Jan. 20, 2012
Final Stats
CHICAGO, Ill. -
The Illinois State swimming and diving team clenched a 123-119 victory over Illinois-Chicago Friday night in a double dual meet against UIC and Valparaiso, after inclement weather delayed the start of competition.
Freshman, and Bloomington, Ill., native, Cecilia Holmes led the Redbirds with three first-place finishes in the 1000-yard freestyle (10:32.19), 500-yard freestyle (5:07.32) and the 400-yard IM (4:36.23).
"This was a very exciting dual against UIC, with a lot of close races," head coach Steve Paska said. "Cecilia had excellent race strategies throughout the meet, which led to our close victory. She is a true competitor, and competition brings out the best in her."
Holmes' first place finish in the 500-yard freestyle was met by a second-place finish by teammate Tori Alland (5:08.52), and a third-place finish by Danielle Schumacher (5:13.86)
"Winning the 500-yard freestyle was a turning point in the meet," Paska said. "The one-two-three finish gave us a cushion we definitely needed as we concluded the meet. It was a nail-biter, and turned into a back-and-forth battle with UIC. Every point was significant."
Alland put up more points for the Redbirds with a first-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle (1:54.77). Jeanette Nolte, another junior, finished first in the 100-yard butterfly (57.54).
Other notable performances came from freshman Katherine Nelson, who put up points with two second-place finishes in the 50-yard freestyle (24.87) and the 100-yard freestyle (53.90). Nelson also anchored the 200-yard freestyle relay, coming up short to a second-place finish by little under a second.
The Redbird divers also put up points, with Brittany Tazzioli leading the way with a first-place finish on the 1-meter board (260.40). Tazzioli also had a third-place finish on the three-meter board (246.08). New teammate Wenting Zhang came close behind Tazzioli in the 1-meter, for a second-place finish (259.35). Zhang finished second on the 3-meter board with a score of 250.97.
I thought the divers adjusted well after the four hour bus ride," head diving coach Phil Hoffmann said. "They were forced into a quick warm up and handled it extremely well. We performed well, and I am definitely looking forward to where our six-diver team will take us tomorrow, and through the rest of the season."
The Redbird divers stay in Chicago this evening and will hit the water tomorrow at 11 a.m. for the UIC Diving Invite. ISU will be one of five teams competing in the all-diving meet. The swimming and diving team will return home Saturday, Jan. 28, for their Senior Night dual against Northern Iowa. The meet is scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. and will be the last meet until the Missouri Valley Conference Championships in February.
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Final Results 
