Jan. 19, 2007
MILWAUKEE, Wis. -
Bill Ritter Day 1 Results
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At the conclusion of day one at the Bill Ritter Invitational, the Illinois State swimming and diving team currently occupies third place with 331 points, standing behind the host team of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (396) and Wisconsin-Green Bay (347). The Redbirds currently stand ahead of Illinois-Chicago (185).
Head coach Steve Paska was content with the standings at the end of day one.
"I was hoping we would be a little closer at the end of day one competition," said Paska. "I thought we held our own, and it seemed as though the more we swam the more we improved. We have more individuals swimming in a number of events tomorrow, so I still think we have a chance to move up."
Senior Jamie Haseman finished in the top-five of the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5:15.03, while teammate Christine Steinbach finished seventh with a time of 5:15.82. Senior Kyle Pullman once again had an outstanding performance in the 50 freestyle, finishing third with a time of 24.70. She also swam an outstanding anchor split for the 200-yard freestyle relay. Season best times were set by Kristin DeKeyrel in the 200 IM with a time of 2:28.92 and the 500 freestyle with a 5:38.03. Also swimming a season best with a time of 2:17.70 was Haseman in the 200-yard IM.
"This week is more of a mental challenge knowing we are only 20 days away from the conference meet," Paska said. "We're heading in the right direction, and now we have to see if we rise to the challenge tomorrow morning."
Diver Katelyn Prorok had season high dives on both the 1-meter and 3-meter boards. A score of 229.20 on the 1-meter and 237.55 on the 3-meter placed her fourth in both events. Diving coach Alison Cipri was happy with Prorok's performance.
"Katelyn has been struggling a little bit this season," said Cipri. "She was solid and consistent on both boards today. I was excited that she finally had her time to shine."
Competition will resume in the Kloetsche Natatorium tomorrow morning with the first session beginning at 9:30 a.m., followed by a short break. The invitational will conclude with the second session which is set to begin at 3:30 p.m.
