Feb. 12, 2009
Final Stats
CARBONDALE, Ill. -
With a first-place finish in the 500-yard freestyle event, sophomore Lauren Terzis led the Illinois State swimming and diving team in the water as the Redbirds concluded day one of the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Championship in Carbondale, Ill. After boasting several season-best and personal-best performances, the `Birds hold third-place, with Missouri State in first and Southern Illinois in second, as they head in to the second day of championship competition.
Terzis earned a personal-best time in the 500-yard freestyle event as she swam her way into first place with a time of 4:55.45. Terzis' time is the second-fastest time in school history, falling just short of the 1990 record held by Katie Novotny (4:54.94).Terzis led the way in the 500-yard freestyle, as freshman teammate Sarah Coghlin finished the event with an eighth-place time of 5:08.02. Sophomore Ashley Bachler (12th), freshman Michele Stoeppelman (14th) and junior Caitlin Falconer (16th) also swam the 500-yard freestyle for the Redbirds.
"Lauren's time in the 500-yard freestyle was the second-fastest time in school history, just shy of the school record," said head swimming and diving coach Steve Paska. "She swam one smart race. She kicked it in the last 300 yards to beat the competition. She is the conference champion in that event, and she deserves the honor. She has had an outstanding season, and this race culminates all of the 500-yard freestyle events that she has swam this season."
The 200-yard freestyle relay team, sophomore Amy Schaefer, seniors Jessica Santi and Tiffany Rentner, and freshman Lauren Boyd, placed third for the Redbirds. Their time of 1:36.38 was a season-best performance for the `Birds.
Leading the 200-yard individual medley (IM) with a personal-best time, senior Allison Fishbein grasped a fourth-place time of 2:09.18. Freshmen Kristin Lynch and Sarah Piechocinski followed suit as each recorded a personal-best time in the event. Lynch finished with a 10th-place time of 2:10.04, while Piechocinski placed 12th with a final time 2:11.51. In preliminary round action, senior Alison Wippermann achieved a personal-best time 2:11.45, before going on to place 15th in finals, while senior Lauren Williams earned a personal-best time of 2:16.03, and freshman Megan Weber achieved a personal-best time of 2:25.91.
Schaefer swam the 50-yard freestyle, recording a personal-best time and fifth-place finish as she touched the wall with a time of 23.78. Fellow Redbirds Boyd (ninth) and Santi (11th) each swam the 50-yard freestyle finishing the event in times of 24.68 and 24.76, respectively. Rentner took 16th with a time of 25.32, while junior Lindsay Dinkelman finished the event in time of 25.94, placing 22nd.
Rounding out the night's competition was sophomore Christine Byron, Dinkelman, Schaefer and Boyd who comprised the 400-yard medley relay. The Redbird swimmers finished the event in a season-best time of 3:55.13, placing third.
"The meet didn't start the way we wanted, but we made up ground," Paska said. "Collectively I think the swimmers are somewhat disappointed that the morning session didn't go to plan. But I think we have our two best days of swimming and diving ahead of us. We have to make something happen, and today gave us something to build on as we head into the rest of the weekend."
Two days of competition remain as the Redbirds continue MVC Championship action tomorrow with preliminaries beginning at 11 a.m., and final-round action at 6 p.m. The State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Championships will conclude Saturday, with preliminary action beginning at 10 a.m. and finals beginning at 4 p.m.
Results of each session will be made available on the Illinois State Athletics website at GoRedbirds.com.
