FISHERS, Ind. - The IUPUI men's and women's swimming and diving teams opened the season on Sunday (Sept. 26) by sweeping their opposition at the Butler Duals at Fishers High School. The men went 3-0 in duals with wins over Xavier (140-96), Valparaiso (196-40) and Saint Louis (176-64) while the women were a perfect 4-0 with wins over SLU (137-102), Valpo (177-44), Butler (160-70) and Xavier (118-110). 

All total, the men's squad collected three event victories while the women's team earned four event wins. 

"Today was a lot of fun. It was great to be able to compete again. We had great energy the entire meet," head coach Damion Dennis said. "We had huge performances from Emma Theobald, Spencer Jyawook, Kevin Burke and Emmaleigh Zietlow all winning numerous events.

"I'm really excited for our newcomers and getting their first meet as a Jaguar. Lillian Brandt, Caylee Hamilton and Ali Sippel all stepped up for our women's program. Nic Gallego and Logan Kelly raced to wins for the men's team as well."

The men's squad set the tone with a win in the 200 medley relay to kickoff the meet and relied on its depth from there. The team of Ben Kimmel, Logan Kelly, Spencer Jyawook and Kevin Burke cruised to the relay win in a time of 1:33.02, easily outdistancing Xavier's relay by more than two seconds and setting a facility record in the process. 

It kicked off a strong day for Kimmel as he later won the 200 back in a time of 1:51.30, defeating Dane Charleston by more than two seconds. 

Zietlow followed with a victory in the 1000 free, clocking a time of 10:30.92, and later raced to a second-place finish in the 500 free at 5:13.65. Gallego and Luke Dibley went 1-2 in the 1000 free, finishing at 9:55.34 and 9:58.67, respectively. Gallego and the elder Dibley, Nick, later earned top-three finishes in the 500 free. 

Brandt just missed a win in the 200 free, touching at 1:55.14 - four hundredths of a second behind Xavier's Clara Keiser. She would later win the 100 free in a time of 53.23. Mihir Chandra and Charleston went 2-3 in the 200 free with Chandra touching at 1:45.89. 

Hamilton placed third in the 50 free at 24.75 before Jyawook blew away his competition in the 50 free in a time of 20.94, winning by a half second. Theobald and Zietlow followed by taking the top two spots in the 400 IM with Theobald coasting to a time of 4:29.63 to win by nearly nine seconds. Theobald later collected a second win in the 200 backstroke, posting a time of 2:01.44 to win by more than two seconds. 

Nick Dibley was runner-up in the 200 fly at 1:53.63 while younger brother Luke finished fifth overall. Kevin Burke collected a win in the 100 free with a time of 47.32. 

IUPUI swept the 200 breast with Sippel winning her race at 2:24.54 and Logan Kelly won the men's event at 2:04.22. 

"I appreciate our leadership throughout the meet. Having strong leaders will continue to be the backbone of our program," Dennis said. "Nick Dibley, Kevin Burke, Lauren Thompson, Avery Brooks, Emma Theobald and Sadie Smith were outstanding for us today."

Isabella Smith won the 1-meter diving event with a score of 217.85 and Sadie Smith was just behind her at 211.80. On the men's side, IUPUI swept the top three spots as Alex Scott won at 282.70 and Adam Schmehl was second at 281.30. Levi Vorreyer took third with a score of 261.20. 

The Smiths flipped places in the 3-meter diving event as Sadie earned the win at 236.90 and Isabelle was second at 182.65. Schmehl won the men's 3-meter with 281.00 points and Scott was second at 264.05. 

"The divers performed well today," diving coach Eric Barnes said. "The first meet of the season produced solid performances and a great base to build off of as we progress forward."

The Jaguars will host their home openers next week as IUPUI will host UIndy on Friday at 3:00 p.m. at the Natatorium. IUPUI will then host Lewis University on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.