CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Illinois Swimming and diving team is ready to kick off the second half of the season with some Nautical Nonsense at the ARC! The best time to wear orange and blue is all the time, so come join us at the ARC pool for a dual meet against Iowa at 11 a.m. on Saturday. The Fighting Illini have yet to compete since their victory at the House of Champions Invite in November and are ready to get back into the thick of the competition. 

The theme of Saturday's meet, Nautical Nonsense, is in reference to the beloved and utterly popular TV show, Spongebob Squarepants, so the ARC will be decorated for the theme and will feature Spongebob-related goodies and entertainment.

"We are really looking forward to competing on Saturday," said head coach Sue Novitsky, "It is great to compete again in front of a home crowd again. The team has been working hard and are ready to go!" 

The Orange and Blue have not hosted a meet at the ARC since October 17th, 2019, in a dual meet against Southern Illinois where the Fighting Illini were victorious with a score of 176-123. 

SCOUTING THE HAWKEYES

Iowa heads into Saturday's meet with an 0-4 dual meet record including losses to Big Ten opponents Minnesota and Nebraska. The Hawkeyes last competed on December 10th, falling to Iowa State 79-191.

Meeting head to head for the 33rd time in program history, the Hawkeyes hold a series advantage in the last 8 meetings 6-2. The last meetimg between the Fighting Illini and the Hawkeyes was in Iowa City on 1/11/20 where the Illini fell to the Hawkeyes 86-223.

EVENT ORDER

200 Medley Relay

1000 Freestyle

200 Freestyle

100 Backstroke

100 Breaststroke

200 Butterfly

50 Freestyle

1-M Diving

100 Freestyle

200 Backstroke

200 Breaststroke

500 Freestyle

100 Butterfly

3-M Diving

200 Individual Medley

400 Freestyle Relay

NEXT UP

The Orange and Blue host Nebraska next Saturday, January 22nd for Splash Bash/Senior at 11 a.m. CT at the ARC Pool in Champaign.

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