Results (PDF)

AMES, Iowa – Illinois Swimming and Diving improved to 8-1 in dual action this season with a 164.5-135.5 victory over the Iowa State Cyclones in Ames, Iowa. The Orange and Blue won nine of the events on the evening with Samantha Stratford and Amelia Schilling each winning a pair. UI has now won four-straight duals.

"Overall this was a very solid meet coming off our almost two month break from competition," shared Illinois head coach Sue Novitsky. "One of the highlights of the meet was the strength of our relay performances; we put together some good combinations and they executed very well. Individually, we were putting up a strong fight all the way through the line-up. We were definitely shaking off some rust at the start, but we kept getting better as the meet went along. Iowa State came back on us a couple of times and I am proud that we never panicked and just went back to work. The girls are figuring out that the strength of their teammates can help make them stronger and in turn keep helping our team get better."

Illinois' 200 medley relay unit of Sloane McDermott, Jennifer Coady, Lori Lynn and Gabrielle Bethke got things going for the Orange and Blue with a victory in the meet's opening event. UI clocked a mark of 1:45.91 in the relay. In the next event, Samantha Stratford turned in the top-1000 freestyle mark of 10:29.94 to help push Illinois' lead to a 27-9 advantage.

Amelia Schilling claimed the top spot in the 200 freestyle race, clocking a time of 1:52.80. After the third race, Illinois led the Cyclones 39-16.

Iowa State fired back, clocking the top-three times in the 100 backstroke field to pull within 10 points at 42-32. McDermott led the Illini in the event with a mark of :58.42. The Cyclones pulled within three points after the 100 breaststroke action. Coady turned in the top time for the Fighting Illini with a reading of 1:05.54 in the event.

Gabbie Stecker and Megan Vuong finished first and third respectively in the 200 fly. Stecker posted a 2:03.62 for the event title, while Vuong clocked a 2:05.12. In the final race before the intermission, Lynn led Illinois tying for the second-best mark in the 50 freestyle (:24.40).

UI held a slim 66.5-64.5 advantage with the first seven events of the dual in the books and went down as many as five points once the three-meter diving results came in at the midway point.

Freshman Vuong clocked the top time in the 100 freestyle with a :52.56 to help put the Orange and Blue back on top. Just one event later however, Iowa State regained the lead after claiming the top time in the 200 backstroke. Stecker finished second for Illinois with a 2:04.29.

Iowa State built on the lead, winning its second-straight event to lead 104.5-102.5. In the 200 breaststroke, Illinois' Coady, Ashley Aegerter and Charli Wike finished in second through fourth.

Down by two points with just five events remaining, the Illini won all four swimming races, claiming first and second place in three of the events en route to a 164.5-135.5 victory.

Winning the events for Illinois were Schilling (500 free, 5:02.71), Lynn (100 fly, :55.95), Stratford (200 IM, 2:05.48) and the 400 free relay team of Audrey Rodawig, Bethke, Stecker and Kirsten Zborek (3:28.54).

On the boards, Jessica Clifford led the Illini in both events posting a three-meter score of 268.88 and a reading of 259.34 on the low board. Olivia Kassouni recorded a 242.62 in one-meter action and a mark of 248.10 on the three-meter board. Rounding out the competitors for Illinois in the diving events was Madeline Kuhn, who earned marks of 247.64 (three-meter) and 231.53 (one-meter).

Illinois Swimming and Diving will make a stop in Iowa City, Iowa, tomorrow for a Big Ten dual meet with the Hawkeyes. Action is slated to begin at noon.

"We have another tough competition tomorrow," said Novitsky. "The quick turnaround will be a great test for the athletes to regroup and compete again."

Check out FIGHTINGILLINI.com for more information about the Orange and Blue. Additionally, follow the team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for more coverage.

EVENT WINNERS
200 Medley Relay – McDermott, Coady, Lynn, Bethke – 1:45.91
1000 Free – Samantha Stratford – 10:29.94
200 Free – Amelia Schilling – 1:52.80
200 Fly – Gabbie Stecker – 2:03.62
100 Free – Megan Vuong - :52.56
500 Free – Amelia Schilling – 5:02.71
100 Fly – Lori Lynn - :55.95
200 IM – Samantha Stratford – 2:05.48
400 Free Relay – Rodawig, Bethke, Stecker, Zborek – 3:28.54