Vanderbilt vs Illinois (W)
- Saturday, October 30, 2021
- Nashville, Tenn.
- Results
Courtesy: Vanderbilt Athletics
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – In a nonconference dual meet decided by the final event, Vanderbilt emerged victorious Saturday at the Centennial Sportsplex with a 134-128 triumph over visiting Illinois. Vandy out-touched the Illini in the 200-yard freestyle relay to win by .15 seconds, with Eleanor Beers anchoring the winning quartet to finish in 1:34.20.
“This was a team win today,” said Vanderbilt head coach Jeremy Organ. “Everyone contributed to put us in a situation where the last relay takes the meet.”
On the front end of the meet, Vanderbilt took the 200-yard medley relay in 1:43.59. Mercedes Traba (10:20.19) won the 1,000-yard freestyle by over six seconds. Tonner Debeer (56.30) paced three Vanderbilt point-scorers with a first-place showing in the 100-yard backstroke.
Illinois racked up first-place points in each of the next five events until Francesca Neubauer snapped the streak by going 2:20.99 for a one-second win in the 200-yard breaststroke.
Debeer (55.33) added another win in the 100-yard butterfly to help set the stage for the final relay, and ultimately, the Vanderbilt victory.
The home portion of the schedule resumes when Vanderbilt plays host to Tulane at 1 p.m. on Nov. 6.
Courtesy: Illinois Athletics
Nashville, Tenn. – The Fighting Illini Swimmers fell to Vanderbilt this Saturday 134-128 in a close competition in Nashville. With the loss, Illinois’ record drops to 4-2 on the season. The Fighting Illini put multiple fastest individuals on the board, including Freshman Sydney Stoll breaking the school record in the 100 IM with a time of 57.37.
“[The meet] was another back and forth battle from the start,” said Head Coach Sue Novitsky, “Overall, the team had two tough days of competition and we felt they responded positively to the challenge. We have a strong foundation to keep building on as we move into the next phase of the season.”
The Illini swimmers came on strong in the 100 Individual Medley. Stoll’s school record in the event was previously held by Samantha Stratford (57.66) and was set on 11/4/17. Cara Bognar placed fourth in the event (59.77), marking a personal best and putting herself on the board as the 6th fastest individual in the 100 IM. Freshman Jane Umhofer followed closely behind Bognar, placing sixth (1:00.14) and becoming the 7th fastest individual.
Stoll made a splash throughout the entirety of Saturday’s meet, also placing first in the 200 backstroke (2:03.72), and placing second in the 500 freestyle (10:26.39). Senior Abby Cabush and Bognar recorded multiple first-place finishes of their own, with Cabush placing first in the 100 freestyle (51.07) and 200 freestyle (1:51.07). Bognar placed first in the 200 butterfly (2:01.87) and the 500 freestyle (4:59.47).
The Fighting Illini capped off the meet with strong finishes in the 200 freestyle relay. The team containing Olson, Yetter, Bludgen and Cabush placed second with a time of 1:34.20, and the team composed of Kuehne, Guerra, Lynch and Salafatinos placed third with a time of 1:37.17.
NEXT UP
The Fighting Illini swimmers will join back with the divers in two weeks at the House of Champions Invitational in Indianapolis, Indiana from Thursday, November 18th to Saturday, November 20th.
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