:55.50. Anne Melvin placed 15th in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 58.34.

In the diving events, UW-La Crosse's Amanda Medendorp finished 10th in the three-meter competition with a score of 367.70. She placed 16th in the one-meter event with a score of 309.15.

UW-La Crosse's 200-yard freestyle relay team claimed All-America honors after finishing eighth with a time of 1:37.51. Anne Melvin, Fallon Toomsen, Lexi Fink and Krista Melvin comprised the All-America team.

The Eagles secured 10th-place finishes in the 800-yard freestyle relay and 200-yard medley relay with times of 7:46.44 and 1:47.97, respectively. Toomsen, Empanger, Krista Melvin and Kelly Hackbarth were members of the 800-yard freestyle team, while Toomsen, Anne Melvin, Krista Melvin and Stacia Schacht comprised the 200-yard medley team.

Toomsen, Empanger, Anne Melvin and Krista Melvin teamed to finish 11th in the 400-yard freestyle relay with a time of 3:33.88, while Toomsen, Schacht, Anne Melvin and Krista Melvin were members of the 400-yard medley relay team that placed 15th with a time of 4:00.63.

UW-Stevens Point had three relay teams place at the national meet, led by the 200-medley relay quartet of Liz Herder, Jennie Roskopf, Lindsay Correll and Kelsey Crunstedt that finished 11th with a time of 1:49.17.

Herder, Roskopf, Meghan Walsh and Jerica Crook teamed to finish 13th in the 400-yard medley relay with a time of 3:59.90, while Crunstedt, Crook, Walsh and Roskopf were members of the 400-yard freestyle relay team that placed 16th with a time of 3:41.57.

UW-Oshkosh's Renee Porter secured a pair of All-America finishes by placing third in the 50-yard freestyle and seventh in the 100-yard freestyle with times of 23.87 and 52.28, respectively. Porter also finished 14th in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 59.27.

UW-Eau Claire's Cori Severson finished 10th in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 24.17.

The top eight finishers in each event at the national championship claimed All-America honors, while places 9-16 earned honorable mention All-America status.

WIAC finishes at the 2005 NCAA Division III Championships:
50-Yard Freestyle--Renee Porter (UW-Oshkosh-3rd), Cori Severson (UW-Eau Claire-10th)
100-Yard Freestyle--Renee Porter (UW-Oshkosh-7th)
200-Yard Freestyle--Krista Melvin (UW-La Crosse-13th), Carlene Empanger (UW-La Crosse-14th)
100-Yard Backstroke--Renee Porter (UW-Oshkosh-14th)
100-Yard Butterfly--Anne Melvin (UW-La Crosse-15th)
One-Meter Diving--Amanda Medendorp (UW-La Crosse-16th), Sarah Thayer (UW-La Crosse-17th)
Three-Meter Diving--Amanda Medendorp (UW-La Crosse-10th), Sarah Thayer (UW-La Crosse-18th)

200-Yard Freestyle Relay--UW-La Crosse (Anne Melvin, Fallon Toomsen, Lexi Fink, Krista Melvin-8th)

400-Yard Freestyle Relay--UW-La Crosse (Krista Melvin, Anne Melvin, Carlene Empanger, Fallon Toomsen-11th), UW-Stevens Point (Kelsey Crunstedt, Jerica Crook, Meghan Walsh, Jennie Roskopf-16th)

800-Yard Freestyle Relay--UW-La Crosse (Krista Melvin, Kelly Hackbarth, Fallon Toomsen, Carlene Empanger-10th), UW-Stevens Point (Jerica Crook, Kelsey Crunstedt, Liz Herder, Meghan Walsh-17th)

200-Yard Medley Relay--UW-La Crosse (Fallon Toomsen, Stacia Schacht, Anne Melvin, Krista Melvin-10th), UW-Stevens Point (Liz Herder, Jennie Roskopf, Lindsay Correll, Kelsey Crunstedt-11th)

400-Yard Medley Relay--UW-Stevens Point (Liz Herder, Jennie Roskopf, Meghan Walsh, Jerica Crook-13th), UW-La Crosse (Fallon Toomsen, Stacia Schacht, Anne Melvin, Krista Melvin-15th)

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UW-La Crosse's Anne Melvin Named Women's Swimming and Diving Scholar-Athlete

RELEASED: Monday, February 21, 2005

Madison, Wis.--University of Wisconsin-La Crosse's Anne Melvin has been named to the 2005 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Women's Swimming and Diving Judy Kruckman Scholar-Athlete, it was announced recently by WIAC Commissioner Gary Karner.

Melvin, a senior from Abbotsford, Wis., is majoring in nuclear medicine technology with a minor in chemistry and maintains a 3.82 grade point average. She is a three-time NCAA Academic All-American and was named to the 2004 College Sports Information Directors of America Academic All-America College Division Women's At-Large Second Team. Melvin has appeared on UW-La Crosse's Dean's List six semesters and also received an undergraduate research grant for work in nuclear chemistry research.

Melvin recently helped the Eagles to their fourth consecutive WIAC championship as a member of two winning relay teams. She is a 12-time NCAA Division III All-American and has captured 15 conference titles. Melvin holds four league records and owns six school records.

Melvin is president of the UW-La Crosse Winner's Council and a member of the Golden Key International Honor Society. She has been a part of numerous community service and charitable activities on behalf of the student-athletes at her institution.

Melvin becomes the sixth UW-La Crosse women's swimming and diving student-athlete to claim the conference's scholar-athlete awards. She joins Julie Waterhouse (1998), Jennifer Wilson (1995), Lori Werdin (1992), Janeen Radecke (1988) and Cheryl Mueller (1985) as recipients of the award.

Also nominated for this year's scholar-athlete award were: UW-La Crosse's Alexis Fink, Krista Melvin, Elizabeth Miles and Fallon Toomsen and UW-River Falls' Logan Baker.

The WIAC Scholar-Athlete Award is sponsored by Culver's. In order to be nominated for the scholar-athlete award, a student-athlete must have a minimum 3.25 grade point average, be in their last year of competition, or on schedule to graduate this academic year, and have competed for a minimum of two years.

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UW-La Crosse Wins Fourth Consecutive Women's Swimming and Diving Title

Whitewater, Wis.--University of Wisconsin-La Crosse won its fourth consecutive Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) women's swimming and diving title at the three-day league meet, which was held at UW-Whitewater's Williams Center Pool on February 17-19.

The conference title for the Eagles is the ninth in school history (2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 1998, 1978, 1977, 1973, 1972). They claimed this year's crown with a conference-record 1,297.50 team points, eclipsing the mark of 1,223 they set in 2002.

UW-Stevens Point finished second with 1,247 points, followed by UW-Eau Claire (777.50), UW-Oshkosh (466), UW-River Falls (361) and UW-Whitewater (355).

UW-La Crosse secured eight individual titles at the conference championship, led by Carlene Empanger's three crowns. She won the 200-yard freestyle, 500-yard freestyle and 1,650-yard freestyle events with times of 1:55.99, 5:07.39 and 18:01.43, respectively. Empanger won the 500-yard and 1,650-yard titles for the third straight season and established NCAA "B" qualifying standards in the 200-yard and 500-yard competitions.

UW-La Crosse's Sarah Thayer won the one-meter and three-meter diving competitions. She won the one-meter event with a score of 416.85, while securing the three-meter contest with a score of 435.60. Thayer earned the Diver of the Meet award for her performances.

The Eagles' Elizabeth Miles, Fallon Toomsen and Kelly Hackbarth won the remaining three individual titles. Miles became a four-time champion in the 200-yard butterfly with conference meet record time of 2:08.24, while Toomsen secured the 200-yard individual medley for the third time in her career in 2:11.51. She also won the event during the 2002 and 2003 league championships.

Hackbarth won the 400-yard individual medley with a time of 4:41.39.

UW-Stevens Point won four individual crowns, led by Jennie Roskopf who won the 100-yard breaststroke and 200-yard breaststroke titles for the second straight year with times of 1:07.70 and 2:29.08, respectively. Her time in the 100-yard breaststroke was a NCAA "B" qualifying standard.

The Pointers' Jenna Gilbertson claimed the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 2:11.02, while Meghan Walsh secured the 100-yard butterfly with a NCAA "B" qualifying standard and pool record time of 58.41.

UW-Oshkosh's Renee Porter was voted the Swimmer of the Meet after claiming three individual titles. She won the 50-yard freestyle, 100-yard freestyle and 100-yard backstroke with times of 24.09, 52.91 and 58.76, respectively. Her times in 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard backstroke were NCAA "A" qualifying standards. Porter also won all three events at the 2001 conference championship.

UW-La Crosse also won three relay titles en route to the conference championship. The 800-yard freestyle relay team of Krista Melvin, Hackbarth, Toomsen and Empanger finished with a conference meet record time of 7:47.41. Their time also established a NCAA "B" qualifying standard and pool record.

The 200-yard freestyle relay quartet of Anne Melvin, Lexi Fink, Krista Melvin and Toomsen finished with a NCAA "B" qualifying time of 1:36.48, while the 400-yard freestyle relay team of Anne Melvin, Krista Melvin, Toomsen and Empanger finished with a NCAA "B" qualifying standard time of 3:34.59.

UW-Stevens Point's Liz Herder, Lindsay Correll, Kelsey Crunstedt and Roskopf teamed to win the 200-yard medley relay in a conference meet record time of 1:47.76. Their time was also a NCAA "A" qualifying standard and pool record.

The Pointers also won the 400-yard medley relay title. Jerica Crook, Herder, Roskopf and Walsh finished with a NCAA "A" qualifying standard and pool record time of 3:56.64.

UW-Eau Claire's Rob Welcher and UW-Stevens Point's Al Boelk were voted Co-Coaches of the Year by the league coaches. It was the third time Boelk has received the award (2005, 2003, 2000), while Welcher was honored for the first time in his career.

Team Scores:
1. UW-La Crosse 1297.50
2. UW-Stevens Point 1247
3. UW-Eau Claire 777.50
4. UW-Oshkosh 466
5. UW-River Falls 361
6. UW-Whitewater 355

Individual Event Champions:
50-Yard Freestyle--Renee Porter (UW-Oshkosh), 24.09
100-Yard Freestyle--Renee Porter (UW-Oshkosh), 52.91
200-Yard Freestyle--Carlene Empanger (UW-La Crosse), 1:55.99
500-Yard Freestyle--Carlene Empanger (UW-La Crosse), 5:07.39
1650-Yard Freestyle--Carlene Empanger (UW-La Crosse), 18:01.43
100-Yard Backstroke--Renee Porter (UW-Oshkosh), 58.76
200-Yard Backstroke--Jenna Gilbertson (UW-Stevens Point), 2:11.02
100-Yard Breaststroke--Jennie Roskopf (UW-Stevens Point), 1:07.70
200-Yard Breaststroke--Jennie Roskopf (UW-Stevens Point), 2:29.08
100-Yard Butterfly--Meghan Walsh (UW-Stevens Point), 58.41
200-Yard Butterfly--Elizabeth Miles (UW-La Crosse), 2:08.24*
200-Yard Individual Medley--Fallon Toomsen (UW-La Crosse), 2:11.51
400-Yard Individual Medley--Kelly Hackbarth (UW-La Crosse), 4:41.39
One-Meter Diving--Sarah Thayer (UW-La Crosse), 416.85
Three-Meter Diving--Sarah Thayer (UW-La Crosse), 435.60

Relay Champions:
200-Yard Freestyle Relay--UW-La Crosse (Anne Melvin, Fallon Toomsen, Lexi Fink, Krista Melvin), 1:36.48
400-Yard Freestyle Relay--UW-La Crosse (Anne Melvin, Fallon Toomsen, Carlene Empanger, Krista Melvin), 3:34.59
800-Yard Freestyle Relay--UW-La Crosse (Krista Melvin, Kelly Hackbarth, Fallon Toomsen, Carlene Empanger), 7:47.41*
200-Yard Medley Relay--UW-Stevens Point (Liz Herder, Jennie Roskopf, Lindsay Correll, Kelsey Crunstedt), 1:47.76*
400-Yard Medley Relay--UW-Stevens Point (Liz Herder, Jennie Roskopf, Meghan Walsh, Jerica Crook), 3:56.64

*Conference Record

Swimmer of the Meet: Renee Porter of UW-Oshkosh
Diver of the Meet: Sarah Thayer of UW-La Crosse
Judy Kruckman Scholar-Athlete: Anne Melvin of UW-La Crosse
Co-Coaches of the Year: Rob Welcher of UW-Eau Claire and Al Boelk of UW-Stevens Point

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