Foresters Finish Second in MWC Championship Meet 
Boarini and Woods win twice; teams claim 8 individual championships
  

Eric Boarini and 
Emily Woods combined to win 4 championships.

Grinnell College, Lake Forest and Lawrence University went one, two, three in both the men's and women's meets, with the Pioneers outscoring the Foresters 570 to 449 and 671 to 453, respectively. Knox, Ripon, Carroll and Beloit followed the top three in the men's meet, while St. Norbert, Beloit, Ripon, Carroll and Knox rounded out the women's standings. 

The Forester men and women reached their final team scores in similar fashion. Each team had one dual champion and two single-event winners. The women claimed 14 top-three and 26 top-six finishes and the men totaled 13 and 21. At least 11 competitors scored for each team and the top five scorers on each side tallied at least 45 points apiece. The primary difference between the two teams was who led the squad. 

Experience was a big factor for the Forester men as all 13 top-three finishes were recorded by juniors and seniors. Senior Eric Boarini (Wadsworth, IL/Carmel) was the men's double winner and he fell just short of sweeping the 50, 100 and 200 freestyles for the third consecutive year. His championships came in the 50- (21.65) and 200-yard (1:44.06) freestyles. Despite swimming a career-best time of 47.58 in the 100 free, Boarini was edged out by seven hundredths of a second. That time is the fifth best in Lake Forest history. 

Co-captain Brandon Johnson (Phoenix, AZ/Brophy) and Brady Lowdermilk (Parker, CO/Regis) also turned in outstanding performances, claiming one championship each and recording top-three finishes in each of their individual events. Johnson won the 400-yard individual medley (4:21.40) and was second in the 1650-yard freestyle (17:05.96) and third in the 500 free (4:54.35). With a career-best time in each event, Lowdermilk claimed the championship of the 200-yard butterfly and placed third in the 100- (54.41) and 200-yard backstrokes. His time of 1:59.75 in the 200 fly eclipsed his previous best by more than six seconds and ranks, as does his 200 back time of 1:58.68, fifth on the Lake Forest top-times list.

Aaron Lawlor (Vernon Hills, IL/Libertyville) was the fourth Forester male to place in the top three of at least two events. He was runner-up in both butterfly races, recording a time of 54.51 in the 100 and a career-best of 2:01.71 in the 200. Brendan Kearns (Chesterfield, MO/ St. Louis University) placed third with a time of 2:05.72 to complete a 1-2-3 Forester sweep in the 200 fly.

For the second time in his career co-captain Anthony Laurino (Wichita, KS/Wichita East) made the top six in all three of his individual events. His best finish was a third in the 1650-yard freestyle (17:08.10) and he was fifth in both the 200 free (1:51.24) and the 500 free (4:57.37). 

Joe Isaacs (Shorewood, MN/Breck), Aaron Koop (Newton, KS/Newton) and Matt Gaulding (San Rafael, CA/Army Navy Academy) each added two more top-six finishes. Isaacs swam a career best of 49.19 to finish fourth in the 100 free and he matched that with a fourth in the 100 fly (54.94). Koop claimed fifth in the 400-yard individual medley (4:32.50) and sixth in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:17.06). Gaulding placed fifth in both the 1-meter and 3-meter diving events.

Led by Eric Boarini, the 200 freestyle, 400 medley and 800 freestyle relay teams each finished second for the Foresters. Aaron Lawlor, Aaron Koop and Brady Lowdermilk competed in two of the three races, while Joe Isaacs, Brandon Johnson and Anthony Laurino each contributed to one runner-up finish. 

While upperclassmen accounted for a large percentage of the Lake Forest men's points, the women relied heavily on youth to capture second place. First-year swimmers scored 57.5% of the Foresters' points, and all four championships and 12 of their 14 top-three finishes were claimed by first or second-year swimmers. 

The team's double winner was sophomore Emily Woods (Signal Mountain, TN/Girls Prep), who repeated as champion of the 50-yard freestyle (25.40) and the 100-yard butterfly (59.83) and was third in the 100-yard backstroke (1:03.97). She scored 70 points and finished third in the voting for Midwest Conference Female Swimmer of the Year.

Also claiming a championship and at least two top-three finishes for the Foresters were Genia Lindsey (Albuquerque, NM/Sandia) and Liz Eberlein (Troy, MI/Marian). Lindsey won the 1650-yard freestyle (18:19.85) and was second in the 200 breaststroke (2:31.75) and the 400 IM (4:45.25). Eberlein raced to a 2:00.62 win in the 200 free, placed second in the 500 free (5:23.12) and was fourth in the 200 fly (2:19.15). 

Erin Colwell (Northfield, MN/Northfield) and Marie Pool (Redding, CA/Central Valley) combined to score 118 points and post six top-six finishes. Colwell placed third in the 100- ( 1:01.83) and 200-yard (2:18.51) butterfly events and fourth in the 200 backstroke (2:19.23). Pool's time of 1:12.46 was good for second place in the 100-yard breaststroke and she was sixth in the 50 free (25.98) and 100 free (56.96).

Sarah Hatteberg (Louisville, KY/Dupont Manual Magnet) rounded out the scoring for the Forester first-year swimmers. She was third and sixth, respectively, in the 200- (2:35.97) and 100-yard (1:13.50) breaststrokes. 

Competing in the final meet of their Midwest Conference careers, senior co-captains Erin Motzer (Libertyville, IL/Libertyville) and Erin Poynter (Fort Collins, CO/Ft. Collins) contributed five top-six finishes of their own. Motzer was runner-up in the 200 fly (2:14.21) for the third consecutive year and placed fifth in the 1650 free (18:54.40) and sixth in the 400 IM (4:51.42). Poynter was fourth in the 200 IM (2:21.08) and fifth in the 400 IM (4:57.30).

All five of the Forester women's relay teams posted runner-up finishes. Emily Woods, Marie Pool and Erin Colwell competed in four of those, the maximum allowed per individual. Liz Eberlein swam in three relays, Genia Lindsey and Erin Poynter in two each, and Erin Motzer in one. 

In the diving competition, senior Dana Tate Appleton, WI/Appleton East) scored 319.10 points on the 1-meter board to earn third place and 330.85 points on the 3-meter to finish fourth. Junior Julie Weglarz (Phoenix, AZ/Xavier College Prep) placed sixth in both events.

The Foresters will be in action again Friday and Saturday (February 22-23) at the Midwest Invitational hosted by Carthage College. A partial squad will compete in the meet, which begins at 10:00 a.m.

Meet Results: Women / Men