| Lake Forest College Sports Information
February 14, 2010 Contact: Mike Wajerski, SID Both Forester Teams Finish Second at Midwest Conference Championships
Sunday's finals session began with another record-setting performance by Lake Forest freshman Becky Shaak (Vienna, Va./James Madison). She won the 1650-freestyle with a time of 17:24.31, setting a new conference record and posting an NCAA B-Cut qualifying time for the third time on the weekend. The only swimmer in the race that Shaak did not lap twice was sophomore Jennifer Steege (Hudson, Wis./Visitation), who finished second in 18:24.90. Fellow sophomore Amy Finn (Horsham Pa./Archbishop Wood) was fourth with a time of 18:42.67. Junior Lisa Carpenter (Edina, Minn./Edina) placed fifth in 18:59.03, despite swimming in a slower heat earlier in the day. Freshman Chris Wiatr (Long Grove, Ill./Stevenson) was the runner-up in the men's 1650-freestyle with a time of 16:56.26 and classmate J.J. Conoscenti (Cocoa Beach, Fla./Cocoa Beach) finished third in 17:08.95. Lake Forest had two of the top five finishers in the women's 200-backstroke. Freshman Amber Kerrigan (Phoenix, Ariz./Xavier College Prep) was third in 2:18.20 and classmate Meghan Mason (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sand Creek) placed fifth with a time of 2:19.48. Junior Mike Mackin (Berwyn, Ill./Fenwick) posted his third runner-up performance of the weekend in the men's 200-backstroke. His time of 1:55.26 ranks second in team history and is faster than the previous meet record. The Forester women posted their second 1-2 finish of the day in the 100-freestyle where freshman Kelsey Hoeper (Medford, Ore./South Medford) finished in 54.19 seconds, just ahead of sophomore Emily Watts' (Danville, Ind./Danville Community) time of 54.35. Both swimmers were slightly faster in the morning prelim, Hoeper with a time if 53.87 seconds and Watts in 54.13. Hoeper was already the school record-holder in the event and Watts' first time of the day is better than any by a Forester before this season. Freshmen Michael Tunzi (Chicago, Ill./St. Patrick) and Diego Ledesma (Chicago Ill./Lane Tech) placed among the leaders in the men's 100-freestyle. Tunzi was tied for sixth in 49.71 seconds and Ledesma eighth with a time of 50.35, three-tenths of a second off his time from the morning prelim. Junior Whitney Hales (New Iberia, La./Episcopal School of Acadinda) was the lone Lake Forest swimmer in the finals of the women's 200-breaststroke. Her time of 2:39.19 was good for fourth place. Another conference record was claimed by freshman Alex Marks (Oregon, Ill./Oregon) in the men's 200-breaststroke. He finished in 2:06.14, which is also an NCAA B-Cut qualifying mark. Freshman Stamen Tintikov (Chicago Ill./Lane Tech) placed fourth in the event in 2:15.21 and senior Derek Atchley (Monroe, Mich./Monroe) was fifth with a time of 2:21.63. Sophomore Ellen Stoehr (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) recorded her second victory of the weekend in the 200-butterfly with a time of 2:11.09, ranking her second in team history. A pair of Forester men reached the finals in the men's 200-butterfly. Conoscenti placed fourth in 2:09.26 and fellow freshman Jacob Albion (Fort Myers, Fla./Canterbury School) was seventh with a time of 2:13.95. The posted times of 2:08.92 and 2:12.13, respectively, in the prelims earlier in the day. Lake Forest finished off the women's competition with another conference record in the 400-freestyle. Watts, Kerrigan, Hoeper, and Shaak completed the race in 3:36.99, nearly a full second faster than the previous mark and more than four seconds ahead of runner-up Grinnell. The men's 400-freestyle relay team of Tunzi, Mackin, Ledesma, and Wiatr was the runner-up in 3:16.35, nearly eight seconds faster than any time the squad posted during the regular season. Lake Forest swept the Swimmer of the Year awards, which were announced after the completion of the meet. Shaaks was the Women's Swimmer of the Year after posting conference records and NCAA B-Cut qualifying times in each of her three individual events and competing on three victorious relay teams. Marks earned the men's award after winning both breaststroke events with conference record and national meet B-Cut times and placing third in the 500-freestlye. Also announced at the conclusion of competition were the MWC Men's and Women's Coach of the Year Awards, which both went to Lake Forest Head Coach Vadim Tashlitsky '00. After finishing third last year with less than half the point total of Grinnell, the Forester women's runner-up total this year was just 89 points shy of Grinnell's 857. The men's squad climbed from fifth to a comfortable second in the standings. Lake Forest teams combined to win 16 of the meet's 40 events (more than any other school), broke 11 school and seven conference records, and posted six NCAA B-Cut qualifying times. Tashlitsy was both proud of the current Foresters and excited about their future after the meet. "This young team performed very well over the last three days," he began. "The women were in the title hunt throughout most of the weekend and the men improved from a fifth-place finish a year ago. I am extremely proud of this group and thankful for the opportunity to work with them this year. I also feel comfortable that the Forester Swimming and Diving Tradition of Excellence is in very capable hands." While the season is over for most of the team, select Foresters will compete in the Midwest Invite at the University of Chicago next weekend (February 19-20). Sessions will begin at 6:00 Friday night and Saturday at 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Overall Results: Women | Men
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