Two meets within 24 hours.

That’s what the NIU men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams had to endure as they opened their regular seasons this weekend at Anderson Hall Pool with a women squad’s two-meet sweep and a men squad’s split.

The Leathernecks of Western Illinois came into DeKalb on Friday night. The women’s squad opened the Mid-Con season with a 141-106 victory over the Leathernecks. Kristin Scholz led the way with first-place finishes in the 100-yard freestyle and the 50-yard freestyle. Kerri McClory also finished with two first place finishes in the 500-yard freestyle and the 1,000-yard freestyle.

The men did not fare as well as they fell to WIU 138-103. Freshman Tony D’Amico swept first place in the one- and three-meter diving competitions, while teammate Matt Mersman followed close behind in second place in both events. Steve Beck earned first-place finishes in the 1,000-yard freestyle and the 500-yard freestyle.

“For a first meet, we swam really well and got to see our strengths and weaknesses,” said NIU head swimming coach Jeanne Fleck. “On the men’s side we also swam well, but we couldn’t match Western Illinois’ depth.”

On Saturday, Mid-Con foe Wisconsin-Green Bay visited Anderson Hall Pool hoping for a victory but were turned away.

The men’s squad came away with its first victory of the year 141-77 over the Fighting Phoenix. Mersman took control with first-place finishes in both the one- and three-meter diving events with D’Amico finishing second. Matt Anderson won the 1,000-yard freestyle and the 100-yard freestyle, while Beck again swept the 200-yard freestyle and the 500-yard freestyle.

The women’s squad extended its winning streak to two as it defeated UWGB 139-105. Janine Bytner led the way with first-place finishes in the 500-yard freestyle and the 200-yard freestyle. Sophomore Amy Inselberger dominated the one- and three-meter diving events, while the 400-yard medley and 400-yard freestyle relay teams took firsts.

“Saturday we had some good individual swims,” said Fleck, “but as a whole, there was nothing special in the results. We’re ahead of where we were at this time last year, but we expected that.”

The Huskies will travel to Madison, Wis., tomorrow to face the Badgers of the University of Wisconsin for a 5 p.m. start.