Indiana State vs Illinois (W)
- Friday, October 15, 2021
- Terre Haute, Indiana
- Results
Courtesy: Illinois Athletics
TERRE HAUTE, Ind.: The Fighting Illini swimming and diving team started their season strong out the gates with a 185.5-98.5 victory against Indiana State (0-3) on Friday night. This win marks their first victory since their dual meet win versus Nebraska on 1/23/21. Freshman Molly Yetter and sophomore Lily Olson picked up three first place finishes, with senior Abby Cabush and Junior Kaleigh Haworth earning two first place finishes of theirown.
“It is great to get the first meet under our belt. Indiana State was tough and kept up the intensity all the way through the meet,” said Head Coach Sue Novitsky, “Overall, we competed strong on the boards and in the lanes. We settled down after the first couple of events and showed great energy and fight to the end. Next we get back to work and focus on making adjustments to keep moving forward.”
Freshman Molly Yetter made her Illini debut one to remember by placing first in three of the four events she competed in. Yetter clocked a 1:54.51 in the 200 freestyle, a 51.95 in the 100 freestyle, and contributed to a first place finish in the 400 freestyle relay (Cabush, Bludgen, Olson). Sophomore Lily Olson also recorded three first place finishes in the four events in which she competed. She placed first in the 50 freestyle, the 200 butterfly, and also was a member of the first place finishing 400 freestyle relay with times of 23.96, 2:06.23, and a collective time of 3:29.27 in a relay.
Also contributing to the dominant win was Cabush, who placed first in the 500 freestyle (5:02.47) and was also a member of winning 400 freestyle relay team. Cabush also placed in two other events, placing third in the 100 backstroke and 50 freestyle. Junior Kaleigh Haworth also placed first in two events, clocking a 1:05.86 in the 100 breaststroke and a 2:22.14 in the 200 breaststroke.
Freshmen Sydney Stoll and Jane Umhofer also had great Illini debuts, both placing in multiple events. Stoll picked up a first place finish in the 1000 freestyle (10:31.38), and placed third in contribution to a 400 freestyle relay team (Salafatinos, Guerra, Kuehne). Jane Umhofer placed second in the 200 breaststroke (2:22.93) and the 400 IM (4:33.36). Overall it was a full team effort that brought the Illini to victory.
ON THE BOARDS
The Fighting Illini divers also had a very successful first meet versus Indiana State, sweeping 1st-3rd place in both the 1 meter diving and 3 meter diving. Allison Landis placed first in the 1 meter (257.93), and Erin Young started off her senior season with a first place finish in the 3 meter (266.47). Brooke Michael had a day of her own, placing second in the 1 meter (244.05), and the 3 meter (265.43).
NEXT UP
The Fighting Illini travel to Evanston, Ill. on Saturday, October 23rd to face off in a tri-meet with Northwestern and the University of Illinois-Chicago.
Courtesy: Indiana State Athletics
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State fell to the University of Illinois in the Sycamores 2021-22 home opener at the Vigo County Aquatic Center on Friday night, 184.5-98.5.
The night featured a number of strong performances from the Sycamores with multiple athletes setting either personal-best or season-best marks in front of their home crowd.
“We raced tough and had great energy throughout the whole meet and had some big step up swims,” Coach Christensen commented. “Unfortunately, we lost several really close races, so the score didn’t really represent how competitive the meet was. Almost every single event was close.”
The Sycamores picked up their first three event winners in the 2021-22 season with Carmen Alard Vegas sweeping the backstroke events, while Marni Gray built on a strong start last week to take the 100-yard butterfly event.
Vegas set personal marks in both the 100-yard and 200-yard backstroke events on the evening. Her 56.90 in the 100-yard back was four-hundredths better than Illinois’ Athena Salafatinos to claim her first title of the night. She followed up in the 200-back by topping teammate Olivia DiRuzza by nearly a half-second with her winning time of 2:04.80.
Gray out-touched teammate Sarah Moreau in the 100-yard Fly event with a time of 56.62 to set a new season-best mark on the day as the Sycamores went 1-2 in the event.
Overall, Indiana State put 15 different athletes in the top-three in their respective events on the evening. This included second-place finishes by Chloe Farro (50 Free, 100 Free), Alexandria Cotter (100 Breast, 400 IM), Moreau (100 Fly, 200 Fly), Emily Webb (200 Free), DiRuzza (200 Back), and Jordan Gruce (500 Free).
Top ISU Performers in Each Event
100-Yard Backstroke: First place – Carmen Alard Vegas (56.90)
100 Yard Breaststroke: Second place – Alexandria Cotter (1:06.34)
100-Yard Butterfly: First place – Marni Gray (56.62)
1000-Yard Freestyle: Third place – Rhiannon Wozny (10:44.05)
200-Yard Freestyle: Second place – Emily Webb (1:54.74)
50-Yard Freestyle: Second place – Chloe Farro (24.03)
400-Yard IM: Second place – Alexandria Cotter (4:31.66)
200-Yard Butterfly: Second place – Sarah Moreau (2:07.10)
100-Yard Freestyle: Second place – Chloe Farro (52.30)
200-Yard Backstroke: First place – Carmen Alard Vegas (2:04.80)
500-Yard Freestyle: Second place – Jordan Gruce (5:07.09)
200-Yard Breaststroke: Third place – Elle Gilkerson (2:24.73)
400-Yard Freestyle Relay: Second place – Kaimi Matsunmoto, Emily Webb, Sarah Moreau (3:29.92)
One-Meter Diving: Sixth place – Bailey Betzer (211.27)
Three-Meter Diving: Fourth place – Sarah Montgomery (239.55)
The Sycamores have a quick turnaround to get ready to face a deep field at the Indiana Intercollegiate tomorrow.
“We have to sharpen up some details and learn to get our hand on the wall first as we move through the season,” Coach Christensen said. “We got better tonight and we’ll take these lessons forward with us.”
Up Next
Indiana State is back in action on Saturday, October 16, at Purdue University for the Indiana Intercollegiate. The meet is set to begin at noon ET at the Morgan J. Burke Aquatic Center.
