Lake Forest College Sports Information
February 17, 2002 Contact: Mike Wajerski, SID Foresters Finish
Third in MWC Championship Meet
Grinnell College claimed both the men's and women's championships, outscoring runner-up Lawrence University 816 to 802 and 924 to 628, respectively. Lake Forest was followed on the men's side by Ripon, Knox, Carroll and Beloit, and on the women's side by St. Norbert, Carroll, Beloit, Knox and Ripon. Sunday's competition began with the meet's longest event, the 1650-yard freestyle. Erin Motzer (Libertyville, IL/Libertyville) finished third in the women's race, while Brandon Johnson (Phoenix, AZ/Brophy), Anthony Laurino (Wichita, KS/Wichita East) and Joe Zemaitis (Scottsdale, AZ/Horizon) swept the second through fourth spots in the men's. Johnson's time of 16:52.43 was the best of his career and the second best in Lake Forest College history. In the 200-yard backstroke Randi Estes (LaBelle, FL/Riverdale) took fourth place for the women and Brady Lowdermilk (Parker, CO/Regis) finished third for the men. Junior Eric Boarini (Wadsworth, IL/Carmel) then completed his dominance in the sprints with a win in the 100-yard freestyle (48.13), claiming his third championship of the meet. The three-win performance (50/100/200 freestyles) was a repeat of last year and, combined with his two championships as a member of relay teams, helped him finish as runner-up in the voting for Midwest Conference Male Swimmer of the Year. Joe Isaacs (Shorewood, MN/Breck) added a sixth-place finish in the 100 free. Erin Poynter (Fort Collins, CO/Ft. Collins) and Jeremy Koop (Newton, KS/Newton) scored points for the Foresters by placing fifth and sixth, respectively, in the 200-yard breaststroke. In the meet's final individual event, the 200-yard butterfly, Motzer (2:15.71) and Aaron Lawlor (Vernon Hills, IL/Libertyville) (2:03.19) both swam career-best times to place second. Brendan Kearns (Chesterfield, MO/St. Louis University) shaved seven seconds off his previous season-best to finish fourth in the same race. Both the women's and men's 400-yard freestyle relay teams concluded the meet on a positive note. Woods, Motzer, Poynter and Estes earned second place by swimming their best time of the season (3:48.67). Zemaitis, Lowdermilk, Isaacs and Boarini finished the race in 3:14.14, just 2.67 shy of the Lake Forest College record, and came from behind for a narrow victory over Lawrence University. All told, Lake Forest had five multiple winners in the championship meet. Boarini was the most decorated swimmer with his five championships and 96 points scored. His time of 1:43.65 in the 200-yard freestyle ranks him third all-time for Lake Forest and is a national B-cut qualifying time. Freshman Emily Woods (Signal Mountain, TN/Girls Prep) claimed individual championships in the 50 freestyle, 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke (93.5 points). Her time of 59.70 in the 100 butterfly was the second best in Lake Forest history and a national B-cut qualifying time. Woods was the runner-up in voting for Midwest Conference Female Swimmer of the Year. Senior Randi Estes won the 200 and 500 freestyles and scored 88.5 points. The two conference championships were the 16th and 17th of her stellar four-year career. She was the 2000 MWC Female Co-Swimmer of the Year. The final two multiple-event winners were Joe Zemaitis and Brady Lowdermilk, who were both members of the winning 400- and 800-yard freestyle relay teams. Other Foresters who won championships included Dana Tate (Appleton, WI/East) in the 1-meter diving competition, Brandon Johnson in the 800 freestyle relay and Joe Isaacs in the 400 freestyle relay. The 800 freestyle relay team (Zemaitis, Lowdermilk, Johnson, Boarini) set Midwest Conference and Lake Forest College records with a time of 7:05.26. The Lake Forest teams close out their regular season this Friday and Saturday, February 22 and 23, at the Wheaton College Invitational. Both teams will lose just one senior from this year's squad and will look to add new members and improve upon their third-place Midwest Conference finishes in 2002-03.
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