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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - After a two month break from competition, the Fighting Illini women's swimming and diving team will be back in the pool this weekend for a two-day meet against Iowa and Notre Dame. Meet competition will begin on Friday, January 12 at 7 p.m. CT, with day two slated for Saturday at 11 a.m. CT.
"We want to see the team come in with focus and execute the things that we have been honing in on with training," head coach Sue Novitsky said. "We may be a bit rusty with racing, but the aggressiveness and intensity needs to be there each time. We only have a limited number of opportunities before Big Tens and we need to take advantage of each one."
Scouting the Opponents
Iowa enters the weekend with a 3-2 dual record on the season, earning victories over Michigan State, Northern Iowa and Iowa State. The two losses for the Hawkeyes came against No. 16 Minnesota and No. 23 Purdue.
Iowa carries a 16-13 advantage over the Illini in the all-time series, with the Hawkeyes earning a 213-87 victory over UI a year ago in South Bend, Indiana.
No. 22 Notre Dame holds an impressive 6-1 record on the season. The Fighting Irish have defeated three ranked opponents already this season, defeating No. 8 Louisville, No. 10 Indiana and No. 23 Purdue. The team's lone defeat came against No. 1 Texas A&M.
In the last meeting between the two teams, Notre Dame came away with a 210-87 victory over the Illini.
"Iowa and Notre Dame are very strong teams," said Novitsky. "They will provide us with a great test. Our focus is on ourselves and we want to put ourselves in a position to be competitive in each event."
Last Time Out
The Illini competed in the Missouri Invitational from November 16-18, finishing in fifth place with a point total of 339. During the three-day event, the Illini posted 95 individual season bests, as well as 26 lifetime bests and reached four NCAA B Cut Standards. Junior diver Madeline Kuhn also posted the second-best platform diving score (222.00) in program history.
Next Up
Following the two-day meet in Iowa City, the Illini will travel to Lincoln, Nebraska, for a dual meet with the Cornhuskers. Meet competition is set to begin at 11 a.m. CT.
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