Results
CARBONDALE, Ill. – Illinois Swimming & Diving got back to its winning ways with a pair of victories in the double-dual meet hosted by Southern Illinois on Saturday, Oct. 31. The Fighting Illini bested the host Salukis in their lone home meet this fall by a 166-134 margin in addition to picking up a victory over Illinois State, 208-91. Illinois improved to 6-1 on the dual season with the wins.
"This was a good showing for the team on the day," shared head coach Sue Novitsky. "Being able to rebound from a very physically and emotionally challenging Northwestern meet last night was a great result to see from the team. We talked about some choices you can make when you encounter difficulties: letting your troubles deflate you, defeat you or define you."
"I wanted to see them use this opportunity to continue to define the toughness and resiliency that this team needs to consistently show," continued Novitsky. "We had to be willing to learn from yesterday and to come into this meet willing to take some risks, be willing to fail, and not shrink from the moment."
UI opened the day by claiming first and second place in the 400 medley relay thanks to the tandems of Sloane McDermott, Samantha Stratford, Lori Lynn and Gabrielle Bethke with a time of 3:51.27 and Samantha Gowdy, Isabella Schamber, Sarah Sykstus and Kirsten Zborek (3:56.38).
Jennifer Coady picked up the next victory for the Orange and Blue with a clocking of 1:05.66 in the 100 breaststroke. In the very next event Nelly Casas pulled in another win for Illinois, posting a mark of 2:06.17 in the 200 fly, a mark that was three seconds quicker than any other competitors.
Audrey Rodawig picked up a victory in the 100 fly with a time of :57.45. Gabriele Serniute added another victory for Illinois, coming in the 200 IM with a time of 2:06.03, a mark over three seconds better than anyone else in the event.
Illinois picked up its sixth victory of the afternoon in the 400 free relay with a time of 3:30.21 thanks to the efforts of Rodawig, Megan Vuong, Stratford and Zborek to close the meet.
"On the day we had a lot of different people step up in different spots all through the line-up, both in the lanes and on the boards," said Novitsky. "We had the chance to put people in some other events and get valuable race experience. Finishing our third week of competition we still showed a strong fight coming off that last turn wall to get to the finish."
Olivia Kassouni picked up a pair of second place finishes over on the boards. The Illinois junior turned in a mark of 243.05 in the one-meter dive and a 271.20 on the three-meter dive.
The Orange and Blue head to Miami, Florida, for their next competition. Florida International will host the Fighting Illini for a two-day meet from November 6-7.
"We will continue to put in the work this coming week and looking for another opportunity to compete against a talented Florida International team," stated Novitsky.
FIRST PLACE FINISHES
400 Medley Relay - McDermott, Stratford, Lynn, Bethke - 3:51.27
100 Breast - Jennifer Coady - 1:05.66
200 Fly - Nelly Casas - 2:06.17
100 Fly - Audrey Rodawig - :58.11
200 IM - Gabriele Serniute - 2:06.03
400 Free Relay - Rodawig, Vuong, Straford, Zborek - 3:30.21
