Feb. 13, 2009
Final Stats
CARBONDALE, Ill. -
First-place finishes by juniors Lindsay Dinkelman and Katelyn Prorok helped the Illinois State swimming and diving team move into second place after finishing day two of the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Championships in Carbondale, Ill.. Sophomore Amy Schaefer achieved a 200-yard freestyle school record as she joined sophomores Ashley Bachler, Lauren Terzis and Sarah Coghlin in the 800-yard freestyle relay event that went on to shatter a nineteen-year school record, helping the Redbirds (470) edged out Southern Illinois (469) Friday night.
Heading into tonight's final-round action the Redbirds were in third place, behind Missouri State (626) and Southern Illinois, but were able to swim past competition to grasp second place as they enter their third and final day of championship competition.
Swimming the 100-yard breaststroke for the `Birds, Dinkelman achieved a first-place
finish and personal-best time as she touched the wall in a time of 1:05.62. Junior Caitlin Falconer finished ninth in the event with a personal-best time of 1:07.00. Freshman Kristin Lynch took seventh for the `Birds with a time of 1:07.25. Freshman Jessica McGee (17th) and senior Lauren Williams (18th) recorded personal-best times of 1:08.68 and 1:09.44, respectively. Freshman Sarah Piechocinski also swam the event for the `Birds taking 11th with a time of 1:09.01.
Schaefer kicked off the 800-yard freestyle relay, achieving a personal-best time and school record in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:50.54. The record was previously held by Katie Novotny (1990) with a time of 1:52.56. Bachler, Terzis and Coghlin rounded-out the 800-yard freestyle relay as they completed the race in school-record time of 7:35.14, a season-best for the `Birds. This time broke the 1990 school record of 7:38.14.
Head swimming and diving coach Steve Paska was impressed with the way the team performed.
"What a difference a day makes," Paska said. "Today was one fabulous day of swimming for Illinois State and all of the Missouri Valley Conference teams. All the teams raced well and swam fast. Tonight was a just an exciting night of racing here in Carbondale."
Senior Allison Fishbein led the Redbirds in the 400-yard individual medley (IM) as she recorded a personal-best time of 4:33.70, taking fourth. Freshman Amber Siggins took sixth in the event (4:39.13), after recording a personal-best time of 4:36.66 in the preliminary round. After recording a personal-best time of 58.66 in the 100-yard backstroke Thursday, sophomore Christine Byron took ninth I the 400-yard IM, finishing the race with a time of 4:37.05. Coghlin (11th) earned a season-best time in the preliminary round (4:39.02) before finishing with a time 4:40.66 in finals. Senior Alison Wippermann achieved a personal-best time in preliminaries (4:40.21), before going on to place 12th in finals with a time of 4:42.42.
"The morning started with the 400-yard IM, where they all went personal-best times," Paska said. "I think the morning IM set the tone for the rest of the race and carried on throughout the rest of the day. Starting tonight third in the relay, and then performing well in the IM kept the momentum going, it was contagious, and the momentum just got better and better."
Leading the Redbirds in the 100-yard butterfly, Schaefer took fourth with a personal-best time of 57.24. Senior Tiffany Rentner followed suit, recording a personal-best time of 59.30 in preliminaries, before going on to place eighth with a time of 59.93 in finals. Freshman Jillian Olson (11th) finished the event in a personal-best time of 59.25, while freshman Lauren Pojman (18th) finished with a time of 1:01.44.
Terzis achieved a personal-best time in the 200-yard freestyle during preliminaries (1:53.08), before taking fifth in the event with a time of 1:54.02. Boyd recorded a personal-best time of 1:57.99 in the 200-yard freestyle, taking eighth. Bachler (12th) and senior Erin Woodruff (21st ) also swam the 200-yard freestyle event for the Redbirds.
Recording personal-best times in the 100-yard backstroke preliminary event, Olson touched the wall in a time of 58.79, and Byron finished the event in a time of 59.21, before going on to place seventh and eighth in final-round action, respectively. Sophomore Molly Gomberg placed tenth in the event (59.23), while freshmen Megan Weber (20th) achieved a personal-best time of 1:03.50 and Maggie Pircon (22nd) earned a season-best time of 1:06.12 in preliminaries.
Prorok led the Redbirds on the diving board, as she edged out competition to take first place with a score of 264.60 on the one-meter board. Junior Liza Perrino finished fifth for the `Birds with a final score of 231.85. Suffering an injury, freshman Brittany Tazzioli was able to overcome difficulty, as she placed seventh with a score of 195.95. Freshman Polly Hirt followed closely behind with a score of 181.55, placing eighth.
"All of our divers showed mental and physical strength in the face of adversity," said head diving coach Phil Hoffmann. "Katelyn stepped up to the challenge, reached her goals, and she performed well. Brittany was mentally and physically tough, and she put on a great performance in the face of hardship. Polly and Liza both had great performances tonight as well."
"What an awesome meet for the Redbirds tonight," Paska said. "The divers had four girls in the top-eight; tonight was an incredible night to be a part of. I think this is the best Missouri Valley Championship I've been a part of and we still have one more day of swimming left as we face the (Missouri State) Bears, (Southern Illinois) Salukis, (Evansville) Purple Aces, and (Northern Iowa) Panthers."
The Redbirds will head into the third and final day of the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Championships, as competition concludes with preliminaries beginning at 10 a.m. and final-round action beginning and 4 p.m.
Results of each session will be made available on the Illinois State Athletics website at GoRedbirds.com.
