Jan. 23, 2010
Photo Gallery
Final Stats
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -
The Fighting Illini swimming and diving team closed out its home season in style Saturday afternoon at the ARC pool, claiming 14 of 16 events to defeat Illinois State for the second time this season, 188-111. With the win, the Illini improved to 7-3, while the Redbirds fell to 3-4.
"Overall, we were pretty consistent throughout the meet," head coach Sue Novitsky said. "We were a little sluggish on the first relay, but I was happy with how we were able to shift back to the competitive mode. We had a lot of great races today and a lot of people made improvements on what we've been working on in practice. As a team, we're continuing to head in the right direction."
Senior Meghan Mason placed first in the 100 free (53.18), while classmate Amy Forsberg won the 200 free (1:55.05) and freshman Kathleen Knight posted first-place finishes in the 100 butterfly (58.79) and 200 butterfly (2:08.07), which also were career bests. Junior Lauren Frendreis also set a new career-best time in the 50 free with a first-place time of 25.00.
Freshman Erin Rodriguez set a season-best record in the 500 free with a time of 5:04.79, while senior Anna Johnson won the 100 back (58.59) and classmate CeCe Marizu placed first in the 200 (2:04.55) back. In the breaststroke, junior Corey Kasten and Amy Johnson took first in the 100 (1:07.01) and 200 (2:25.93), respectively and senior Jen Ivarson finished in first place in the 400 IM with a time of 4:34.78.
The 400 medley relay team consisting of Marizu, Amy Johnson, Brittany McGowan and Kristen Manias set a new season-best time of 3:53.30 to finish in first place. The 200 free relay team of Manias, Mason, Kimberly Kalenda, and McGowan also placed first and set a new season-best time (1:46.22).
On the boards, sophomore Britni Fisher was the top diver for the Illini today, taking first place in the one-meter dive(266.10) and second place in the three-meter (254.25).
The Fighting Illini will return to action next Friday, Jan. 29, as they travel to Madison, Wis., for the Big Ten Quad Duals.
