Jan. 12, 2002

Chicago, Ill. - It seems the men and women are more alike than we think.

Both UIC swimming and diving squads experienced the same outcome over the weekend-a victory at Valparaiso and a loss while hosting Wisconsin-Green Bay.

Head Coach Paul Moniak, however, is keeping everything in its proper perspective.

"Overall, this was a nice way to start the second semester," said the rookie head coach. "It shows that we had a great training trip down in Florida."

On Friday, the men claimed a 122-104 victory over Valparaiso while the women outdistanced the host Crusaders 131-100.

Senior standout Paul Torres led the men notching victories in the 200 IM (1:58.09) and the 500 free (4:51.18). To begin the meet, Torres teamed with fellow senior David Kimmerly as well as sophomores Enric Claret and Alexander Marinof to provide the Flames with a narrow victory in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:40.20.

Claret would get the taste of victory again in claiming the 200 free (1:46.27) and the 100 free (48.40), as would Marinof who won the 100 fly in 55.52.

Moniak also had high praise for Kimmerly who edged out Valpo's Kevin Hyde to win the 100 backstroke in a time of 54.66.

"That was really a breakthrough swim for David in the backstroke," said Moniak. "It shows that he is training extremely well."

The UIC men also swept the top three spots in the diving events with Mike Magee, Joe Scharnak, and Ted Slowik. Magee tallied a score of 255.95 on the one-meter board and a 190.80 off the three-meter board to win both events.

Again, similar to their male counterparts, Shannon Joseph, Andrea Bove, and Caitlin Carey teamed to take the top three spots in the diving events. Joseph claimed the one- meter crown with a score of 196.90 while Bove's 201.40 gave her a victory in the three- meter event.

In both the 500 and 1000 freestyle events, the Flames claimed the top three spots. Sophomore Jamie Redway won the 1000-yard event in 10:55.61 while freshman Christine Hare won a tight 500-yard battle in 5:18.50 over Redway's 5:22.39.

Hare tallied another victory in the 200 free (1:58.17), while Stephanie Murphy (50 free, 25.99), Nakima Sepulveda (200 IM, 2:18.57), and Shannon Sterne (100 back, 1:04.24) all won their events as well.

The team of Julie-Ann Chico, Alicia Perry, Stephanie Brane, and Murphy was also victorious with a 1:55.52 win in the 200-yard medley relay.

After getting a taste of victory in Indiana, however, UIC returned to Chicago and was handed defeats at the hands of Wisconsin-Green Bay, one of the Horizon League's top programs. The women were outdistanced 121-109 while the men suffered a 124-85 setback.

"The kids really did a great job, but Green Bay had tremendous depth that was just a little difficult for us to overcome," Moniak said.

Redway claimed victory in two distance events with a time of 10:49.61 in the 1000 free and a 5:17.13 mark in the 500 free.

The women's 400 free relay squad of Chico, Murphy, Brane, and Hare would also be victorious in a time of 3:42.28.

Again, Moniak's divers impressed. Joseph, Bove, and Carey again teamed to take the meet's top three spots in both diving events. Bove won the one-meter event with a score of 243.60 while Joseph claimed the three-meter title with a 262.80 outing.

Magee and Scharnak, then, took the top spots in the men's diving events. A score of 270.25 gave Magee the one-meter crown while a 289.05 gave him an easy victory in the three-meter.

Torres and Claret were the men's only event winners on the day. Torres collected victories in the 1000 free (9:56.09) and the 200 breast (206.70), while Claret won the 200 IM in a time of 1:56.34. Claret narrowly missed a win in the 200-yard butterfly, losing by less than a half second to Green Bay's Andy Brzozowski and his winning time of 1:55.00.

"Enric had a great 200 butterfly race in which he was just touched out . . . and again, Paul Torres raced very well."

Both squads will be in action again Friday, Jan. 18, when the women host Illinois State and the men welcome Northwestern. Competition begins at 7:00 p.m. at Flames Natatorium.