NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State swimming and diving team will travel to South Bend, Indiana, for the Dennis Stark Relays, hosted by Notre Dame, Friday at 4 p.m. CT.
In Illinois State's first away meet of the season, the Redbirds will compete against four other teams: Notre Dame, Wright State, Oakland and IUPUI.
The Redbirds will enter the meet fresh off their annual Red and White Intrasquad meet last Saturday, where the White team topped the Red team, 164-123.
Rachel Root had a stellar performance by winning three events, while Courtney Taylor, Kristin Verkler, Laura Paskoff and Kelly Sanks won two events each.
Last year at the Dennis Stark Relays, the Redbirds finished third with a total of 138 points. Head swimming coach Scott Cameron is excited to see how his team will do in a different setting, outside of the Horton Pool.
"I'm very excited going into this. It's nice to finally get on the road and get some racing under our belts," said Cameron. "I think the girls are looking really good and I am just excited to get them in the pool and see what they can do."
The diving format Friday will pair divers from each school into teams of two and will also include a traditional 3-meter synchronized diving event, which Illinois State will not compete in for the rest of the season. Head diving coach Phil Hoffmann is looking forward to seeing the girls compete in a different environment against a high level of competition.
"It's a good first meet for us. It has a little bit of a different format, being a relay meet and with the synchronized diving, so that'll be an interesting one for us, but I think it's going to be a great first road meet," Hoffmann said.
Links for live stats are available at GoRedbirds.com and fans can receive live updates and more by following @RedbirdSwim on Twitter.
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