EASTERN ILLINOIS VS SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
- January 30, 2026
- Charleston, Ill.
- SCY (25 yards)
- Results
Courtesy: SIU Athletics
CHARLESTON, Ill. – Southern Illinois swim and dive began their weekend with a trip to Eastern Illinois on Friday. The Salukis dominated their sister school to the east throughout the meet, with the women’s team winning 208-46 and the men taking home a 202-58 victory as 18 different Salukis combined to break 20 records at EIU’s Padovan Pool.
How it Happened
The meet started with the 400-yard medley relay. SIU’s women’s teams swept the podium, with the “A” squad setting a pool record while the men’s “A” team did the same as they and the “B” squad took first and second. Individual events began with the 1000 freestyle, which Karen Rodriguez and Kyler Beights won in the women’s and men’s events, respectively.
Lívia Munkácsi-Nagy set the next pool record with her win in the 200 freestyle, and Willem Huggins took care of business to win the men’s side of the event. In the 100 backstroke, Liseska Gallegos Gutierrez took the crown for the women with her pool record time of 55.02.
The next Saluki to break a pool record was Madalyn Booker thanks to her win in the 100 breaststroke. Maddax Thompson did the same in the men’s side of the event. In the 200 butterfly, Tamara De la Torre finished first for the women’s team while Nate Worsham led all male swimmer while also breaking the event’s pool record.
Zaria Terry and Carter Ruthven added two more pool records to Southern’s resume in the 50 freestyle events, while Susy Hernandez and Huggins rewrote the pool’s record book for the 100 freestyle. Both 200 backstroke winners, Tia Jankovics and Juraj Barcot became record holders, and Booker and Thompson added to their record counts by both winning the 200 breaststroke events.
The 500 freestyle was up next, which Ale Hoyos Horvath and Joshua Aceves won, with Aceves’ time being another pool record. Two more pool records came in the 100 butterfly events, courtesy of Olivia Herron and Ruthven. Individual events concluded with the 200 IM, where Jankovics added another gold medal to her day’s count. The meet wrapped with the 200 freestyle relays. On the women’s side, SIU’s “A” squad pulled out the win and pool record, while the men’s “A” team did as well.
Up Next
Swim and dive are right back in action tomorrow morning when they visit Missouri at 10 a.m.
Courtesy: EIU Athletics
The Panthers finished their final home meet with a solid showing against Southern Illinois. The EIU swim team was able to secure multiple high-scoring finishes.
Men’s Swimming:
Alexander Sadowski wasted no time continuing his strong performances from the last meet, winning gold in the Men’s 100 Yard Backstroke with a finals time of 50.14, which ranks 4th all-time in EIU history. Simonas Rimskis showed a strong performance in the Men’s 50 Yard Freestyle, earning a silver medal with a time of 21.31. Eddie Meyers earned a top-three finish in the Men’s 200 Yard Butterfly with a time of 1:57.43. Moments before Meyers, Nolan Wallace secured a third-place finish in the Men’s 100 Yard Breaststroke with a time of 57.39, which ranks 9th all-time in program history. Another third-place finish, Robert Higgins earned bronze in the Men’s 100 Yard Backstroke with a time of 51.70. Landon Badstibner earned another bronze for the Panthers in the Men’s 1000 Yard Freestyle with a time of 10:06.59.
Women’s Swimming:
Sydney Vandervelde opened the meet for the Panthers with a top three finish in the Women’s 1000 Yard Freestyle with a time of 11:13.65. Sophia Buswell and Kaitlyn Evans went two and three in the Women’s 200 Yard Butterfly. Buswell held a time of 2:12.23, with Evans finishing with a time of 2:32.18. Buswell also earned a top five finish in the Women’s 100 Yard Butterfly with a time of 59.09. Jenna Patridge earned a bronze medal in the Women’s 200 Yard Backstroke with a time of 2:11.19. Anna Mueller also earned a bronze medal in the Women’s 500 Yard Freestyle with a time of 5:23.73. Genevieve Biberdorf secured a fourth-place finish in the Women’s 200 Yard IM with a finals time of 2:20.31.
The EIU women’s swim team will travel to Normal, Illinois, to face Illinois State in an afternoon women’s-only swim meet. Eastern Illinois will face the Redbirds at 2:00 p.m.
