Sept. 26, 2009
Red/White Intrasquad Meet Results 
NORMAL, Ill. - The Illinois State women's swimming and diving team opened its 2009-10 season Saturday at Horton Pool with the annual Red/White intrasquad meet. Junior Molly Gomberg, sophomore Sarah Coghlin and freshman Jeanette Nolte each acquired first-place finishes and impressive times in the opening meet. The red team went on to win nine out of the 16 events and had a total of 204 points over the white team's 187.
Gomberg won both the 100- and 200-yard backstroke with times of 2:15.42 and 1:01.16, respectively. Coghlin went on to win with times of 1:59.60 and 5:49.60 in the 200-yard freestyle and 500-yard individual medley (IM), which consisted of 100-butterfly, 100-yard backstroke, 100-yard breaststroke and 200-yard freestyle. Freshman, Nolte, showed impressive times of 2:09.39 and 59.75 in the 200-yard butterfly and 100-yard IM.
Head coach Steve Paska was both proud and impressed with the team's first performance.
"We had some very impressive times for this early in the season and I'm extremely excited about how the team competed today," Paska said. "The team should be very proud of how it performed especially the freshmen swimmers who have not competed in the college atmosphere before."
Sophomore Jessica McGee won the 100-yard breaststroke and had a personal-best time of 2:33.95 in the 200-yard breaststroke. Freshman Brianna Winkler had a personal best in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 2:18.48.
"A lot of the newcomers found their groove in this meet and now know which events they can compete in to help contribute to the team's future success," Paska said. "This meet definitely instilled more confidence in the team's swimming ability which will help contribute to the team's competitiveness in the meets to come."
Diving coach Phil Hoffmann echoed Paska's positive outlook on the team's performance.
It was a good first meet and great opportunity for our freshmen to gain some experience in this atmosphere," Hoffmann said. "This was a great foundation for our divers to see where they stand at the start of this season, and they can now see where their lists can progress from here."
Senior Katelyn Prorok won the 1-meter diving event with a score of 251.55 points.
"The competitive environment was a good experience for our divers, and I'm very pleased with how our divers competed this weekend," Hoffmann said. "I'm really looking forward to how each of the divers progress as we move deeper into the season."
The Redbird swimmers will compete next Friday, Oct., 2, at the Southern Illinois 1650- free invitational in Carbondale, Ill., and Saturday at the 3k Open Water meet at Little Grassy Lake in Carbondale, Ill.
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