Redbirds Show Progress in Road Loss to Indiana State

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The Illinois State swimming and diving team recorded a pair of runner-up relay finishes and several strong individual performances Friday night, as the Redbirds fell 240-58 to Indiana State at the Vigo County Aquatic Center.

"Although not the final score we want to see, there were still a lot of positives that came out of tonight," head coach Ryan Evans said. "Many of our swims were better than last week. I was also really happy with how our relays competed. We are definitely headed in the right direction."

The Redbirds opened the meet with a third-place finish in the 200-yard medley relay. Hailey Fris, Ava Ostendorf, Freya Hingston and Alex Davis combined for a time of 1:46.90.

Fris led the way for Illinois State, placing second in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 58.76 and third in the 200-yard backstroke, touching the wall in 2:07.06.

Fris also helped the Redbirds finish second in the 400-yard freestyle relay, alongside Molly Allison, Bailey Gott and Davis, with a time of 3:34.56.

"Our performer of the meet was Hailey Fris," Evans said. "She was faster in all three of her races compared to Quincy. She was also a big part of our second-place 400 free relay."

Hingston added a pair of top-three finishes in the butterfly events, taking second in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 2:10.25 before placing third in the 100-yard butterfly at 59.17.

Allison recorded a second-place finish in the 100-yard breaststroke, touching the wall in 1:04.71 to move her into eighth in program history. 

Ostendorf placed third in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:22.96. 

Allison also finished second in the 500-yard freestyle, posting a time of 5:08.18.

Illinois State's divers made their season debuts Friday, with Selena Corona leading the Redbirds on both boards. Corona placed third in the three-meter dive with a score of 241.20 and fifth in the one-meter dive with 219.50 points.

"For our divers, it was great to see them debut for this season," Evans said. "Selena led the way with her third-place finish in the three-meter and was only three points off her lifetime-best score."

UP NEXT 

The Redbirds will look to build on their early season progress when they return to action Oct. 15-16 in Athens, Ohio, to compete at Ohio University.