Final Results
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Two lifetime-best times from sophomore Jimena Martinez, as well as strong performances by both Megan Vuong and Monica Guyett helped push the Orange and Blue to wins over Southern Illinois (195-105) and Illinois State (200-100) Saturday in Carbondale. With the victories, the Illini improve to 3-1 in dual meets on the year.
"It was great to pick up two wins today," head coach Sue Novitsky said. "The team came out with a lot of energy and took control from the start. We had a hard week of training and it was fantastic to see them still step up and compete even though they were tired. All the way through the lineup we had different people contributing to a total team effort. We will continue to keep working hard and cleaning up details."
The Illini got off to a strong start, as the relay team of Heimes, Serniute, Vuong and Anderson posted the top time in the first event of the day, the 200 medley relay (1:47.07). Next up was the 1000 freestyle and Monica Guyett touched the wall first with a time of 10:32.70. The junior also paced the field in the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:07.87.
Martinez also won two events Saturday, finishing with the fastest times in both the 200 breaststroke (2:20.78) and 400 IM (4:28.96). The Mexico City native, also earned a second-place finish in the 200 butterfly (2:05.01). Both the 400 IM and the 200 fly time mark new lifetime-bests for the sophomore.
Other swimmers winning multiple events were senior Megan Vuong and freshman Sarah Cano. Vuong posted the top times in both the 50 freestyle (:24.67) and 100 butterfly (:56.56), while Cano won the 100 backstroke (:58.55) and 200 backstroke (2:05.42). Vuong also contributed on the fastest 400 freestyle relay team, helping the Illini finish in a time of 3:33.64.
On the Boards
Senior Ling Kuhn finished in third place in both 1-meter and 3-meter competition, posting scores of 278.70 and 275.30, respectively. Competing for the third time as an Illini, freshman Elizabeth Rumsey placed fourth in 3-meter, coming away with a career-best 244.30. Rumsey also scored a 204.55 on 1-meter, good for ninth place.
Fellow freshman Taylor Shegos finished fourth on 1-meter (244.55) and eighth on 3-meter (217.85).
Up Next
The Orange and Blue will head to Evanston, Ill., to take on Northwestern, UIC and the University of Chicago on Friday, October 26. Action is set to begin at 5 p.m. CT.
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