BROWN DEER, Wis. (www.blugolds.com) – The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire women's swim and dive team defended their Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Championship reign on Saturday as they completed their quest for back-to-back WIAC Championships, finishing the weekend with 971 points and earning their 21^st WIAC Title in program history.
 
The Blugolds finished the championship week off strong with four individual titles and a relay championship to help them hit the program's 3^rd highest point total during the WIAC championships. Overall, UWEC had seven individuals and three relay teams win titles over the four-day event.
 
Elaina Plonis (Jr. – Macomb, Mich./ Eisenhower) captured her first individual and second overall WIAC title of the meet in the 200-yard butterfly with a top time of 2:07.04. Ella Weaver (Sr. – McFarland, Wis.) hit a NCAA B cut in the 200-yard breaststroke while capturing her second individual and third total conference title of the week with a 2:18.70. Sydney McGuine (Sr. – Huntley, Ill.) captured her first WIAC crown of the meet with a posted 2:04.01 in the 200-yard backstroke.
 
Molly Hosack (So. – Cedarburg, Wis.) took the WIAC crown in the 1650-yard freestyle with the top time of 17:19.36 to earn her second individual title and third overall on the week. The women's 400-yard freestyle relay team of Kiara Bissen (Jr. – Madison, Wis./Vel Phillips Memorial), Zoe Rylander (Sr. – Roseville, Minn./Mounds View), Sydney McCollor (Sr. – St. Paul, Minn./Irondale), and Sydney McGuine earned the teams third relay championship with a NCAA B cut 3:29.11 time.
 
Apart from the champions, five other Blugolds finished with top-3 placements to help the team capture the WIAC Championship. Amber Winter (Fr. – Merrill, Wis.) was also named Newcomer of the Meet.
 
The Blugolds' WIAC title will be celebrated at length until the team turns their focus to NCAA postseason competition. The NCAA Diving Zones are set for Friday and Saturday, February 23^rd and 24^th in at Denison University in Granville, Ohio. The squad will await the field for NCAA Championships held March 13^th – 14^th in Greensboro, N.C.
 
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