Milwaukee City Wire

The Horizon League has announced its preseason polls for swimming and diving, with the Milwaukee Panthers women's team projected to finish second and the men's team selected for third place.

On the women's side, Milwaukee received 41 points in the poll. The team ended last season with a 4-1 record and finished as runner-up at the Horizon League Championships. Returning athletes Christiana Brooks and Gabrielle LePine are expected to play key roles this year, after their strong performances last season. Mara Freeman and Maddi Hayashi also return, both having earned All-Horizon League honors in 2024-25.

The full preseason ranking for women's teams is as follows: Oakland leads with 49 points and all seven first-place votes, followed by Milwaukee (41), Cleveland State (32), IU-Indy and Youngstown State tied for fourth (26 each), Green Bay (14), and Northern Kentucky (8).

For the men, Milwaukee was placed third by league coaches, earning 30 points including one first-place vote. Cleveland State is also predicted to tie Milwaukee in third place. Last season, the Panthers had a 3-2 dual meet record and went 1-1 in conference matchups. Their fourth-place finish at last year's Horizon League Championships was their best result since 2015.

Sophomores Gunnar Seversen and Caleb Carlisle will lead the men's squad this year. Seversen was named Freshman of the Meet at last season's conference championship.

Men's preseason rankings have Oakland first with 47 points (five first-place votes), IU-Indy second with 41 points (one first-place vote), Cleveland State and Milwaukee tied for third (30 each; Milwaukee with one first-place vote), followed by Youngstown State (27), Green Bay (13), and Northern Kentucky (8).

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