NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State swimming and diving team had a triumphant evening as they defeated the Evansville Purple Aces with an end score of 172-71 on Friday.
The Redbirds kicked off the meet with a Redbird dub in the 200-yard medley relay with a time of 1:47.79 by the quartet of Julie Kolar, Jensen Keck, Morgan Clark, and Jessica Nichols. Clark also captured a first-place finish in the 50-yard freestyle (24.54) as well as the 200-yard backstroke (2:07.54). Another Redbird first-place finish came in the 200-yard freestyle (1:38.87) relay composed of Nichols, Katie Tillotson, Kolar, and Alyssa Reinholz.
Morgan Rosser dominated in the 1,000-yard freestyle event, clocking a time of 10:40.06, followed by Julia Oostman in second place with a time of 10:46.53. Savannah Rubocki came out victorious in the 400-yard IM with a first-place finish and a final time of 4:34.77, followed by Haley Rivera in second-place with a time of 4:41.75. Oostman also captured a first-place finish in the 500-yard freestyle, clocking a time of 5:15.68.
Other notable performances came from Redbirds Liz Thull and Jensen Keck in the 200-yard freestyle, taking first and second place, respectively. Keck dominated in the 200-yard breaststroke, capturing first-place with a time of 2:24.00. Katie Tillotson took a first-place finish in the 100-yard freestyle (53.89).
"I was very proud of how the team performed today," said head swimming coach Scott Cameron. "It was great to get a win against a conference opponent and send our seniors out with a great effort tonight. We were much better on the details in our races this week. They keep making improvements from week to week, which is exactly what we hope for this time of year. Overall, I'm very happy with how the team did this evening and I'm excited to see how we do tomorrow."
The Illinois State divers had a victorious evening with Caroline Lecoeur capturing first in both the 1-meter (296.32) and 3-meter (285.60) diving events. Emily Aument continued the trend at the top with second place finishes in the 1-meter (253.05) and 3-meter (216.66) diving events.
"The divers were much improved as a unit from last weekend," added head diving coach Phil Hoffmann. "I am very pleased with where we are, but we cannot rest, as each week it is important to get better heading into the conference championship."
The Redbirds will turn around and head to St. Louis tomorrow to compete against the Washington University Bears and Wabash College. The meet is set to begin at 1 p.m.
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