Redbirds in Fifth After Day 3 at MVC Swimming & Diving Championships

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The Illinois State swimming and diving team sits in fifth place after the third day of competition at the 2018 Missouri Valley Conference Swimming and Diving Championship.

ISU has 266 points heading into the final day of competition on Saturday, and received some stellar performances from Rachel Holm on Friday. The senior earned an individual conference championship in the 100-yard breaststroke, touching the wall first in a time of 1:02.51, just ahead of teammate Jensen Keck in second place with a time of 1:02.75. Holm also picked up crucial points for the Redbirds with a 10th place finish in the 100-yard butterfly with time of 56.53.

"I'm very proud of how this team performed tonight," said head swimming coach Scott Cameron. "A lot of people stepped it up and really went after their swims aggressively tonight, and drop time from this morning.  Also, going one and two iin the 100 breaststroke tonight was fantastic. We look good and I'm excited to head into the last two sessions tomorrow."

In the finals of the 400-yard IM, junior Savannah Rubocki placed fourth with a time of 4:24.53, and in the 200-yard freestyle finals, sophomore Mary Katherine Tillotson placed sixth (1:51.15). Karley Licking also picked up a top-10 finish for the Redbirds in the 100-yard backstroke, as she placed seventh with a time of 56.77.  

Rounding out the action in the pool was the 400-yard medley relay team of Licking, Keck, Holm and Tillotson who placed fourth with a time of 3:46.74. 

The Redbird divers also competed in the prelims of the 3-meter competition, with Caroline Lecoeur qualifying for the finals with a fourth-place finish (250.29). Elizabeth Aument (192.84) and Andie Bernhardt (192.18) also qualified for the finals.

The MVC Championships will return for the final day of competition Saturday at 10 a.m. Fans can receive live updates and more by following @RedbirdSwim on Twitter. 

GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.