SIU Open Water Individual Results 
SIU Open Water Team Results
Oct. 3, 2009
CARBONDALE, Ill. -
Illinois State's swimmers gave an impressive performance Saturday morning with freshman Danielle Schumacher leading the team to a third-place finish at the Southern Illinois 5k Open Water invitational at the Little Grassy Lake in Carbondale, Ill.
Head coach Steve Paska emphasized the team's impressive performance over the weekend.
"We had a very solid performance today," Paska said. "The fact that none of our swimmers had experience in an open water event before today makes it even more impressive."
The Redbirds were split into five squads for the five-kilometer race. Three of the five squads finished in third, fourth and fifth places. The third-place squad consisted of freshman Schumacher with an individual time of 1:04:36, junior Ashley Bachler with 1:04:41 and sophomore Michele Stoeppelman with 1:04:44. The three `Birds' times added up to total 3:22:01.
Coach Paska believes Schumacher's performances will contribute to the team's success throughout the season.
"Schumacher swam with a lot of courage and competitiveness today," Paska said. "Schumacher is capable of swimming in each of the freestyle events for Illinois State, and I think that her performances thus far have defined her character early on this season."
The Redbirds will compete as whole team again, as the divers join with the swimmers Friday, Oct. 10, in South Bend, Ind., for the Notre Dame Relays. The relays are set to start at 5 p.m.
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics, tickets, TRC gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
