Final Results
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Illinois swim and dive team dropped their opening meet of the season to Purdue, 173-122. Junior Abigail Cabush and freshman Cara Bognar both had a pair of first place finishes.
"The team was excited for the opportunity to compete today," said head coach Sue Novitsky. "Right from the first event, the team had terrific energy and showed they were willing to step up and accept the challenge. In the pool and on the boards, we had a strong meet and competed hard to the end. Our freshmen showed they are racers, going out after their events. Abby Cabush led the way getting the first win for the team in the meet. We are looking forward to getting back to work and fine-tuning things each week."
Cabush grabbed her two first place finishes in the 100 and 200 freestyles by times of 51.77 and 1:51.34, respectively. Bognar claimed first in the 200 butterfly with a time of 2:02.56 and in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:59.59. The Greenville, South Carolina, native also touched the wall second in the 1000 freestyle (10:16.89).
Sophomore Kaleigh Haworth came out with a first place finish in the 200 individual medley (2:09.33) along with a third place finish in the 200 breaststroke (2:25.53).
Taking second place in their individual events, sophomore Athena Salafatinos recorded a time of 3:38.04 in the 100 backstroke and sophomore Isabelle Guerra in the 100 butterfly finished with a time of 57.23. Freshman Lily Olson clocked a time of 2:06.58 in the 200 butterfly to place third.
The Illini grabbed second place in the 200 medley relay (1:45.81) to open the day courtesy of Salafatinos, junior Emily Bolger, Cabush and freshman Laurel Bludgen. The 400 freestyle relay team membered by Cabush, Olson, Bludgen and Guerra also took second place with a total time of 3:31.05.
ON THE BOARDS
Sophomore Erin Young returned to the diving lineup with a second place mark in the one-meter and third place in the three-meter dive totaling 243.68 and 232.80, respectively.
Four freshmen made their debuts for the one-meter and three-meter events. Taylor Michael led the newcomers with a second place finish in the three-meter (249.98) and third place in the one-meter (242.63). Allison Landis, Brooke Michael and Cacia Kaupp rounded out the diving lineup for the Fighting Illini on the events.
The Illini and Boilermakers were expecting to be joined by Michigan State, but the Spartans did not make the road trip due to COVID-19 issues within their program.
NEXT UP
The Orange and Blue will travel to Lincoln, Nebraska, to take on Nebraska on Friday and or Saturday, January 22-23. The competition time will be announced at a later date.
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