Contact: Nathan Cameron, Assistant Director of Athletic Communications, 563-588-7243
(Written by Kyler Donovan, Athletic Communications Student Assistant) 

RIPON, Wis. (Oct. 16, 2021) – The Loras College swim and dive teams opened the 2021-22 season in Ripon, Wis. as they took on Ripon College and NCAA Division II school Michigan Technological University.

The women's 200 yard medley relay team of Nina Schiro, Artie Kerchmar, Amber Forbort and Taylor Hrabak narrowly took second with a time of 2:04.61 while Kevin McMillan, Brian Day, Zach Nelson, and Payton Markowski also took second on the men's side with a time of 1:51.58.

Austin Jorgensen finished the 1,000 yard freestyle with a time of 11:58.32, placing him in second for the event. Hrabak and freshman Molly Strohmeyer placed second and third, respectively, in the women's 200 yard freestyle, recording times faster than all three Michigan Technology University athletes with Hrabak finishing in 2:13.96 and Strohmeyer posting a 2:16.32 finish. Zach Nelson placed third in the men's 200 yard freestyle with a time of 2:00.56.

Schiro took first in both the 50 yard freestyle with a time of 26.98 and the 100 yard backstroke finishing in 1:04.33. Brad LaGrange finished the men's 50 yard freestyle with a time of 23.00, which earned him a second place finish in the event. Forbort also received a first place finish for her performance in the 100 yard butterfly with a time of 1:08.67.

In the men's 200 yard IM, Markowski earned a second place finish with a time of 2:22.23 while teammate Spencer Kakacek posted a 2:22.73 time to place third.
Brian Day finished third in the 100 yard breaststroke with a time of 1:08.27 while Kerchmar finished second in the women's race with a time of 1:23.34. Grace VanPetten placed third in the even with a time of 1:44.85.

The men's and women's 200 yard freestyle relay teams both narrowly took second to Ripon College with the men finishing in 1:35.88 and women posting a 1:52.04 time.

Sophomore Maija Kompsie finished the women's 1 meter dive with a final score of 138.80 while Nicholas Schlader posted a 166.85 in the men's event followed by Gannon Harrington with a 145.30 finish. In the 3 meter dive, Schlader notched a 155.00 score with Harrington finishing with a 146.45 score.

In their first dual meet of the 2021-22 season, the Duhawks fell to Ripon College 119-106 on the men's side while the women were edged 115-81.

The men are set to take on Knox College on Oct. 23 in their first home meet of the season while the women are back in action against Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Oct. 29.