Illinois State to Open Season At Home vs McKendree

Normal, Ill. - Illinois State Swimming and Diving will open up its 2022-2023 slate at home this weekend as the Redbirds host McKendree at Horton Pool. Action is set to get underway with diving at 10:30 a.m. Swimming will get underway at approximately 12:30 p.m.

Admission is free to the public. 

ABOUT LAST SEASON 

Illinois State is coming off a strong 2020-2021 campaign that saw the Redbirds post a runner-up mark at the MVC Championships, their best finish at the MVC Championships since 2014. The Redbirds walked away with a pair of individual titles at MVCs as Eva Reyes was crowned the 1-meter Diving champ while Madyson Morse won the 200 IM title. 

Six school records came down last season while the 400-yard medley team of Cassidy Carey, Madyson Morse, Lauren Naeger, and Emma Feltzer broke a 20-year-old pool record in 2021-2022. 

RETURNERS 

The Redbirds boast a strong group of returners that are poised to make an impact this season. 

Reyes, the 2022 MVC Freshman Diver of the Year, and Kamryn Blake are back after finishing 1-2 in the 1-meter diving final at the MVC championships.  

In the pool, the Redbirds return a wealth of swimmers who earned All-MVC honors including Morse, who was an All-MVC Honorable Mention selection in the 200-yard breaststroke along with her 200 IM crown.

Lauren Naeger returns for her senior season after a bronze finish and All-MVC First Team selection in the 200-Yard Buttlerfly. 

Emma Feltzer and Sydney Hoff are back after strong freshman campaigns a year ago. Feltzer received All-MVC Honorable mention honors in the 100-yard freestyle and 200-yard freestyle. Hoff earned MVC accolades with a fifth-place finish in the 200-yard breastroke last year. 

FRESH FACES 

The Redbirds welcomed a freshman class of eight athletes for 2022, including three divers and five swimmers. 

Illinois State's freshman diving group brings international flair to the squad. Giulia Basco, who hails from Milan, Italy, and Finn Ronja Rungren joined the Redbirds this fall. Wisconsin native Natalie Bialas rounds out the Redbird freshmen divers. 

Delaney Boulden (Lee's Summit, Missouri), Maya Burkstrand (Richfield, Minnesota), Ria Dietz (Seven Fields, Pennsylvania), Ella Turken (Centennial, Colorado) and Chloe Tyler (Sweet Home, Oregon) represent Illinois State's freshman swimmers. 

HEAD COACH CAITLIN HAMILTON

Normal, Illinois native Caitlin Hamilton enters her fourth season at the head of the program. The Redbirds have steadily improved each year over Hamilton's tenure and will look to build of the success from last year's runner-up finish in The Valley Championships. Outside of the pool, more than a dozen Redbirds have earned MVC Scholar-Athlete Team selections in Hamilton's tenure while Emily Keebler has also taken home the conference's Elite 17 Award. Last season, the Redbirds posted the eighth-best grade point average among NCAA Division I women's swimming & diving programs en route to a third consecutive College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Scholar-Athlete All-America Team selection. 

Redbird athletes have earned MVC Swimmer of the Year (Kierston Farley-Sepe, 2020), MVC Diver of the Year (Caro Leceour, 2021), MVC Freshman Diver of the Year (Reyes, 2022) and MVC Scholar Athlete of the Year (Morse, 2022) honors under Hamilton. 

UP NEXT 

The Redbirds hit the road for the first time next week as they take on Illinois and Southern Ilinois in an in-state double dual hosted by the Illini.