For most swim teams, coming up on the short end of scores 136-95 and 175-52 would not leave room for optimism. Don’t tell that to NIU swim coach Anne Marie Stricklin.

“To compete against Wisconsin the way our team did tonight shows a lot of character,” the third-year coach said. “They showed why they’re both top-20 programs. To our team’s credit, they never gave up, and I’m proud of how they fought until the very last race.”

Senior Leon Weed wasted no time staking his claim as one of the top swimmers in the Mid-American Conference. Weed lowered both of his school records in the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke Friday. His times of 1:58.50 in the 100 and 2:09.39 in the 200 were good enough for third and second place respectively.

“I’m very pleased with the way Leon swam tonight,” Stricklin commented. “He had a great breaststroke split in the medley relay and had two good races in the individual medley and the 200 yard breaststroke.”

Weed was not the only senior to shine on Friday. Hungarian Andras Schnoek captured the only first place finish of the night winning the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:42.53. Schnoek’s performance was especially impressive considering the 200-freestyle was his first event as a Huskie.

On the women’s side, Shanna Rankin was impressive in the first meet of her sophomore campaign. Rankin finished just a shade off her top times from last year in the 50- and 100-yard freestyle. The Green Bay native posted a 0:25.62 in the 50, and a 0:56.40 mark in the 100.

“Shanna was definitely the outstanding swimmer tonight on the women’s side,” Stricklin noted. “She broke through with some good swims and that really boosted her confidence. We look for her to be the leader of our sprint group.”

The Huskies will see their next action on Oct. 19 when they travel to Western Illinois to face the home team and Northern Iowa.