Illinois Wesleyan 2007-08 Swimming Stories

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March 20-22
Illinois Wesleyan junior Mike Kozak finished 16th in the 200 butterfly, 22nd in the 100 butterfly and 46th in the 50 freestyle at the NCAA Division III national swim championships in Oxford, Ohio on March 21-22. Kozak (Aurora, Ill., Waubonsie Valley HS), the lone Wesleyan entrant in the meet, swam a time of 1:52 in the finals of the 200 butterfly after posting a 1:51.44 in the preliminaries. Heading into the meet he had the nation’s eighth best qualifying time in the 200 fly at 1:51.92. In the 100 butterfly he had a time of 50.52 seconds and he swam the 50 freestyle in 22.12 seconds. Kozak accounted for the lone IWU point at the national meet, which was won by Kenyon College for the 29th straight year.

February 22-23
The Illinois Wesleyan men’s swim team set a number of school records en route to a seventh-place finish at the 14-team Midwest Invitational at Wheaton on Feb. 22-23. Ben Rock (shown) swam to NCAA Division III qualifying times in the 200-yard breaststroke (his first place finish was in a school-record time of 2 minutes, 7.18 seconds) and the 100-yard breaststroke (58.26), while Chris Betzle shattered the school mark of 16:15.33 in the 1,650 freestyle (16:12.48). The time also was an NCAA qualifying time for Betzle. Mike Kozak broke his own school record of 1:54.17 in the 200 butterfly set last year by swimming a qualifying time of 1:51.92. Rock and Kozak also teamed with Cameron Barnish and Brian Busch in the 200 medley relay in a school-record and winning time of 1:36.32. Barnish also won the 200 backstroke (2:03.21) and Busch placed third in the 50 freestyle with a time of 21.71 seconds.
Eleanor Holisky was the lone IWU women's winner in the meet, claiming the 400 individual medley (5:20.4). Freshman Lauren Hansen finished second in the 500 free with her time of 5:22.95.The Titan women finished fifth in the 12-team event.
Wheaton took both the men’s and women’s titles in the meet, a final qualifying meet for participants to earn a qualifying time to participate in the upcoming NCAA swimming championships. The NCAA women's Division III swimming championships begin March 13 in Oxford, Ohio. The Division III men's championships will begin March 20 on Oxford, Ohio.

February 16
The Illinois Wesleyan women's team finished third and the men's team finished fourth in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin championships, held Feb. 14-16 in Kenosha, Wis. The Titan women amassed 348.50 points as Wheaton won the women's title with 976.50 points. The men's team got 365 points as Carthage claimed first place with 1,025. Illinois Wesleyan freshman Lauren Hansen was named as the women's "Outstanding Participant" of the meet as, on the final day, she placed third in the 200 butterfly (2:16.39) and joined Anne Kopf, Jennifer Fitton and Angie Tomazin for a third place finish in the 400 free relay. Kopf also placed third in the 100 free (53.88 seconds). For the men, Ben Rock got second in the 200 breaststroke (2:09.64) and Mike Kozak placed second in the 200 butterfly (1:53.50).

February 15
The Illinois Wesleyan women's team is in third place and the men's team is in fourth after day two of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin swimming championships on February 15 in Kenosha, Wis. The IWU women have 233.5 points and the men have amassed 247. Wheaton leads the women's meet with 641 points while Carthage tops the men's scoring with 664. Mike Kozak finished third in the 100 butterfly and Ben Rock placed third in the 100 breaststroke for the men. Lauren Hansen placed fourth in the 100 butterfly and swam a leg on the third place 200 medley relay team with Anne Kopf, Angie Tomazin and Jennifer Fitton. Kozak and Rock swam with Cameron Barnish and Brian Busch as the men's 200 medley relay team also placed third. The seven-team championships conclude on Saturday, February 16.

February 14
The Illinois Wesleyan women's team is in third place and the men's team is in fourth after day one of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin swimming championships on February 14 in Kenosha, Wis. The IWU women have 120.5 points and the men have amassed 123. Chris Betzle finished second in the 500 freestyle and the men's 400 medley relay team of Cameron Barnish, Ben Rock, Mike Kozak and Brian Busch placed third. For the women, Angie Tomazin got third in the 500 free, Anne Kopf placed fourth in the 50 free and the two teamed with Jennifer Fitton and Lauren Hansen for a third place finish in the 400 medley relay. The seven-team championships continue on February 15 and 16.

February 9
The Illinois Wesleyan women's diving squad finished second of five teams at the Titan Diving Invitational, held Saturday, Feb. 9 at the Fort Natatorium. IWU amassed 66 points to finish second to College of DuPage with 72 points. Sam Sebastian won the 3-meter diving with a score of 306.65 and freshman Lindsey DeSutter was fifth (239.15). DeSutter scored a school-record 315.25 in finishing second in the 1-meter diving while Sebastian was fourth (272.95). DeSutter's total topped the old school mark of 309.75, set in 2001 by Cathy Gilbert.

February 2
The Illinois Wesleyan men's and women's swim teams split in a double dual meet at Wheaton on Saturday, Feb. 2. The men defeated North Central, 92-9, and lost to Wheaton, 77-44. The women also handled North Central, 77-26, and lost to Wheaton, 81-41. Senior Anne Kopf was a double winner for the women, taking the 50 free and 500 free, while also placing first were freshman Jennifer Fitton in the 1000 free and junior Angie Tomazin in the 200 butterfly. Winners for the Titans' men's team were sophomore Brian Busch in the 50 free, sophomore Oliver Smidt in the 200 free and senior Ben Rock in the 100 breaststroke. Rock and Busch teamed with sophomore Mike Kozak and freshman Kendall Held for a first place effort in the 200 free relay. IWU hosts the Titan Diving Invitational on Saturday, Feb. 9 and will compete in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin meet Feb. 14-16 at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wis.

January 29

Illinois Wesleyan sophomore Mike Kozak (Aurora, Ill., Waubonsie Valley HS) has been chosen as the male “Swimmer of the Week” in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin. Against Millikin on Jan. 25, Kozak achieved an un-tapered best in the 100 butterfly for a first place finish at 53.93, one-and-a-half seconds faster than his previous best. He also had an un-tapered best leading off the 200 free relay with a time of 23.49 in his 50 free leg, a half- second faster than his previous best. Against DePauw on Jan. 26, Kozak swam a personal un-tapered best in the 200 butterfly (1:59.94), which was two-and-a-half seconds faster than his previous best, to place first. He placed third in the 500 freestyle (5:10.17) with a time that was 10 seconds faster than last semester. He also led off the 200 free relay (23.50) that finished second.

January 25-26
The Illinois Wesleyan men's and women's swimming teams split a pair of dual meets on the weekend of January 25-26. The Titans defeated Millikin on Friday, Jan. 25 at Fort Natatorium with the women winning by a 112-87 score and the men claiming a 105-72 victory. In Greencastle, Ind., on Saturday, Jan. 26, the Titan women lost to the No. 14-ranked DePauw team, 207-61, while the men's squad fell to the No. 9-ranked Tigers, 209-59. Winners for the Titans at DePauw were sophomore Mike Kozak in the 200 fly and senior Ben Rock in the 200 breaststroke. Junior Angie Tomazin won the 500 free in a time of 5:35.36 and Lindsey DeSutter took the 1-meter diving with a score of 175.63.

January 15
Illinois Wesleyan junior Angela Tomazin and sophomore Chris Betzle were named College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin “Swimmers of the Week” for their efforts in a dual meet against Principia on Jan. 12.
Tomazin (Wheaton, Ill., Wheaton-Warrenville South HS) started the meet with an untapered best in the 50 backstroke and a first place finish in the medley relay. She had her untapered best time in the 100 freestyle (55.70), which is over a half a second faster than her previous best and was a first place finish. She also had two second place finishes in the 100 backstroke and 100 fly.
Betzle (East Moline, Ill., United Township HS) had his personal best time in the 1000 freestyle with a first place time of 10:00.75, which is 27 seconds faster than his previous best. Betzle also placed second in the 200 butterfly with a time of 2:11.40. He also placed second in the 100 butterfly (57.46) and was a member of the winning 400 freestyle relay.

January 12
The Illinois Wesleyan men's and women's swim teams both earned victories in a dual meet against Principia on Saturday, Jan. 12 at IWU's Fort Natatorium. The men were winners by a 159-84 margin while the women won, 151-117. Five Titans were multiple winners, including three wins from freshman Cameron Barnisch in the 50 free, 200 backstroke, 200 individual medley. Other multiple winners included sophomore Oliver Smidt (200 and 500 freestyle), sophomore Mike Kozak (100 and 200 butterfly), senior Ben Rock (100 and 200 breaststroke) and for the women, freshman Jennifer Fitton in the 100 and 200 breaststroke.

November 30-December 1
The Illinois Wesleyan men's swimming team finished eighth of 10 and the women's team placed 10th of 11 at the DePauw Swimming Invitational, held at Lilly Erdmann Natatorium in Greencastle, Ind., on Nov. 30-Dec. 1. The IWU men scored 175 points and were led by sophomore Chris Betzle (East Moline, Ill., United Township HS), who finished third in the 500 freestyle (with a time of 4:57.71) and sixth in the 400 individual medley (4:30.74). Sophomore Mike Kozak (Aurora, Ill., Waubonsie Valley HS) placed fifth in the 200 butterfly (2:03.45) and sixth in the 100 butterfly (55.12 seconds). The women amassed 128 points in the two-day event. DePauw won the men's competition with 920 points and also captured the women's title with 835 points. At the Wabash Diving Invitational, Sam Sebastian (Crystal Lake, Ill., South HS) was the winner of the 1-meter diving competition with 293 points and also won the 3-meter event with a 285.45 score.
Go here for DePauw Swimming Results
Go here for Wabash Diving Results

November 17
The Illinois Wesleyan women's swimming team finished first of seven teams while the IWU men were third of eight in the IWU Invitational, held at Fort Natatorium on Saturday, Nov. 17. The women had 113 points as Angie Tomazin got first in the 200 freestyle, second in the 100 butterfly and swam a leg on the victorious 200 free relay team. Other women's second place finishes came from Sam Sebastian in 3-meter diving, Lauren Hansen in the 100 free and Nicole Litzner in the 100 back. Ben Rock (shown) finished first in the 100 breast with a time of 1:02.94 for the IWU men, who collected a total of 87 points. Lincoln College finished first in the men's meet with 133 and Monmouth was second (103).

November 10
The Illinois Wesleyan men's and women's swim teams both finished sixth of nine teams at the Maroon Invitational hosted by the University of Chicago on Saturday, Nov. 10. The women had 181 total points and got a third place finish from Lindsay DeSutter in 1-meter diving and a third place from Angie Tomazin in the 50 freestyle. Tomazin also swam a leg of the third place 200 free relay team (1:46.23) with Anne Kopf, Lauren Hansen and Jennifer Fitton and Tomazin also placed seventh in the 100 backstroke (1:07.46). The men amassed 151 points as Mike Kozak took fifth in the 200 butterfly (2:05.22) and Ben Rock claimed sixth place in the 100 breaststroke (1:04.31). The host school won the women's meet with 834 points and Washington U. (Mo.) was the men's winner with 925 points.

November 3
The Illinois Wesleyan men’s and women’s swim teams competed in the Wabash Quadrangular on Saturday, Nov. 3 in Crawfordsville, Ind. The IWU women’s team defeated Rose-Hulman, 101-96, and lost to St. Mary’s (Ind.), 157-72, while the men lost to Rose-Hulman, 152-76, and Wabash, 193-40. Anne Kopf was a triple winner, taking first in the 50 free (25.97) and 100 free (49.83) and swimming on the victorious 400 free relay team. Angie Tomazin (200 free, 2:03.47) and Lindsey DeSutter (one meter diving) were also winners for the women while for the men, Ben Rock won the 200 breaststroke in 2:21.87.

October 27
The Illinois Wesleyan men's team finished first and the women's team finished second at the IWU Halloween Classic at Fort Natatorium on Saturday, Oct. 27. The men's team amassed 94 points (second place Millikin had 66) as Titan relay teams were dominant, winning the 500 free, 300 butterfly, 300 breast and 300 back relays. Chris Betzle won the 200 free (1:53.27) and 200 fly (2:09.60) and Ben Rock won the 200 breast. The women's team had 53 points, second to Carthage (with 94), as IWU won the 300 breaststroke relay and Anne Kopf finished second in the 100 freestyle.

September 20
The Illinois Wesleyan men's and women's swim teams open their 2007-08 season at home in the CCIW Fall Classic at IWU's Fort Natatorium at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 27. The Titans return last season's "Most Valuable Swimmers" - junior Angie Tomazin and sophomore Mike Kozak. Tomazin finished sixth in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin meet in both the 100 and 200 backstroke events and swam a leg on the second place 400 and 800 relay teams. Kozak set a school record in the 200 butterfly when he finished second in the CCIW meet and also earned all-CCIW honors with a third place finish in the 100 butterfly and swimming on the third place 200 free, 400 free and 400 medley relay teams. Also back is junior Jeff McCortney, who was the "Most Improved" swimmer for the men’s squad. Head coach Teresa Fish was co-winner of men's swimming "Coach of the Year" as her Titan men's squad finished third in the CCIW meet last February.