Illinois vs. Northwestern vs. UIC
- Saturday, October 23, 2021
- Evanston, Illinois
Courtesy: Illinois Athletics
The Fighting Illini Swimming and Diving team fights hard, splitting meet with Northwestern and UIC. The Illini beat UIC 230-90 and fell to Northwestern 99-197. Senior Abigail Cabush and Sophomore Lily Olson both picked up first place finishes.
“It is always nice to come out with a win, but today was definitely a tough meet,” Said Head Coach Sue Novitsky, “We had multiple season bests and improvements across the lineup. Today will help us continue to take steps forward and improve as a team.”
Abby Cabush earned her first place finish in her signature event, the 200 meter freestyle with a time of 1:50.79. Cabush still holds the school record in the 200 free, with a time of 1:47.80. Lily Olson got a first place finish of her own in the 50 freestyle with a time of 23.80.
The Fighting Illini found themselves on the podium many more times throughout the meet, with Cara Bognar placing third in the 500 freestyle, 1000 freestyle, and the 200 butterfly. Freshman Sydney Stoll stayed hot with 2nd place finishes in the 200 IM and 500 freestyle.
The 200 medley relay team composed of Athena Salafatinos, Divya Kale, Abby Cabush, and Lily Olson placed third, clocking a 1:45.88. The Fighting Illini also took second and third in the 200 freestyle relay, with Molly Yetter, Olson, Cabush, and Laurel Bludgen taking second and the team comprised of Logan Kuehne, Isabelle Guerra, Salafatinos, and Audrey Gingras placed third.
Courtesy: UIC Athletics
UIC dove into the 2021-22 season with a meet at Northwestern Saturday morning. The Flames men and women measured up against their Big Ten rivals from Evanston, while the women were also tested against Illinois.
“This meet was a great beginning of the year test for our team. We know that we will only get better with each competition,” Tim Loeffler said.
Top Performances
- Cydney Liebenberg took second in 3-meter diving and third in 1-meter.
- Felix Lafortune dove to a second place finish on the 3-meter board, and a third place showing on the 1-meter board.
- Christina Neri was the Flames’ top finisher in the 1000 free.
- Liam Davis took third, less than a second behind the second place swimmer, in the 1000 free. He was second in the 200 fly and the 500 free.
- Freshman Kalie Landrum made her debut with a fifth place finish in the 200 free.
- Josh Dellorto and Tyler Schwertfeger came in fourth and fifth in the 200 free. Dellorto also had the team’s best finish in the 100 free and 100 fly.
- Lizzie Zeller was seventh in the 100 back and in the 200 back.
- Owen Zant had the team’s best time in the 100 and 200 back.
- Taira Juronis and Ben Ramminger paced the Flames in the 100 breast. Juronis and Kyle Lewarchick had the women’s and men’s best times in the 200 breast.
- Lilly Culp was seventh in the 200 fly and fifth in the 100 fly.
- Jeff Wiedoff came in second in the 50 free.
Relays
- Anna Scovill, Juronis, Izabella Del Rosario, and Poleena Kovalaske comprised the Flames’ A-200 medley relay team.
- Michalek, Ramminger, Lewarchick, and Wiedoff teamed up in the 200 medley relay.
- Kovalaske, Landrum, Beth Kelzer, and Bree Moericke swam the 200 free relay.
- Wiedoff, Dellorto, Michalek, and Davis closed the meet with a second place finish in the 200 free relay.
Up Next
- The Flames will return to action next week against Horizon League foe Milwaukee.
- The dual meet will start at noon from Milwaukee’s Klotsche Center.
