Jan. 24, 2009
Final Stats | Senior Day Photo Gallery
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The Fighting Illini swimming and diving team defeated Illinois State 219-81 Saturday afternoon. The Illini won 14 out of 16 events including sweeping the top three spots in seven events. With many strong performances on senior day, the Orange and Blue extended their dual meet record to 5-1.
"We wanted to send the seniors out on a good note," head coach Sue Novitsky said. "A lot of people swam different events today, so it was a good opportunity for them to mix it up a bit."
Senior Marissa Clapp finished out her last home meet with a bang by breaking the 13-year-old pool record in the 400 IM with a time of 4:21.28. Clapp also took first in the 200 free, a different event for the senior, with a time of 1:54.13.
"We wanted to make sure we swam the 400 IM for her this meet because we knew that she had a shot at breaking the pool record," Novitsky said. "She did a great job with the race and we are happy for her to have her name up on the board again."
Fellow seniors Katie Theissen and Ali Keehn also had great performances for the Illini. Theissen had two victories against the Redbirds in the 100 back (59.02) and 100 free (53.92). Keehn was a part of the first place 200 yard medley relay team that finished with a time of 1:47.77. Keehn also finished fourth in the 200 breast (2:30.77) and fifth in the 100 breast (1:09.77).
"The seniors stepped up and raced really well," Novitsky said. "All three have improved a lot over the years. There was a lot of emotion with today being senior day, but they did a great job containing it and racing hard."
Also for the Illini junior Amy Johnson took first in the 100 breast (1:06.60) while sister Anna Johnson took first in the 50 free (24.41). Junior Kelly Smithwick took first in the 200 fly (2:07.21) and fellow junior CeCe Marizu took first in the 200 back (2:03.16).
Freshman April McKee took first in the 200 breast (2:24.32). Juniors Amy Forsberg and Jen Ivarson took first in the 500 free (5:08.07) and 100 fly (58.14), respectively.
In the one-meter diving competition freshman Britni Fisher took first with 267.98 points and junior Nikki Spillone took fourth with 214.43 points. In the three-meter competition Fisher finished second with 260.18 points while Spillone finished fourth with 241.05 points.
The Illini jump back into the pool on Jan. 30 for the Big Ten Quad Duals in Minneapolis, Minn.
