Courtesy: Evansville Athletics
Junior Iryna Tsesiul (Minsk, Belarus) set a new school record in the women’s 100-Yard Backstroke, as she posted a school-best time of 55.47 as the lead leg of the 400 Medley Relay squad which placed second. Then, minutes later, the men’s 400 Medley Relay team of sophomores Patrik Vilbergsson (Kopavogur, Iceland) and Daniel Santos Lopez (Madrid, Spain), junior Alon Baer (Gesher HaZiv, Israel) and senior Riccardo Di Domenico (Johannesburg, South Africa) broke the UE school record in the event with a winning time of 3:15.03.
“What an incredible night!” said UE head swimming & diving coach Stuart Wilson. “Two team records, with Iryna breaking the 100 Back mark, and then the 400 Medley Relay record just minutes later. There is so much energy with this group!
“Everyone is swimming well, but tonight, was a great night! A lot of positive energy flowing, which makes it easy for everyone to fall in line and perform their best!”
The school records came as part of a strong night for UE, as the Purple Aces posted 14 top five finishes in the 12 different events. Relays-wise, Evansville won the men’s 400 Medley Relay (3:15.03), while placing second in the women’s 400 Medley Relay (3:49.28) and men’s 200 Freestyle Relay (1:22.17). UE also placed third in the women’s 200 Free Relay with a time of 1:37.83.
Individually, freshman diver Levi McKinney (Boonville, Ind./Boonville) took home the individual title in the men’s three-meter diving competition, posting a career-best score of 303.90 to top 2022 NCAA Zone Qualifier Lee Haywood of Southern Illinois. UE also earned second-place finishes from Vilbergsson in the men’s 500-Yard Freestyle with a time of 4:33.21, and junior diver Madison Rollett (Evansville, Ind./Reitz) in the women’s one-meter competition with a score of 236.25.
Baer turned in one of UE’s three third-place finishes on the day in the men’s 200-Yard IM with a time of 1:52.62. Meanwhile, on the women’s side, senior Sarah Jahns (Lilburn, Ga./Parkview) earned a third-place finish in the 500-Yard Freestyle with a time of 5:00.25, and sophomore Sveva Brugnoli (Rome, Italy) tied for third in the women’s 200 IM with a time of 2:06.01.
Sophomore Carlos Souto (A Coruna, Spain) earned a fourth-place finish in the men’s 200 IM, finishing just 0.20 behind Baer with a mark of 1:52.82. Junior Jackson Caudill (Mount Sterling, Ky./Montgomery County) posted a fifth-place finish in the men’s 500-Yard Freestyle with a time of 4:36.84, while senior Maya Cunningham (Yakima, Wash./Eisenhower) and sophomore Mari Müller (Zurich, Switzerland) tied for fifth in the women’s 200 IM with identical times of 2:06.17. Müller’s time moved her up to the fifth-fastest female swimmer in UE history in the event. Meanwhile, on the men’s side, freshman Daniil Goncharuk (Kyiv, Ukraine) cracked UE’s career top 10 in the men’s 50-Yard Freestyle, as he posted a time of 20.95 to rank as the ninth-fastest male swimmer in the event.
The A3 Performance Invitational will continue on Friday at 10 a.m., with preliminary round swims in the 400 IM, 100 Fly, 200 Free, 100 Breast, 100 Back, and the 800 Free Relay. Diving will continue with the three-meter competition at noon, with Friday’s competition concluding with event finals in the above events, as well as the 200 Medley Relay. Fans can follow the action on the Meet Mobile App.
