The University of Illinois – Chicago Flames sent their seniors out with a bang, taking apart Horizon League foe Cleveland State at home.
UIC won the men’s meet 180-120 and the women’s meet 173-116.
The men got double wins from a pair of freestylers. Mike Reed handled the sprints, going 20.70 to pace the 50 and 46.79 to win the 100. That 50 win was a dominant performance, topping the field by half a second, while the 100 was a narrow win over 200 champ and teammate Nick Kowaleski.
Meanwhile in distance, freshman Tanner Alms led the way, going 4:41.09 and 9:42.75 to win the 500 and 1000 frees, respectively.
UIC overcame three individual wins from Cleveland State’s top swimmer Philipp Sikatzki. The German sophomore swept the backstrokes (49.91/1:51.68) and added a 100 fly win (49.36) later on.
Swimming in his final dual meet for UIC, senior John Mordach came up with the big 100 breast win, going 58.74.
His counterpart on the women’s side was senior diver Whitney Johnson, who won 1-meter and 3-meter in her farewell home meet.
UIC got double wins from four different women. Sophia Shalabi swept the breaststrokes (1:05.94/2:25.78), while Brianna Hines and Erika Martinez combined to just about sweep the freestylers.
Hines took the 500 (5:08.53) and 1000 (10:32.54), while Martinez paced the sprints (24.56 in the 50, 53.95 in the 100). The middle-distance 200 went to Claire Haggerty in 1:56.07, and she also won the 200 IM in 2:10.23.
Cleveland State managed to steal the 100 back, with freshman Jamie Vandewerker going 1:00.28 to win by just two tenths.
