Evansville vs Southern Indiana vs Valparaiso
- October 14, 2023
- Evansville, Ind.
- SCY (25 yards)
- Results
- Team Scores
Courtesy: Evansville Athletics
EVANSVILLE, Ind.—University of Evansville sophomore diver Levi McKinney (Boonville, Ind./Boonville) posted an NCAA Zone Diving Mark in the one-meter competition on Saturday, as the UE swimming and diving teams swept a double dual meet with visiting Valparaiso and the University of Southern Indiana at the Deaconess Aquatic Center in Evansville.
McKinney posted a career-best score of 303.23 in the six-dive, one-meter competition to post an NCAA Zone Championships qualifying mark, and he becomes the first male diver at UE since Andy Balczo in 2011 to achieve the Zone standard. He also came within 35 points of posting a Zone qualifying mark on the three-meter boards as well, as he cruised to the individual title in both events.
“What a way to start off the year by Levi today!” said UE head swimming and diving coach Stu Wilson. “We have not had a male qualify for Zones in quite some time, and for him to come out and reach the mark in the first meet of the year speaks to all of the hard work he put in during the off-season. I know that he has been working hard with assistant coach Dustin Bredemeier, and he put in a ton of work in the off-season, and to see if pay off today was outstanding.”
Overall, the UE men posted a 166-56 victory over Valparaiso and a 162-78 victory over USI on the afternoon, winning 11 of the 13 meets on the afternoon. On the women’s side, the UE women won nine events while posting a 157-70 victory over Valparaiso and a 126-110 win over USI.
McKinney swept the diving competitions on the men’s side, while junior Patrik Vilbergsson (Kopavogur, Iceland) and junior Benjamin Hasanovic (Innsbruck, Austria) posted a pair of individual wins as well. Vilbergsson took home the men’s 200-Yard Freestyle individual title by over two seconds with a winning time of 1:44.96, before besting the field by over six seconds with a win in the 200-Yard Backstroke with a time of 1:50.13.
Hasanovic, meanwhile, sprinted to a win in the 50-Yard Freestyle with a time of 21.73, edging sophomore teammate Daniil Goncharuk (Kyiv, Ukraine) by 0.14 seconds. He then led a charge of four Purple Aces to finish in the top four of the 200-Yard Breaststroke with a time of 2:09.39. Freshman Joao Pereira Guiherme (Curitiba, Brazil), junior Carlos Souto (A Coruna, Spain), and Goncharuk finished second, third and fourth behind Hasanovic in the 200 Breast.
Senior Jackson Caudill (Mount Sterling, Ky./Montgomery County) also won the 1,000-Yard Freestyle with a time of 9:49.94 on his “Senior Day,” with junior Daniel Santos Lopez (Madrid, Spain) winning the 100-Yard Freestyle title in a time of 45.80. Freshman Joseph Capo (Luling, La./Jesuit) also impressed in his first collegiate meet with a title in the 500-Yard Freestyle by over 12 seconds, with a winning time of 4:48.67.
On the women’s side, senior diver Madison Rollett (Evansville, Ind./Reitz) swept both the one-meter and three-meter diving titles on her “Senior Day,” just narrowly missing a Zone qualifying mark herself in the three-meter competition. Junior Sveva Brugnoli (Rome, Italy) dominated the field in the 400-Yard IM, winning by over 11 seconds with a time of 4:35.80, before out-touching junior teammate Mari Mueller (Zurich, Switzerland) by 0.06 seconds to win the 200-Yard Butterfly event with a time of 2:12.40.
Freshman Rebecca Lago (Tezze sul Brenta, Italy) made a splash in her first collegiate meet, sweeping the titles in both the 50- and 100-Yard Freestyle events with times of 24.62 and 53.58. Mueller took home the 200-Yard Breaststroke title ahead of freshman teammate Rafaela Makariewicz (Porto Alegre, Brazil) with a time of 2:23.59, while freshmen Ane Madina Garate (Onati, Spain) and Luana Carrotta (Ercolano, Italy) went first and second in the 200-Yard Backstroke with times of 2:10.34 and 2:11.37.
“Overall, I thought today was a good meet to see where we are at,” said Wilson. “I think that our freshmen and newcomers learned a lot today in terms of what collegiate swimming is like, so that is good. That gives us something to work on going forward.
“Overall, I was pleased with how we performed today, but there is still a lot that we can work on overall. But, all-in-all, it was a good first meet.”
Evansville will have nearly a month to prepare for their next competition, as UE will be off now until November 9, when UE opens competition at the A3 Performance Invitational hosted by Southern Illinois in Carbondale, Illinois.
Courtesy: Southern Indiana Athletics
Evansville, Ind. – The University of Southern Indiana Women’s Swimming and Diving battled to beat Valparaiso University in the Evansville Tri-Meet at the Deaconess Aquatic Center, 143-88. The Screaming Eagles fell just short in a nail bitter against the University of Evansville, 126-110.
Sophomore Mattilynn Smith (Morgantown, Kentucky) recorded a massive 1000 yard freestyle win (11:05.39) to jumpstart the Eagles.
Freshman Caiya Cooper (LaPorte, Indiana) took control of the 200 freestyle event with a first-place finish (1:57.46). Cooper also claimed a 500 yard freestyle win (5:17.62).
Freshman Maranda Uttke (Grafton, Wisconsin) led the Eagles in diving in the one-meter (199.65 points) and three-meter (187.65 points).
USI dazzled in the 400 yard freestyle relay led by freshman Reagan Holmes (Henderson, Nevada), freshman Ella Johnson (Owensboro, Kentucky), freshman Hallie Meier (Plainfield, Indiana), and Cooper (3:39.33).
UP NEXT FOR USI:
The Eagles hit the road again next Friday to Terre Haute, Indiana to compete in another Tri-Meet at Indiana State starting at 4 p.m.
Evansville, Ind. – The University of Southern Indiana Men’s Swimming and Diving finished 1-1 in the University of Evansville Tri-Meet coming out with the win against Valparaiso University, 126-110 at Deaconess Aquatic Center in town. However, the Screaming Eagles fell short to the University of Evansville, 162-78.
Freshman Sam Smith (Trafalgar, Indiana) got the Eagles fired up with an impressive 200 yard freestyle time (1:47.65) marking the best time of the season. Smith also took home a first place finish in the 200 yard butterfly beating his previous season best at (1:56.97). Sophomore Gabriel Groves (New Carlisle, Indiana) earned a respectable (21.94) in the 50 yard freestyle.
Freshman Camden Richardson (Spring Hill, Tennessee) absolutely shattered the school record for the 200 yard backstroke (1:56.91). Richardson shaved off nearly four seconds from his last 200 yard backstroke time.
Sophomore Lane Pollock (Booneville, Indiana) led the way for the Eagles in the one-meter dive with 244.2 points. Freshman Nathan Deputy (Evansville, Indiana) shinned in the three-meter diving event racking up 242.33 points.
Other Top Men’s Results
100 Yard Freestyle: Freshman Demarkus Darensbourg (Overland Park, KS) (48.67)
200 yard backstroke: Sophomore Garrett Crist (Bargersville, Indiana) (1:59.61)
400 yard freestyle relay: Freshman Cole Baker (Springville, Tennessee), sophomore Jack Hannon (Lowell, Indiana) Crist, and Groves (3:15.35).
UP NEXT FOR USI:
The Eagles hit the road again next Friday to Terre Haute, Indiana to compete in another Tri-Meet at Indiana State starting at 4 p.m.
Courtesy: Valpo Athletics
How It Happened – Evansville/Southern Indiana
- Oostman notched a first-place finish in Saturday’s tri-meet, touching the wall first in the 400 IM with a time of 4:13.56. Later in the afternoon, the sophomore placed third with a team-best time of 1:59.47 in the 200 back.
- Two other Beacon men had a pair of team-best swims on Saturday as well. Sophomore Ricky Helmboldt (Tucson, Ariz./Arizona Connections Academy) came home third overall in the 1000 free (10:16.58) and second overall in the 500 free (5:00.92).
- Meanwhile, sophomore Anthony Martin (Bartlett, Ill./Bartlett) placed second in the 200 free (1:46.94) before also pacing the Beacons in the 100 free (48.40).
- On the women’s side, Bargwell led Valpo in a pair of events on Saturday, leading the Valpo pack in the 50 free with a third-place overall finish (25.35) and in the 100 free (56.12).
- Three other Valpo women had third-place individual finishes — Schoch in the 200 back (2:15.12), freshman Olivia Tressler (Las Vegas, Nev./Desert Oasis) in the 400 IM (4:56.31) and freshman Kailyn Benoit (Sussex, Wis./Hamilton) in the 200 fly (2:15.87).
- The Valpo men fell 166-56 to Evansville and 127-110 to Southern Indiana, while the women fell 157-70 to Evansville and 143-88 to Southern Indiana.
Next Up
Valpo continues early-season competition next weekend with a tri-meet at Bellarmine on Saturday, Oct. 21 which will also feature Eastern Illinois.
