Andrew Fleek (right) has been named the new head men's and women's swimming & diving coach at Lawrence University, Director of Athletics Robert Beeman announced on April 3. Fleek comes to Lawrence from the College of Wooster, where he has served as an assistant coach for the last two seasons.

A native of Lincoln, Neb., Fleek was a standout swimmer at the University of South Dakota. A four-year letterwinner, he served as team captain and was a 12-time North Central Conference finalist. An all-conference selection in 2001, he was a five-time NCAA "B" qualifier. Fleek was nominated for the school's Male Student Athlete of the Year Award in 2003 and won his team's Most Improved Award in 2000.

Fleek, who earned a bachelor's degree in secondary education and a master's degree in athletic administration from South Dakota, served as a graduate assistant at his alma mater in 2004 and 2005. He also has experience coaching at the high school and club levels. This past season, Fleek helped guide the Wooster women to a third-place finish and the men to fifth in the North Coast Athletic Conference Championships.

Click here for complete release

Lake Forest senior Maggie Rezac (right) received All-America honors for the second time this weekend, as the third and final day of action at the 2008 NCAA Division III National Championships unfolded on Saturday (March 15 ) at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.

Rezac opened the championships by finishing as the national runner-up in the 1-meter diving event on Thursday and closed it with a third-place finish in the 3-meter diving event. Rezac’s third-place total of 495.65 broke the previous NCAA record (493.20), but was 12 and 14 points shy, respectively, of the recording-breaking performances of the runner-up and national champ.

Rezac, who was the MWC’s lone competitor at the women’s championships, single-handily scored 33 points at the event, giving the Foresters a 28th place team finish.

NCAA National Championship Website

Lake Forest senior Maggie Rezac (right) placed second in the nation in 1-meter diving Thursday night at the NCAA Division III National Championship Meet at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Rezac's 453.45 points were less than two points shy of first place. It was her highest career placing at the National Meet and her sixth All-American (top 8) performance. She will compete off the 3-meter board the next two days, with the finals scheduled for Saturday evening. Rezac finished third in the 3-meter event a year ago and will vie for her first career National Championship.

NCAA National Championship Website

Lake Forest senior diver Maggie Rezac (right) will close out a prolific collegiate career this week when she serves as the Midwest Conference’s lone representative at the 2008 NCAA Women’s Swimming & Diving National Championships. The event runs this Thursday, Friday and Saturday (March 13-15) and is hosted by Wooster College, although all events will be play out in the Corwin M. Nixon Aquatic Center on the campus of Miami-Ohio University in Oxford, Ohio.

Rezac enters as a three-time All-American in the 1-meter diving event and also earned All-American honors in 3-meter diving at the National Championships as a sophomore and junior after being named an Honorable Mention All-American as a freshman in the event. The senior will vie for a national title in the 3-meter event after a career-best third-place finish a year ago. She also tied her career-best in the 1-meter event last year when she placed sixth in the nation.

The 1-meter diving prelims and finals will be on Thursday, with the 3-meter prelims and finals following on Saturday.

NCAA National Championship Website

Grinnell’s Cyrus Mistry was the lone men’s record breaker at the 2008 MWC Championships (February 15-17), as the freshmen set a new conference record in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:08.16. Mistry’s record did not last long though, as Carroll senior Taylor Pechauer (right) topped Mistry’s mark and also set a new conference record in the 100 breaststroke at the Wheaton Midwest Last Chance Meet on February 22-23. Pechauer touched the wall in 2:06.87 in the 200 breaststroke and then clocked in at 58.19 in the 100 breaststroke, breaking his own record from a year ago (58.92).

Grinnell swept the 2008 Midwest Conference Swimming & Diving Championships on February 17, as the Pioneer men and women extended their league title streaks to seven and 10 consecutive seasons, respectively. The three-day event was held in Appleton, Wisconsin on the campus of host Lawrence. The Pioneer men now own an MWC-best 31 overall titles, while the women also sit atop the conference with 19 championship trophies.

Two Pioneers were honored among the yearly award winners, as Meghan McDoniel (top right) was named the 2008 MWC Women’s Swimmer of the Year and Garnet Smith (left) was named the Men’s Diver of the Year. Beloit freshman Patrick Duvall (below right) was voted the Men’s Swimmer of the Year, while Lake Forest’s Maggie Rezac (below left) was the Women’s Diver of the Year. Monmouth’s Keith Crawford and Lawrence’s Dan Lloyd were the Men’s & Women’s Coaches of the Year, respectively. Duvall won his third individual title of the weekend on Sunday with a victory in the 200 butterfly.

The lone conference record to fall on the weekend came on Sunday, as Grinnell’s Cyrus Mistry touched the wall in 2:08.16 in the 200 breaststroke. Carroll’s Taylor Pechaur, who finished second to Mistry, also clocked in ahead of the previous record time held by Lawrence’s Nick Heuer since 1995. Grinnell’s McDoniel gave the Pioneers the sweep in the event by winning the women’s version. Lawrence pulled off a sweep of its own in the 1,650 freestyle, as Kyle Griffin and Hayley Vatch won the respective men’s and women’s championships.

Lake Forest’s Michael Mackin and Michael Ojdana won individual titles for the second straight day, this time in the 200 backstroke and 100 freestyle, respectively. The Forester men also claimed their third relay title of the weekend by winning the 400 freestyle on Sunday. Monmouth’s Anne Lane also picked up her second finals victory in as many days, placing first in the 200 butterfly.

The champion Pioneers closed out the day with individual titles from Alex Pietz (200 back) and Valerie Stimac (100 free), while the Grinnell women also won the 400 freestyle relay.

The Monmouth men and host Lawrence women appeared to be within striking distance of the first-place Grinnell teams entering the second day of action at the 2008 Midwest Conference Swimming & Diving Championships in Appleton, Wisconsin. When Saturday’s competition ended though, both Grinnell squads had extended their leads in the team point standings, showing why the Pioneer men and women will in all likelihood go on to win their seventh and tenth consecutive conference titles, respectively, on Sunday.

Saturday’s individual winners for Grinnell included Amy Hadow (100 fly), Valerie Stimac (200 free) and Meghan McDoniel (100 breast). The Pioneers were also crowned champs in the women’s 200 medley relay and the women’s 800 freestyle relay, with the latter setting an MWC Championship record time of 8:00.07. Grinnell’s final day-two champion was diver Garnet Smith (1M diving), who was joined by Lake Forest’s Maggie Rezac (3M diving) in sweeping their respective diving events at the 2008 MWC Championships.

Beloit freshman Patrick Duvall started his conference career with championships in the 100 butterfly and 400 individual medley, while Carroll’s Taylor Pechauer (100 breast) matched Duvall’s total by winning his second event of the weekend.

Lake Forest’s Michael Ojdana (200 free) and Michael Mackin (100 back) each won individual titles, before helping the Foresters win the 800 freestyle relay. Monmouth’s men closed out the day’s relay finals with a victory in the 200 medley relay.

The final two champions on the second day of competition were Monmouth’s Anne Lane in the 400 individual medley and Lawrence’s Julia Ziege in the 100 backstroke.

Sunday’s action continues with prelims at 9 a.m.

All event champions listed below

Grinnell’s men and women both sit in first place after the first day of competition at the 2008 Midwest Conference Swimming & Diving Championships hosted by Lawrence in Appleton, Wisconsin. The Pioneer men and women are gunning for their seventh and tenth consecutive league titles, respectively.

The Pioneers find themselves in tighter quarters than expected in the team point races, as a number of teams were represented on the winners stand on day one. Lawrence’s Hayley Vatch and Monmouth’s Kevin Raske won their respective 500 freestyle championship races, while Carroll’s Taylor Pechauer was the winner in the men’s 200 individual medley. Kurt Niemeier picked up Monmouth’s second title of the day, as he was crowned the 50 freestyle champ for the second straight season.

Grinnell’s lone individual swimming champions both came on the women’s side on the first day of competition, as Meghan McDoniel (200 IM) and Chloe Moryl (50 free) touched the wall first in their respective finals.

Grinnell was victorious in three of the first four relays contested, as the Pioneers swept the 400 individual medley relays and won the women’s 200 freestyle relay. Lake Forest took home the 200 freestyle relay title for the second straight time on the men’s side.

A repeat from a year ago occurred on the diving boards, where Grinnell’s Garnet Smith and Lake Forest’s Maggie Rezac were again the league’ best in 3-meter and 1-meter diving, respectively.

All event champions listed below

2008 MWC Individual Event Champions

The 2008 Midwest Conference Swimming & Diving Championships will be underway on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, February 15-17 in Appleton, Wisconsin. All ten conference institutions will be in action for the first-time ever, including host Lawrence, as Grinnell looks to extend its men’s and women’s league title streaks to seven and 10 in a row, respectively.

While several freshmen appear ready to make immediate impacts, a number of decorated student-athletes will be participating in the final conference meets of their careers, including Lake Forest’s five-time All-American diver Maggie Rezac (right).

Click here for complete Championship Preview

Daniel Lloyd has been named the interim head men's and women's swimming coach at Lawrence, Director of Athletics Robert Beeman announced on September 26. Lloyd comes to Lawrence from Millikin University, where he has served as an assistant swim coach and recruiting coordinator for the past year.

A 2002 graduate of Millikin with degrees in commercial art/computer design and photography, Lloyd spent two seasons as the head coach at Normal ( Ill.) Community West High School. He was named the Illinois High School Association girls' sectional Coach of the Year after guiding six swimmers to the state championships. His 2005 girls' team won the IHSA sectional championship, and his 2005-06 boys' team posted an undefeated regular season, the first in school history. A native of Normal, Ill., Lloyd then served as an assistant at the University of Michigan before going back to Millikin.

As a swimmer at Millikin, Lloyd was a five-time NCAA Division III All-American and three-time Academic All-American. Lloyd, who won the Lindsey Medallion as Millikin's Athlete of the Year, was the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Swimmer of the Year in 2000. He set 18 CCIW records and won nine individual conference championships. Lloyd won the conference title in the 500-yard freestyle and 1,650 freestyle all four years he was at Millikin.

Click here for complete release

St. Norbert athletics director Tim Bald has announced the hiring of Erin Wood as head women’s swimming and diving coach. Wood, an assistant coach at St. Norbert for the past three seasons, replaces Jeremy Moeller. Moeller, the head coach for the last five seasons, left to take an assistant coaching position at UW-Green Bay.

Wood is a 2004 graduate of St. Norbert with a double major in Spanish and international studies. Wood, a Green Bay native and a graduate of Bay Port High School, was a four-year letterwinner in swimming and was also the team captain. Wood also has coaching experience with the Howard-Suamico StormBreakers club since November 1999.

Click here for complete release

Grinnell native and Luther graduate Tim Hammond (right) will begin his role as an assistant coach with the Pioneers’ swimming & diving program this season. While competing at Luther, where he majored in Health with minors in Health Education, Spanish and Environmental Studies, Tim was voted Most Inspirational Performer on the swim team.

Tim's coaching experience includes head coaching at Decorah High School, coaching club swimming in Grinnell, as well as an assistant coach position at his alma mater.

Lawrence men's and women's swimming coach Kurt Kirner (right) has resigned, Director of Athletics Robert Beeman announced Tuesday (September 11).

Kirner, who has been the Vikings' coach since 1991, is moving to Hillsdale College, a NCAA Division II institution. He will be an assistant professor and coach the women's swim team.

Kirner took over for the late Gene Davis and kept the Vikings among the top teams in the MWC on a yearly basis. Kirner coached the men's team to league championships in 1996 and 2000. He was named the conference men's Coach of the Year in 1996 and again in 2006. He earned women's Coach of the Year honors in 2007.

Kirner coached more than 175 Midwest Conference champions during his 16 seasons at Lawrence. During Kirner's tenure, the Vikings also had three swimmers, Becky Wagenaar, Tracy Maschman, and Chas Mitchell, earn All-America honors. Maschman also was an Academic All-American, and 12-time individual Midwest Conference champion Daniel Hurley was a NCAA postgraduate scholar.

Lawrence plans to hire an interim coach for the 2007-08 season and conduct a national search for head coach in early 2008, Beeman said.

Click here for complete release