NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State swimming and diving team will be back at Horton Pool Saturday, Nov. 1, to compete in a double dual against in-state foes Illinois and Southern Illinois. Diving will begin at 10 a.m., while swimming starts at 2 p.m.
Saturday's meet will mark the Redbirds' second home meet against outside competition this season. The double-dual format pits each of the three teams against each other, despite all three squads competing at the same time.
Head coach Steve Paska is excited to host Illinois and Southern Illinois at Horton Pool.
"This is the first time Illinois State, Southern Illinois and University of Illinois will be competing at the same location for a competition, which I think is long overdue," Paska said. "Coach (Sue) Novitsky at Illinois, Coach (Rick) Walker at Southern and myself talked about organizing this meet at the end of last year, and I am excited about the competition that will take place.
"Both Illinois and Southern Illinois are quality programs that are deep in every event and are always ready to race. It will be an exciting afternoon of swimming and I look forward to the challenge of competing against both of these teams."
Illinois State All-American diver Wenting Zhang will be tested Saturday as she competes against a fellow All-American in Southern Illinois' Kaixuan "Sherry" Zhang.
Head diving coach Phil Hoffmann is excited to see his divers compete against high-level competition.
"When we set this meet up, I was instantly excited," Hoffmann said. "I have great respect for both Coach (Chris) Waters from Illinois and Coach (Chunhua) Zhao from Southern. They have outstanding divers and I enjoy the competition that we traditionally have against them every year.
"I don't know many other meets where you will witness multiple All-Americans competing against each other – let alone within your conference. This will be a one-of-a-kind event, as this doesn't happen often. The meet this weekend will be an early indicator of the way things will go on the diving side at conference."
Illinois State will be back on the road next weekend to compete at Florida International on Nov. 7 at 4 p.m., and at Miami on Nov. 8 at 10 a.m.
Saturday's meet, as well as the Redbirds' home meet against Nebraska-Omaha on Jan. 24, will be broadcast live online at goredbirds.com/watch. Admission to all Illinois State home meets is free.
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