Missouri State Sweeps MVC Foe UIC In Two-Day Dual

Missouri State vs UIC

• January 24-25, 2025
• Springfield, Mo.
• SCY (25 yards)
• Day 1 Results
• Day 2 Results

Courtesy: Missouri State Athletics

DAY 1

SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State swimming & diving opened the first day of its final home meet of the season with a strong performance against the UIC Flames on Friday at Hammons Student Center Pool. Heading into the final day of the meet tomorrow, the Missouri State women lead UIC, 128-56, while the men lead their dual, 125-61.

The women’s team opened the day with a dominant victory in the 400-yard freestyle relay. The squad of Caitlyn Friebe, Cabrini Johnson, Samantha Roemer and Lana Janson put down a 3:40.45 time to take down the rest of the field by over eight seconds. The time was .3 seconds shy of the pool record set by the Bears in their meet against Omaha back in November.

Missouri State’s success carried over to the individual events and never faltered. Olivia Sala won her third 400-yard individual medley race of the season with a time of 4:24.50. Grace Robbins (4:33.28) and Sarah Culberson (4:33.28) completed the Bears’ sweep of the top three spots.

The trend of podium sweeps continued in the 100-yard butterfly with Roemer touching the wall first at 54.07, followed by Lillie Freulon (55.21) and Payton Smith (55.40).

Makenzie Kurre secured a personal best time with her win in the 200-yard freestyle at 1:49.38, besting her 1:51.64 time she set at the House of Champions Invitational. Lindsey Hervey also set a personal record in the 500-yard freestyle (4:55.26), besting her previous best of 4:56.14 at last year’s MVC Championships.

The meet saw more firsts for Missouri State swimmers. Cameryn Johnson won her first career collegiate meet in the 50-yard freestyle (23.87). Addie Ludbrook followed with a personal best time of 24.47 to finish second.

Cabrini Johnson earned her eighth individual win in a breaststroke event this season with a 1:02.06 time in the 100-yard breaststroke, defeating UIC’s Taira Juronis (1:03.79) by nearly two seconds.

Friebe also returned to the individual win column with a blazing 55.25 time in the 100-yard backstroke. She led the way by over two seconds to UIC’s Sophie Stefanic (57.31) as the next finisher.

The women finished the swimming portion of the first day with a win in the 200-yard freestyle relay. Ludbrook, Roemer, Janson and Cameryn Johnson put down a 1:34.34 time to defeat UIC’s top-finishing quartet by over two seconds.

In diving, UIC’s Kerry-Leigh Morrison won the 3-meter dive with a score of 307.43, surpassing her MVC-best score of 303.30 she had last week against the University of Chicago. Maggie Arceneaux led the Bears with a 229.73 score to finish third.

The men also opened their dual with a 400 medley relay win. Alex Boutin, Luigi Maciel da Silva, Simeon Sabev and Matvei Chesakov combined for a time of 3:16.99 with a nearly three-second lead over the Flames.

The men’s team rallied off a handful of podium sweeps. Reese Hodgins, one of the seniors being recognized tomorrow, led the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:38.81. He was followed by Keegan Kelly (1:39.88) and Jack Grandy (1:40.98).

The freestyle dominance continued in the 50-yard variety as Chesakov came just .1 seconds off his pool record he set against Omaha with a time of 20.27. Lucas Chadwell finished second at 20.64 and George Holesinger came in third posting a time of 21.09.

In the 100-yard breaststroke, Maciel da Silva led the podium sweep with a winning time of 54.44. Brayden Goeldner finished second with a time of 56.53. Sabev rounded out the top three (57.25).

Sabev also earned a win in the 100-yard butterfly (48.74), his third win in the event this season.

Freshman Carter Crook earned his first career collegiate victory in the 100-yard backstroke (50.25). Gonzalo Ruiz, who had six backstroke wins this season entering the day, finished second at 50.31. Chadwell took home third with a time of 50.94.

Chesakov, Hodgins, Chris Bedsole and Chadwell concluded the swimming festivities by taking the 200-yard freestyle (1:22.23) by just over a second to UIC’s top relay team.

In diving, reigning MVC Diver of the Week Harrison Nolan won the 1-meter dive with a score of 370.73. Storm Opdahl finished third to pace Missouri State with a score of 306.90, the third-highest score in the event by a Bear this season.

The second day of the meet will begin tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. with Senior Day recognitions commencing at 9:45 a.m. Payton Smith, Courtney Stanbury, Reese Hodgins, Simeon Sabev and Brunno Suzuki-Tomiyama will be honored.

DAY 2

SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State swimming & diving swept its two-day dual meet with conference foe UIC while celebrating its five seniors on Saturday for the Bears’ final meet at Hammons Student Center Pool this season. The women’s team defeated the Flames, 251.5-98.5, while the men’s team took down UIC, 214-139.

Like yesterday, the women opened the second day of the meet with a relay win. Caitlyn Friebe, Cabrini Johnson, Samantha Roemer and Lana Janson combined for a time of 1:40.97 in the 200-yard medley relay, exactly half a second off of the quartet’s time in the event at the House of Champions Invitational in Indianapolis back in November.

MoState got off to a hot start in the individual events. Lindsey Hervey set the Hammons Student Center Pool record in the 1,650-yard freestyle (16:57.28), surpassing the previous record set earlier this season by Sophia Coleta (17:04.46) against Omaha on Nov. 2. Coleta finished third in the event on Saturday with a time of 17:12.78.

Payton Smith showed out in her farewell home meet. After being recognized before the meet as one of five Missouri State seniors, Smith won her third 200-yard butterfly race of the season at 2:01.73, her second-fastest time this year. She led Bears freshman Lillie Freulon in second (2:04.19) and Addie Ludbrook in fourth (2:06.99).

“Today was super special having my family here and having everybody supporting me,” Smith said. “I had my first college win in my first home meet my freshman year in the 200 fly, so today was really full circle. I’m super excited for conference and to watch all the girls kill it.”

Friebe backed up her 100-yard backstroke win yesterday with a close victory in the 200-yard backstroke (2:01.53), defeating UIC’s Georgina Bell by two-tenths of a second (2:01.73).

The Bears saw familiar places on top of the podium after earning a handful of top-three sweeps on Friday. Makenzie Kurre went from winning the 200-yard freestyle with a personal best time on Day 1 to leading a podium sweep in the 100-yard freestyle (50.21), just .02 seconds off her personal best. Roemer took the silver with a time of 50.74, followed by Janson (51.05).

Roemer moved up one spot for the gold in the 200-yard individual medley with a 2:02.16 time. Missouri State owned the podium again with Olivia Sala, yesterday’s 400 IM winner, coming in second (2:05.49). Janson tied UIC’s Taira Juronis for the final podium spot with a time of 2:06.80.

Cabrini Johnson was another swimmer who remained consistent across the meet. Yesterday’s 100-yard breaststroke winner also took the 200 breast (2:14.78) by nearly three seconds.

The women closed the swimming portion of the meet as Ainsley Jenkins, Kurre, Cameryn Johnson and Friebe took the 400-yard freestyle relay with a time of 3:25.97.

In diving, Maggie Arceneaux won her fourth event of the season with a 266.55 score in the 1-meter dive, the second-highest score in the event by a Bear this season. Courtney Stanbury, the lone diver recognized on Senior Day, got second with a score of 252.15, the fourth-best score by a Bear this season.

On the men’s side, Gonzalo Ruiz bookended his day with a pair of wins in the 200-yard backstroke (1:47.91) and the 200-yard individual medley (1:52.60). In the 200 back, Alex Boutin (1:50.18) and Carter Crook (1:50.41) made it an all-Missouri State podium.

Luigi Maciel da Silva also swept the breaststroke events across each day. After leading a podium sweep in the 100-yard breaststroke yesterday, he won the 200 breast with a time of 2:00.78.

Chris Bedsole improved on his team-best time in the 200-yard butterfly, dropping a 1:48.89 time ahead of second-place finisher Simeon Sabev (1:49.47).

The Bears regained their spot on top of the relay races in the 400-yard freestyle relay with a winning time of 3:01.57. George Holesinger, Matvei Chesakov and Lucas Chadwell opened the race to hand the anchor, senior Brunno Suzuki-Tomiyama, with a lead and ultimately the swim in his maiden race at Hammons.

UIC’s Harrison Nolan swept both diving events with a league-leading score of 417.90 in the 3-meter dive. Logan Schelfaut led the Bears in fourth at 334.58.

Missouri State will participate in the Omaha Diving Invite next week starting on Friday, Jan. 31 and concluding on Saturday, Feb. 1. Missouri State swimming will next see competition with the Missouri Valley Conference Men’s Championship in Oxford, Ohio from Feb. 19-22. The women will compete in its conference championship in Waukee, Iowa the following week.

Courtesy: UIC Athletics

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (Jan. 25, 2025) – The UIC swimming and diving program found themselves in the midst of two days of competition against Missouri State but ultimately fell short in dual meet action. The men’s team fell to the Bears, 214-139 and the women’s team finished the meet trailing, 251.5-98.5.

COMMENT FROM HEAD COACH ASHLEY DELL

“The team competed extremely well this weekend against the number one women’s team and the number two men’s team in the Missouri Valley Conference. I’m proud of the way they gave it their all and supported one another. It was amazing to leave the meet with two pool records with Jack Mills in the 1,650 freestyle and Harrison Nolan on the three-meter diving board. We can’t wait to see what’s in store for the team as we head into the final stretch.”

COMMENT FROM ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH/HEAD DIVING COACH SUSAN BROMBERG

“The diving events this weekend went well. We had five divers achieve personal best performances and one diver who had a season-high performance. This was a way to end the dual meet for the divers this season and I’m looking forward to our championship portion of the season.”

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES | SOCIAL MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

Men’s

Harrison Nolan (Riverside, Ill./Riverside Brookfield/Kentucky)

• One-Meter diving – 1^st Place – 370.73 points
• Three-Meter diving – 1^st Place – 417.90 Points*

Note: Winning the three-meter diving event with the score of 417.90 points, Nolan not only set a new career-high in the event but set the new record at the Hammons Student Center Pool. He surpassed Missouri alumni Carlo Lopez’s 400.28-point performance in 2019.

Jack Mills (Toronto, Ontario/Lawrence Park Collegiate Institute)

• 500 Freestyle – 1^st Place – 4:33.96
• 1,650 Freestyle – 1^st Place – 15:44.07*
• 200 Freestyle – 4^th Place – 1:44.55.

Note: Finishing the 1,650 Freestyle in 15:44.07, Mills set a new record at the Hammons Student Center Pool, surpassing Missouri State alumni’s Eric Bintner, who finished in 15:49.07 in 2002.

James McCarthy (Minnetonka, Minn./DeLaSalle)

• 400 Individual Medley – 1^st Place – 4:00.89
• 200 Individual Medley – 4^th Place – 1:55.07
• 200 Breaststroke – 5^th Place – 2:05.03
• 100 Breaststroke – 7^th Place – 1:00.23

Women’s

Kerry-Leigh Morrison (Gauteng, South Africa/St. Mary’s School)

• Three-Meter diving event – 1^st Place – 307.43 points*
• One-Meter diving event – 4^th Place – 248.10 points*

Note*: 307.43 points is a new personal best for Morrison.

Sophie Stefanac (Fenton, Mich./Fenton)

• 100 Backstroke – 2^nd Place – 57.31
• 200 Backstroke – 3^rd Place – 2:02.82*
• 100 Butterfly – 6^th Place – 57.45

Note*: Stefanac’s finish in the 200 backstroke was a new personal best for the sophomore.

Georgina Bell (Wellington, New Zealand/Wellington Girls College)

• 200 Backstroke – 2^nd Place – 2:01.73
• 100 Backstroke – 5^th Place – 58.90

OTHER NOTABLE PERFORMANCES

• Graduate student Rafe Dolan Peterson (Austin, Minn./Austin/Green Bay) collected a win in the 100 Freestyle, finishing in 44.99 seconds.
• Finishing in third place in the 400 individual medley, senior Daniel Galinski (Elmwood Park, Ill./Elmwood Park) finished in 4:03.70, a new personal best. Galinski later logged in second-place finish in the 200 breaststroke (2:02.76), a new season best.
• Swimming alongside Galinski in the 200 breaststroke was sophomore Matthew Lofstrom (Fort Collins, Colo./Rocky Mountain) who also earned a season-best 2:04.71 to place in fourth.
• In the women’s 100 backstroke, junior Isabella Drake (Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead Union) finish in a season-best 57.31 seconds to place third.
• Collecting back-to-back sixth place finishes in the 500 (5:21.94) and 1,650 (18:31.61), junior Brianna Corro (Muskego, Wis./Waukesha South) logged new season bests.
• On the three-meter diving board, sophomores Christian Curtis (Flossmoor, Ill./Homewood Flossmoor) and Sami Kassir (Hinsdale, Ill./Hinsdale Central) each earned personal bests. Curtis finished third in the event, scoring 336.15 points. Kassir finished with a score of 291.08 points.
• One the one-meter board, senior Gabriella Richards (Saline, Mich./Saline) finished in fourth with a personal-best 239.08 points. Freshman Camryn Gantzer (Frisco, Texas/Frisco Reedy) finished with a personal-best, scoring 230.48 points to finish in fifth place in the event.

UP NEXT

The Flames remain on the road next weekend when they travel to Valparaiso to take on the Beacons Friday, Jan. 31 at the Valparaiso Aquatics Center. Events are set to begin at 5 p.m. (CT). Fans are encouraged to followed along on the Meet Mobile app, available for purchase on both Apple and Android phones.