Issuu

25editorial

CHRIS ZILLS

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS

COMMUNICATIONS & MULTIMEDIA

SEAN ENGEL

DIRECTOR OF ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS

RACHEL KLEMP

DIRECTOR OF CREATIVE SERVICES

CHIP KINDT

COMMUNICATIONS ASSISTANT

GARY D’AMATO

FEATURE WRITER

PHOTOGRAPHY

NOAH BEKTAH, ED BORST LEN CEDERHOLM,

RACHEL KLEMP, AND ISABELLA MEIER

CREATIVE SERVICES

BRAEDEN DETERT, JAKE MICHALSKI

CLAVIN STRASSER AND TALON GAMEZ.

SPORT UPDATES

Women’s basketball, men’s basketball, swimming & diving, track & field, tennis and baseball.

FULL TILT

The Milwaukee men’s basketball program adopted the motto “Tilt the Floor” for the 2024-25 season, embracing the fast-paced offense while recording a third consecutive 20-win season – something not accomplished by the program in over 20 years. In the end, the Panthers claimed the No. 1 spot for fastbreak points per game across the entire NCAA Division I level, led by point guard Themus Fulks.

ROLLING WITH ROLLINS

Kayla Rollins blossomed into an offensive powerhouse over her four-year career with the Milwaukee women’s soccer program, finishing her senior season with repeat honors as the Horizon League Offensive Player of the Year in a campaign in which she finished among the NCAA national leaders in both goals scored and total points. Gary D’Amato shares some background into the Rollins’ family story and what made Kayla into the soccer player she is today.

THE PEPPLER SISTERS

Kamy and Kallie Peppler share a bond of sisterhood and of basketball – one that they have grown in first back before playing together at Hortonville High School and now the collegiate level with the Milwaukee women’s basketball program. The Roar Report shares some background into this unique family story on the hardwood.

RECORD BREAKING YEAR: SWIM & DIVE

The team put together an array of impressive finishes, going on to claim three event titles and shatter countless school records, rewriting numerous marks that had held up, some for numerous seasons.

what’s inside

light up the hype

The Milwaukee swimming & diving program enjoyed a successful run at the 2025 Horizon League Championships in February. In addition to a runner-up showing on the women’s side – where Kyle Clements was named Horizon League Coach of the Year – the program broke 20 combined school records in all. See pages 34-35 for the full details.

light up the hype

On February 18, the Milwaukee men’s basketball program celebrated the 20th anniversary of the 200405 team that advanced to the “Sweet 16” of the NCAA Tournament.

Over a dozen members of the roster, and their families, enjoyed a weekend of memories and celebrations.

NEW LO OK SAME GRE AT TASTE

Milwaukee was well represented in the postseason academic honors as Anna Lutz was named to the Horizon League Academic Team and was also a College Sports Communicators Academic AllDistrict Honoree. Kacee Baumhower and Kamy Peppler were also a part of the CSC All-District Team, while Peppler added an Honorable Mention selection for Horizon Academic Honors.

Payton Rechlicz was picked for the Horizon League All-Freshman Team following a rookie campaign that saw her play in all 32 games including 23 starts. Rechlicz shot 45.7 percent from the field and added 26 assists, six blocks, and 15 steals.

Playing a challenging non-conference slate, which included a matchup against No. 10 Kansas State, Milwaukee finished with an 8-24 record including a 5-15 record in Horizon League play.

The Panthers played in the First Round of the Horizon League Championship against Detroit Mercy. Milwaukee trailed by just one in the closing minutes, but the Titans pulled away late for the 73-62 win.

The postseason game marked the final career contest at Milwaukee for Lutz, Baumhower, Jada Donaldson, and Hallie Majoros.

The Milwaukee men’s basketball team enjoyed another successful campaign this winter. The Panthers posted an overall record of 21-11, going 14-6 in Horizon League play to finish in a tie for second place. Although the season came to an unexpected conclusion in the quarterfinals of the Horizon League Tournament, the Panthers won 20 or more games for the third consecutive season, something that the program had not seen in over two decades. The team set a program record for rebounding average (39.2 rpg) and its 78.4 point per-game scoring average was one of the highest in program history.

The Panthers saw five different players average double-figures – the most in a single season since the 2015-16 campaign. Themus Fulks led the way at 14.6 points, while also leading the Horizon League and currently near the Top 20 in the NCAA with his 5.9 assists per game on his way to Second Team All-Horizon League accolades. Jamichael Stillwell (13.0 ppg), Kentrell Pullian (12.2 ppg), AJ McKee (11.3 ppg), and Erik Pratt (10.6 ppg) rounded out the list of double-figure scorers and gave Milwaukee three of the Top 25 in the conference.

Stillwell was named First-Team All-Horizon League and the Horizon League Newcomer of the Year in an impressive first year with the Panthers, finishing the season by averaging a double-double of 13.0 points and 10.7 rebounds per contest. Stillwell finished the year with a school-record 16 doubledoubles to shatter the former program mark of nine in a season, concluding the campaign with per-game averages of 13.0 points and 10.9

rebounds per contest. As of March 25, he ranks seventh in the nation in rebounds per game (10.9, which also led the Horizon League), fifth in offensive rebounds per game (3.97), and ninth with his doubledouble total (16).

In addition to the new double-double standard, he reset nearly every Panther rebound record over the course of the season: highest per-game season average (10.9 rpg, was 8.5), most total rebounds in a season (333, was 280), most offensive rebounds in a season (123, was 101), most games of 10-or-more rebounds in a season (19, was 11), most consecutive games of 10+ rebounds (5, was 4), most rebounds in a single game (19, was 18), most offensive rebounds in a game (11, was 10), as well as most defensive rebounds in a game (16, was 15).

The team also ranked highly across the NCAA in numerous statistics, highlighted by two categories in which it was near the top. The Panthers led the Horizon League by a wide advantage with its +9.3 rebound margin per game, a number that led the NCAA down the stretch and now ranks third overall.

The Panthers are also currently No. 1 in the NCAA in fastbreak points at 18.4 per game, a number that will be tough to knock off the top of the chart the rest of the way.

The team also celebrated a pair of 1,000-point scorers along the way, seeing both Pullian (all with the Panthers) and Fulks (3 NCAA teams) cross the career milestone.

The Milwaukee swimming & diving teams finished out their season at the Horizon League Championships from Feb. 19-22. The women finished as runners-up at the meet for the second season in a row, and the men took fourth to give them their best league finish since 2015.

Head coach Kyle Clements was honored with his second consecutive League Women’s Swimming Coach of the Year Award after the performance.

Highlighting the women this season was Gabrielle LePine, who won Swimmer of the Week four times, with a conference title in the 100 breaststroke. The Panthers added two more wins in the 200 freestyle and 400 medley relays to give the program their most event championships at the meet since 2017.

Also at the championship meet, the women set five new school records and took down two freshman-best marks. Among the record setters were Erika Thomas in the 400 individual medley, and Maddi Hayashi in the 100 butterfly. The Panthers also had three relay teams set new program-bests in the 200 and 400 freestyles as well as the 400 medley relay.

For the men, Gunnar Seversen took home Freshman of the Meet honors after an outstanding showing where he finished second in the 1650 freestyle, fourth in the 500 freestyle

and fifth in the 400 individual medley. His marks in the 1650 and 500 both set new school records, while his 400 IM time was a new freshman-best.

Overall, the men closed out the meet with a total of 12 new program records and claimed six top-three finishes. Joining Severesen in setting records at the meet were, Charlie House in the 100 and 200 freestyles, Caleb Carlisle (100 butterfly), Andrew Jones (100 breaststroke), Alvin Valkki (200 breaststroke), and Victor Kostov (100 backstroke). Milwaukee tacked on four more records in the 200 and 400 medley in addition to the 200 and 800 freestyle relays.

After the season, seven Panthers were honored on the Horizon League All-Academic team. Mara Freeman, Janelle Schulz, and Therese Missiaen made the squad for the women, while Ben Lorenz, Jones, and Jay Jensen were the men recognized with Jackson Ahrens getting the nod as an honorable mention.

The Milwaukee track & field teams closed out their indoor season at the Horizon League Championships. The men took their second straight runner-up finish while the women finished third at the meet.

The men had four individual league champions, including, Jaelyn Reeves-Lile in the 200m dash, Bryant McLaughlin in the high jump, Bishop Bufford in the triple jump and Liam Richards in the heptathlon.

TRACK & FIELD SPORT UPDATE

McLaughlin was named Co-Outstanding Field Performer of the Meet for his showing, while Anthony Buford was also recognized as Horizon League Freshman Field Athlete of the Year after taking second at the meet.

Reeves-Lile had a tremendous winter for the Panthers, breaking the school’s 60m dash record on three separate occasions. He also set new program-bests in the 200m and 300m dashes and was voted Horizon League Track Athlete of the Week four times this season.

On the women’s side, Milwaukee claimed three individual titles, with Anna Szepieniec breaking the pentathlon record for both the program and the

League Championship Meet. Anelise Egge in the mile run, and Dominique Thomas in the 60m dash both repeated as champions as well.

Egge added to her decorated career when she was selected as the Indoor Alfreeda Goff Horizon League Track & Field Athlete of the Year. During the season she broke her own record in the mile run, before taking down a program record that had stood since 1983 in the 3000m run. In addition to her mile run title, she finished second at the championships in the 800m and 3000m runs to earn her Outstanding Running Performer of the Meet.

The Panthers racked up 11 Horizon League Athlete of the Week awards throughout the season, from Reeves-Lile, Caden Thomas, D. Thomas, Szepieniec, Morgan Pilate, Olivia VanZeeland, and Ethan Mitchell

Seven athletes received All-Academic honors from the Horizon League with D. Thomas, VanZeeland, Cailin Kinas, Isabel Roloff and Szepieniec. For the men, McLaughlin and Cullen Boyle were recognized as honorable mentions.

The women’s tennis team brings an overall record of 6-11 into April, having to deal with injuries throughout the lineup to this point in battling through many of its recent matches shorthanded.

TENNIS SPORT UPDATE

Highlights are still numerous including topping Marquette for the first time in program history with a 4-3 decision back in early February. Nadiia Konieva and Nikola Nikolajeva were also selected as the Under Armour Horizon League Tennis Doubles Team of the Week Jan. 29.

In addition, Nikolajeva provided a major highlight of her own in MKE’s 4-3 victory over Western Illinois in early March. The match was deadlocked at three points apiece with Nikolajeva left at No. 2 singles to determine the winner. Down 5-1 in the deciding third set, she fought off six match points and then won the tiebreaker 11-9 to send the Panthers to the big victory over the Leathernecks.

The team started Horizon League play with a tough 4-3 loss to Oakland but has six matches remaining in conference before the postseason begins. At this point, Emilia Durska leads the way in singles with a record of 12-9. Nikolajeva is second in singles victories with her 11-8 ledger.

In doubles action, Konieva paces the squad with 12 victories (12-10). Durska is second with 10, while Laure Razet, Sara Simonova, and Elisa Rubio all have nine apiece.

Milwaukee baseball has played one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the nation through March and are 7-19 to open the season with a 5-4 record in Horizon League contests.

Tyler Bickers had a 5-for-5 effort on Mar. 29 against Northern Kentucky as he became just the 23rd Panther in program history with a five-hit game. Earlier in the season, Q Phillips and Gabe Roessler became the first pair of Panthers to have five RBIs each in a game since the 2022 season, and the fourth duo to do so in the last 20 years.

In the home run race, Roessler and Charlie Marion are off to big starts with seven and six home runs respectively as the duo look to become the first pair of Panthers with doubledigit home runs since 2006.

Milwaukee has seven weeks to go in regular season play including a nonconference home game against Iowa on Apr. 8, Senior Day versus Youngstown State on Apr. 19, the program’s firstever ‘School Day’ game on Apr. 29 vs. Northern Illinois, and Alumni Day on May 3 against Northern Kentucky.

The Horizon League Championship will take place between May 21 and May 24, with the winner of the six-team double-elimination bracket advancing to the 2025 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship.

Weddings, Rehearsal Dinners, Private Corporate Events, Private Social Gatherings, Makers Markets, or anything else you might create, our unique spaces are dynamic and flexible to accomodate all of your future events.

Reach out to MKEEVENTS@PILOTPROJECTBREWING.COM for more information or scan the QR code to explore options and pricing.

October 14, 2024.

october 14, 2024

That’s the day it all started. Well, publicly, at least.

Head coach Bart Lundy walked out on to the Klotsche Center floor, microphone in hand, and announced to the crowd that had gathered at the annual Black & Gold scrimmage those three words: “Tilt The Floor”.

Now the team already understood the assignment. After a summer session of blood, sweat, and tears, the Panthers knew what to expect from the upcoming campaign inside of the locker room.

But now Coach Lundy took the next logical step and made it public with the declaration that the team … would play fast. That when the Panthers got the ball, the floor would tilt and they would play downhill.

He closed with this: “We need our crowd to help us TILT THE FLOOR this season”.

And make no mistake … oh, that they did.

It started with a bang. In fact, it opened with a blitz of 43 fastbreak points in the season opener against Lakeland, a 118-62 victory.

It was a definitely sign of things to come.

As the point guard, Themus Fulks was able to take full advantage of the situation.

“I was extremely excited because I knew we would have the chance to play fast, get up and down, shoot a lot of three’s, and get my teammates involved,” Fulks said. “This was probably my first time playing this style and this pace. It was probably one of my favorite seasons as a player from that aspect.”

Not only did Fulks end up leading the Horizon League in assists – in fact, his 5.9 not only topped the conference but sits inside the Top 25 in the NCAA (currently No. 22) this season – but he ended

Full

up leading the team in scoring.

“I always want to get my teammates involved as much as possible – get them shots, get them confidence, get them going early in the game, during the game,” Fulks said. “It means a lot to end up near the top in the nation in assists.”

His 14.6 per-game average paced the offense and marked over a 50 percent higher mark than his NCAA career average coming into the season (9.3 ppg) and a significant jump from the 10.6 ppg he averaged a winter ago at Louisiana Lafayette.

“I was always just trying to make the right play –when you’re on the fastbreak and it’s two-on-one, try and get the ball to my teammates and get some points on the board,” Fulks said. “But if I could take advantage of it, the fastbreak points, those are the easiest baskets.”

As the season was coming down the stretch, the team found itself steadily rising to the top … the

summit of the national leaders for “most fastbreak points” of any program in the entire NCAA.

They closed with a flourish, averaging 29.7 fastbreak points per game over the final three contests.

At the conclusion, it reached a number … 18.38 … a number so impressive it will be hard to displace from the mountaintop as the remainder of the NCAA Tournament and season comes to a close.

Top of the charts is a real bragging point … with the closest teams chasing being Power 5 schools such as Florida and Michigan State. A No. 1 ranking to have and to be proud of forever.

“I feel like we played a very fun brand of basketball,” Fulks said. “People liked to watch us play. It was fun as players … I mean practice wasn’t fun all of the time having to keep up with the pace and everything. But Coach gave us the freedom to take advantage of opportunities. It was a great time.”

tilt

with Gary D’Amato

SPEED, AN ASSET IN ANY SPORT, IS EMBEDDED IN THE ROLLINS

FAMILY DNA.

Fabian Rollins represented Barbados in the 400 meters and the 4x100 relay at the 2000 Olympic Games. His oldest daughter Kayla Rollins is a fleet-footed forward on Milwaukee’s women’s soccer team. Middle daughter Maya is a sprinter on the University of Virginia track team and youngest daughter Olivia plays field hockey in high school.

“Maya runs the short hurdles and she’s killing it,” Kayla said. “Olivia is doing field hockey and she’s really good. We all get our speed from our dad.”

Speed alone, though, doesn’t put the ball in the net, and Kayla, a senior from Ann Arbor, Mich., has combined her foot speed with athleticism and creativity to become one of the most prolific scorers in the history of Milwaukee’s women’s soccer program.

Last fall, she scored 18 goals, the most by a Panther in more than a decade and just two behind NCAA Division I leader Kate Faasse of North Carolina. Rollins had seven game-winners, scored 12 goals over her final eight games and finished with 39 points en route to repeating as Horizon League Offensive Player of the Year.

She led Milwaukee to a 12-7-2 overall record (9-0-1 conference) and was named Third Team Best XI All-American by Top Drawer Soccer, becoming the first Panther to earn AllAmerican honors since Elaina LaMacchia in 2021.

tennis and medaled in the javelin at the AAU Junior Olympics, earning All-American honors.

Rollins was recruited by Troy Fabiano, who preceded Boyd as the Panthers’ coach. She played her first season for Fabiano, coming off the bench and scoring six points on two goals and two assists.

“I worked hard to show what I can do and help out wherever I could,” she said. “Coming off the bench, it was, OK, here’s my impact: I have fresh legs, let me help out the best I can.”

“I love having multi-sport athletes, as they have a better sense of movement and reading of situations. This certainly has enhanced Kayla’s game.”

-Head Coach Kevin Boyd

“Kayla is an exceptional athlete with added soccer skills and creativity — a perfect blend for a forward,” said Panthers coach Kevin Boyd. “She caused significant problems for opponents and created chances for us to score. … What is special is even against planned defenses to stop Kayla, she still scored goals, which is the greatest compliment to her attacking prowess.”

As noted earlier, Rollins grew up in an athletic family and didn’t limit herself to soccer. She played basketball and volleyball in high school, dabbled in

Under Boyd, Rollins’ game blossomed. As a sophomore, she led the team and the Horizon League with 20 points, including a conferenceleading nine goals. Her upward trajectory continued as a junior, when she scored a team-high 29 points on 12 goals and a pair of assists.

“By her fourth year, opponents had to commit attention and resources to stopping Kayla, which opened opportunities for us to attack through other players and areas,” Boyd said.

Rollins saved her best for last, scoring three goals in Milwaukee’s 7-0 victory over Robert Morris in the conference semifinals and both goals in the Panthers’ 2-1 victory over Northern Kentucky in the 2024 final.

“It was amazing,” she said. “The opportunity that we gave ourselves to get back to that championship game was amazing. Being able to take those opportunities and finishing them was so satisfying.”

The Panthers’ season ended with a 5-1 loss to Notre Dame in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

“It does still hurt a little bit,” Rollins said, “but they’re a great team.”

She is on track to graduate in May, so what’s next? A criminal justice major, she is interning with the Oak Creek Police Department.

“I’m doing ride-alongs with them, which is really cool,” she said. “So potentially, maybe I’ll be a police officer. But right now, I’m focused on playing pro soccer. That’s been a dream of mine. So I’m kind of putting everything into that right now.”

Boyd has no doubt she’ll make it.

“Absolutely, she is ready for the professional game,” he said. “She has both the athleticism and skill to play at the next level. Add to that her ability to play on both sides of the ball and she will be a huge add to whichever team signs her.”

Patrick Murphy of California-based Equity Soccer is Rollins’ agent. He is lining up opportunities for her to work out with several USL Super League teams. Their interest level in her is high, he added, because she puts the ball in the net.

“She’s a very dynamic scorer,” Murphy said. “Everybody loves scoring and everybody is in need of scoring, right? In doing my due diligence on her, she’s got a great work ethic. She’s got a love and passion for the sport.

“But at the end of the day she’s a very dynamic scorer, and scoring 18 goals in one season is a pretty incredible feat. In my dealings with teams, everybody is looking for scorers. Their big issue is finishing in the final third, and that’s something she has proven she can do.

“Her prowess definitely sets her apart from others. You can’t win games 0-0, right?”

Gary D’Amato, a three-time National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association sportswriter of the year in Wisconsin, joined the Milwaukee Panthers as a feature writer for the Roar Report in September 2018.

P e r l p p e The

A“Athletic, finesse, and fun,” said Kamy Peppler of sister Kallie. “Competitive, hard-working, and a good teammate,” said Kallie of her older sister. No matter how different their games are Kamy and Kallie Peppler had an immediate connection in their first season together at Milwaukee.

Kamy has been with the Panthers since the 2022-23 season putting together a stellar career as she will enter her senior season as one of just five players in Panther history with at least 400 career assists.

This past season, younger sister Kallie joined the Black & Gold and has helped Kamy climb that leaderboard with their relationship on the court. “It’s just a connection that we have,” said Kamy, “we’ve been able to hit a lot of backdoor cuts because we’ve been doing it for years.”

While Kallie agrees, she has noticed changes in Kamy’s game since they last played in a competitive contest together in high school. “I feel like Kamy is so much better at reading the offense and knowing what my teammates and I are going to be doing on the court,” noted Kallie.

the majority of their lives, getting their competitive edge from their parents. Dad, Derek, was an outfielder on the UW-Oshkosh baseball team, while mom, Jennifer, played defense for the UW-Stout soccer program.

As they grew up both Kamy and Kallie played their share of sports, including soccer, t-ball, and basketball. However, the hardwood is where Kamy found her passion and so too did her younger sister.

“I was always in the gym with my dad,” said Kamy. “I followed Kamy’s footsteps,” added Kallie. “I went to the gym with them and always liked it … I loved soccer but got to the point where I had to choose and ultimately picked basketball.”

The sisters played two seasons together at Hortonville High School of the Fox Valley Association, playing in arguably the toughest high school conference in the state of Wisconsin.

Hansford (Iowa State via Oregon State), and Sammi Beyer (UWOshkosh via St. Thomas). Kaukauna was always a good team, and so was Kimberly with Maddy Schreiber (Green Bay) and Shea Dechant (Winona State).”

The Peppler sisters have been playing basketball together for Roar report spring 2025

“We had quite a few teammates at the AAU level that played in the FVA,” said Kamy. “Appleton East was always a fun team to play because of Emily La Chappell (Belmont via Marquette), Lily

i s e s t r

“Neenah was always a fun opponent to play because we always ended up matching against them towards the end of the season,” added Kallie. “We always seemed to play them in super-big games and so many fans came out … it was so much fun.”

The matchups between the Polar Bears of Hortonville and the Rockets of Neenah were always memorable, even if they weren’t for the right reasons. In the 2022 WIAA Sectional Semifinal, Neenah took a 62-60 lead on a pair of free throws with 21.7 seconds left in regulation. After the ball was inbounded, Kamy dribbled the ball into the front court where the plan was to call a timeout and draw up a play to tie or potentially win the contest.

how good of a team we were and what we were capable of, it was something that we could build on and what I wanted to be a part of.”

Kamy arrived at Milwaukee several months later and began her career with the Panthers becoming the first true freshman to start in a season opener in four seasons for Milwaukee. Meanwhile, Kallie was preparing for life without her older sister on the basketball court.

However, a highly controversial, and since viral, travelling violation was called by the trail official giving the ball back to the Rockets. The Polar Bear faithful in attendance jeered in dismay as Kamy pleaded her case to a pair of officials. Kallie, then a sophomore who was also on the court, gasped with two hands covering her mouth at the questionable call.

Neenah added free throws late in the game to escape from topseeded Hortonville by a 65-60 score. A heartbreaking defeat for all, but especially Kamy as it was her final high school contest.

While disappointing, there was a lot of growth to be had for both Kallie and Kamy. “It doesn’t all come down to one play,” said Kamy of the game. “There were a lot of other things we could have done in that game … just knowing

“We definitely used the sectional semifinal loss as motivation,” said Kallie. “It was brought up a lot and we made sure we were not losing to Neenah.”

Hortonville defeated the Rockets in regulation by a 60-59 score in December of the 2022-23 season en route to a 14-1 start for the Polar Bears. However, more heartbreak ensued in late January as Kallie suffered a season-ending injury.

Despite the setback, Hortonville was able to make it past its longtime foe Neenah in the sectional finals and reached the WIAA State Semifinals at the Resch Center in Green Bay.

Kallie eventually returned to the Polar Bear lineup as a senior and helped the team win 20 of its next 22 contests. Kamy at Milwaukee became a permanent fixture in the Panther starting lineup as a sophomore and went on to tally 153 assists and averaged 11.5 points per game.

Late in the campaign on Mar. 2, Milwaukee played in its final game of the regular season at the Kress Center in Green Bay against the rival Phoenix. Kamy “lit it up,” per

and scored 25 points in a 65-61 victory. The win for Milwaukee clinched a first round bye and kept Green Bay from winning a regular season title.

Concurrently at Appleton East High School, Kallie was playing in yet another WIAA Sectional final against none other than Neenah. Despite sweeping the regular season series from the Rockets, it

was ultimately Neenah to earn the win and move on to the state level of the high school championship. Together again with the Panthers in 2024-25, the sister connection took a bit of time to rekindle but resulted in some highlight reel moments as the season progressed but not without some ‘tough love’ along the way.

“I feel like that I can get on her a little bit more,” said Kamy. “She’s from a place of love.”

“College basketball has been so different from high school when you talk about the physicality and the speed of the game,” added Kallie. “I think confidence has been a huge thing for me … you go out there and at first and you feel like you don’t know what you’re doing but by the end of the year I feel I definitely grew.”

Kallie finished her first season as one of just six Panthers to play in all 32 games, which included a strong finish to the year with an average of five points per game over the final 13 contests.

Kamy capped off her junior campaign at 9.3 points per game, and 11.4 points per game over the final 13 games. She also set the program’s junior year

mark for assists with 151.

“Being on the court with Kamy was super fun in high school and even more fun now,” added Kallie.

“It’s been really fun to be on the court together again and have that experience,” noted Kamy. “A lot of people get to experience playing with a sibling in high

school, but at the next level, I think it’s something that’s pretty special and something that I don’t take for granted.”

The Milwaukee Panthers value the opportunity to represent our university throughout the community. Through this platform, we are proud to have completed over 2,900 hours of service to our community this past year. Thank you for your support.

Nominate your non-profit organization for the Gruber Community Corner. Panther Athletics and Gruber Law Offices are happy to invite your group to an upcoming men’s basketball game at Panther Arena. Your group will receive 50 to 100 game tickets provided courtesy of Gruber Law Office. Plus, during a timeout in the game, your group will be featured on the videoboard. Call 414-251-6974 to participate.

WOMEN’S SCHOOL RECORDS BROKEN

ERIKA THOMAS:

400 IM in 4:20.57, breaking former mark of 4:21.00 set in 2016

MADDI HAYASHI:

100 Butterfly in 54.81, breaking mark of 55.14 set in 2011

MADDI HAYASHI:

Freshman Record 200 Butterfly in 2:01.50, breaking mark of 2:03.03 set in 2023

CHRISTIANA BROOKS:

Freshman Record 100 Backstroke in 55.44, breaking mark of 55.62 set in 2015

GABRIELLE LEPINE, CARLY PLATE, CHRISTIANA BROOKS, JANELLE SCHULZ:

200 free relay in 1:31.63, breaking mark of 1:32.40 set in 2016

MARA FREEMAN, GABRIELLE LEPINE, MADDI HAYASHI, JANELLE SCHULZ:

400 medley relay in 3:39.13, breaking mark of 3:40.99 set in 2014

GABRIELLE LEPINE, GRACE HUDSON, CHRISTIANA BROOKS, JANELLE SCHULZ:

400 free relay in 3:22.70, breaking mark of 3:23.09 set in 2014

MEN’S SCHOOL RECORDS BROKEN

GUNNAR SEVERSEN:

500 freestyle in 4:25.18, breaking former mark of 4:26.87 set in 2024

1650 freestyle in 15:26.51, breaking mark of 15:31.77 set in 2015

Freshman Record 400 IM in 3:53.48, breaking mark of 3:55.81 set in 2013

CHARLIE HOUSE:

100 freestyle in 44.21, breaking mark of 44.32 set in 2011

200 freestyle in 1:37.90, breaking mark of 1:37.97 set in 2020

100 butterfly in 47.26, breaking his own mark of 47.66 set in 2024

ANDREW JONES:

100 breaststroke in 54.69, breaking mark of 55.14 set in 2016

ALVIN VALKKI:

200 breaststroke in 1:59.85, breaking mark of 2:01.27 set in 2017

VICTOR KOSTOV:

100 backstroke in 49.24, breaking mark of 49.27 set in 2024

VICTOR KOSTOV, ALVIN VALKKI, CALEB CARLISLE, BEN LORENZ:

200 medley relay in 1:28.33, breaking mark of 1:29.36 set in 2024

JAY JENSEN, CHARLIE HOUSE, JACKSON AHRENS, GUNNAR SEVERSEN:

800 free relay in 6:32.60, breaking mark of 6:37.08 set in 2020

CHARLIE HOUSE, JACKSON AHRENS, CALEB CARLISLE, BEN LORENZ:

200 free relay in 1:19.62, breaking mark of 1:20.45 set in 2024

VICTOR KOSTOV, ANDREW JONES, CALEB CARLISLE, CHARLIE HOUSE:

400 medley relay in 3:15.54, breaking mark of 3:16.63 set in 2015

Being a part of the Panther Excellence Fund is not only an investment in the athletic program and student-athletes of Milwaukee, it also provides many benefits for you. The Panther Excellence Fund is excited to announce the following benefits for donors who support the Panthers (beginning in the 2023-24 academic year). Benefits will be awarded according to athletics annual gifts and will be available to Panther Excellence Fund members the following sports/academic year.

For more information or to hear about opportunities to get involved with Milwaukee Athletics, please contact Chris Roche (rochec@uwm.edu) or Cody Bohl (bohl@uwm.edu).

2023-24 PANTHER EXCELLENCE FUND BENEFITS

The members of the Class of 2024 include Leanne Williamson [Felsing](volleyball) Ashley Green (women’s basketball). Wally Winter (track & field), who passed

[Felsing](volleyball) and Lauren Felsing (volleyball), Ed McCants (men’s basketball), and passed away in 1978 at an early age, were honored this past February.