NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State swimming and diving team dominated at their first home meet of the season against Omaha, winning every relay and individual event of the meet, with a final score of 176.5 - 66.5.
The quartet of Molly Hill, Jensen Keck, Kierston Farley-Sepe and Mary Katherine Tillotson clocked a time of 3:52.36 in the 400-yard medley relay. The 200-yard freestyle relay team consisting of Julie Kolar, Alyssa Reinholz, Jessica Nichols and Hill turned in a time of 1:39.01. Hill also captured a top placement in the 100-yard backstroke event (59.29).
Morgan Rosser took first place in the 1000-yard (10:37.04) and the 500-yard (5:12.63) freestyle events, with season-best performances in each. Tillotson also captured top placements in both the 100-yard (53.77) and 200-yard (1:54.40) freestyle events, posting season bests in the pair of events as well.
"Overall, we are very happy with how we performed today," said head swimming coach Scott Cameron. "We came out very strong from the beginning of the meet and were able to keep the intensity up. The team has swam consistently, and the little things we have been working on are coming along well. This was a great meet for us as we start to look towards our mid-season invite in a few weeks."
Nichols took first in the 50-yard freestyle event with a time of 24.68, while Farley-Sepe continued her winning ways in the 200-yard IM (2:07.32) and the 100-yard butterfly (56.99). The reigning Missouri Valley Conference Swimmer of the Week, Keck, won the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:05.73.
Similarly to Keck, this week's MVC Diver of the Week, Caroline Lecoeur, won both the 3-meter and 1-meter diving events with scores of 283.73 and 285.37, respectively. This is the second week in a row that the Redbird has earned scores that meet NCAA qualification zones on both boards.
"I was very pleased with how the divers performed today," said head diving coach Phil Hoffmann. "They were very solid for this time of the year. We do have things that each individual will need to work on to improve and move forward, but overall, I am happy with how they performed today."
The Redbirds will head north next week for the three-day TYR Invitational, hosted by Northwestern.
Fans can receive live updates and more by following @RedbirdSwim on Twitter.
GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App: Your sources for Illinois State tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
