EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (blugolds.com) – The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire men's and women's swimming and diving teams hosted their first Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) dual of the season on Saturday with UW-Oshkosh in town. The two Blugolds squads combined for 24 first place finishes in the 26 events held. The women earned their first WIAC victory defeating UWO 148-86, and the men picked up their first win of the season over the Titans, 158-73.
 
The UWEC 200-yard medley teams got things started for UW-Eau Claire with first place finishes on the men's and women's side. Amanda Hyland and Grant Lee both won their 1000-yard freestyle races by more than 20 seconds each. Sydney McCollor and Sam Ryf both took home first place finishes in their respective 200-yard freestyle races. In the 50-yard freestyles, Sydney McGuine and Evan Bushko both finished on top with sub 25 second times.
 
In the diving competition, Ben Koller ran away with the competition in the 1-meter and 3-meter dives with scores of 275.85 and 298.08 respectively. Koller's scores qualify him for the NCAA Diving Zone meet on both boards. On the women's side, Ella Josephs led the Blugolds with a second-place finish on the 1-meter board and a third-place finish on the 3-meter board.
 
The Blugold relay teams continued their dominance in the 200-yard freestyle as both squads found themselves with first place finishes. Ella Weaver and Ben Keller took home top honors in the 100-yard breaststroke. Emma Vogen and Kaden Zink both finished first in their respective 500-yard freestyle races. Sydney Jenkins and Kadin Denner placed first in the 100-yard backstroke events. Elaina Plonis and Emmett Botten earned top finishes in the 100-yard butterfly races.
 
After the meet, head coach Annie Ryder was very pleased with her teams' performances and the opportunity to start the season at home. "The first meet is always such an exciting time in the season. We get to see the team come together and demonstrate the hard work they have been putting into practice day in and day out. Racing is the fun part, and they certainly did an excellent job of that today. Their commitment and dedication to positively impact their team was incredible both in their racing and diving today as well as their commitment in practice. They raced hard, swam fast and dove well. This was the strongest we have ever started the season and we are all looking forward to our upcoming dual meets."
 
The Blugolds will be back at home for their second WIAC dual of the year on Saturday, October 28^th when they host UW-Stevens Point. Diving will begin at 9 a.m. and races plan to start at 1 p.m. in the McPhee Physical Education Center Pool.