University of Illinois
Notre Dame Invitational
Orange and Blue Rebound in Final Session
January 12, 2008 | Swimming & Diving
Jan. 12, 2008
Notre Dame, Ind. - The Illinois swimming and diving team scored 442 points to finish the Notre Dame Invitational in fourth place. No. 22 Indiana won the meet title with Big Ten rival No. 13 Michigan taking second.
After a slow start in the morning session, the Orange and Blue rebounded in the final session to prove they could compete with some of the top talent in the nation.
"We showed signs of fatigue in the morning session," head coach Sue Novitsky said. "I was proud of the team's ability to accept the pain, swim with a professional attitude and have the passion to battle back in the final session."
Junior Marissa Clapp was the top finisher for the Illini taking fourth place with a time of 2:17.92 in the 200 Breast.
The distance group provided a bright spot for the Illini in the final session. In the 1650 Free, sophomore Amy Forsberg took ninth place with a season best time of 17:18.70, while junior Lindsey Shirley finished right behind Forsberg to grab 10th place. Forsberg's time was a full seven seconds faster than her previous season best.
Sophomore Cece Marizu finished a strong meet by snatching a fifth place finish in the 200 Back with a time of 2:04.74. In the morning session, Marizu was the Orange and Blue's top finisher in the 100 Back and swam the opening leg of the 200 Medley Relay.
After setting a new season best on the 3M in the first session Friday, sophomore Kyla Bachtell scored a 237.90 and a ninth place finish on the 1M board in the final session. Fellow diver and sophomore Nikki Spillone took 18th place with a season high score of 192.15.
"At this point in the season, it is good for our team to be in championship meet like this," Novitsky said. "Our athletes gain the confidence to be prepared and focused to compete at the highest level for the end of the season meets, especially the Big Ten Championships."
The Illini are back into action next Saturday at Iowa for a dual meet against the Hawkeyes. Competition is set to begin at noon with a full recap available on fightingillini.com following the completion of the meet.
