Oct. 26, 2006
NORMAL, Ill. -
Competition at Horton Pool promises to be intense on Friday when the Illinois State swimmers and divers host in-state rival Illinois. The Redbirds will look for another consistent effort by Senior Kyle Pullman to set the tone against the Big 10 foe.
Illinois State enters this Friday's competition with a 1-0 dual-meet record, while Illinois brings a 2-0 mark. Head coach Steve Paska knows the Illini will be tough competition, but he is also confident in his Redbirds.
"In a dual-meet setting, I don't know that we will face any tougher competition this season," said Paska. "Sue Novitsky [head coach of Illinois] has a very talented squad, but we have always raced well against them. If we can race against Illinois like we have against our competition the last three weeks, we're going to be in fine shape."
Friday's meet against the Illini will force the Redbirds to post top-notch performances from each and every individual. Pullman, a speed freestyle racer and last weeks ISU nominee for Missouri Valley Conference Swimmer of the Week, has been solid in each of her races so far this season, and will help set the momentum against Illinois.
"Kyle is swimming with great consistency," Paska said. "She has stayed healthy and has trained fantastically throughout the first couple months of the season."
For the first time this season, the Redbird divers will face competition at a home meet. Even though the Redbirds faced Northern Iowa earlier this season at Horton Pool, the Panthers did not bring any divers to the competition. Diving coach Alison Cipri is looking forward to having a healthy team compete at home.
"We've gained more members back to compete," said Cipri. "Last weekend was a wake-up call for the divers and now they know they have to step it up for this competition against Illinois."
