At the first home meet of the season, the Illinois State swimming and diving team defeated Missouri Valley Conference foe Northern Iowa 195 to 99 at Horton Pool.
The Redbirds placed 1st in 10 events, with freshmen Katie Finan and Monique Witkowski, along with sophomore Julie Cocks, capturing two first place finishes in their first standard format meet of the season.
Finan, who is proving herself to be a great distance swimmer for the Birds, won the 1,000 free (10:43.71) and then went on to win the 500 free (5:17.95). Witkowski, a sprinter, was another freshmen highlight, as she won two races of her own capturing the 50 free (25.44) and 100 free (55:37).
Illinois State head coach
Steve Paska was pleased with how his team performed.
Im very happy with the outcome, said Paska. It was a total team effort tonight and Im impressed with how my girls performed. Everyone contributed.
On the diving side, Redbird Terra Whisman won both the 3-meter and 1-meter competitions with a score of 237.3 and 242.85, respectively.
UNI was led by junior Erika Uthoff-Schmuecker who won both the 100 and 200 breast.
Paska is anticipating the up-coming meet as Illinois State is back in action October 12 when they again take on Northern Iowa at 1:00 p.m. at Horton Pool.
Im looking forward to see how this team comes back tomorrow, said Paska. This is the only back to back meet of the year and Ill be able to see how they keep their focus.
