By: Ryan Hartwig (@RyanHartwig)
GreenBayPhoenix.com

BROWN DEER, Wis. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) - Green Bay sophomore Kendra Rottier (Green Bay, Wis.) continued her dominant performance at the 2012 Horizon League Swimming and Diving Championships on Thursday night, winning the 500-yard freestyle with a school-record time of 4:52.88 as the Phoenix men and women wrapped up day two at the Walter Schroeder Aquatic Center.

The Green Bay women, who are looking for their eighth straight conference title, are in third place with 242 points at the meet's halfway point, 53 behind first-place Milwaukee. The Phoenix men's squad currently sits in fifth place, accumulating 127 points over the first two days.

Rottier's win in the 500 free came one night after she shattered the school record with a first-place time of 10:03.79 in the 1000 free. Thursday's 500 freestyle time - which nearly broke the Horizon League standard of 4:52.35 - beat former Phoenix standout Deanna DeGrand's record of 4:56.59, set in 2011.

Thursday also saw another school record fall, as Green Bay showed its depth by placing three swimmers in the top six of the 200 IM. Senior Amber Bartholomew (Alexandria, Minn.) earned a runner-up finish, an NCAA B cut and the fastest time in school history when she touched the wall in 2:01.28, beating the mark of 2:01.92 set by Danielle DeGrand in 2009. Juniors Heather Bodin (Maple Grove, Minn.) and Megan Burley (Hazelhurst, Wis.) placed fifth (2:05.70) and sixth (2:06.40) in the event, respectively.

Freshman Amanda Walker (Sun Prairie, Wis.) also swam an outstanding 500 freestyle behind Rottier, racing to a fourth-place finish with a time of 4:58.71 - one of the five fastest in school history. Sophomore Parker Wolf (Kohler, Wis.) turned in a strong performance in the women's 50 free, racing to a fourth-place finish in 23.61.

On the diving boards, junior Jessica Stolfi (Kenosha, Wis.) was the top finisher for Green Bay, taking home a seventh-place finish with a score of 212.00.

Sophomore Cole Hackney (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) and freshman Ben Loeffelholz (Dubuque, Iowa) were the top individual performers on the men's side, tying for 11th in the 50 free with matching times of 21.13.

The Green Bay men and women return to action Friday morning with swimming preliminaries at 10:30 a.m. For more information, visit the Championship Central Page on GreenBayPhoenix.com.

Women's Team Scores
1 -Milwaukee 295
2 - Cleveland State 287
3 - Green Bay 242
4 - UIC 205.5
5 - Wright State 156.5
6 - Youngstown State 145
7 - Valparaiso 80
8 - Butler 72

Men's Team Scores
1 - Milwaukee 341
2 - UIC 289.5
3 - Cleveland State 286.5
4 - Wright State 179
5 - Green Bay 127
6 - Valparaiso 86

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