Illinois concluded day three of the Big Ten Championships on a high note, as
Brittany McGowan set a new school record in the 50 butterfly with a time of 25.78. The record came during the first half of her swim in the 100 butterfly prelims.
Alyssa Petruzzello (56.45) became the 10th fastest individual all-time in the 100 butterfly during the prelims while teammates Caitlin Conroy (57.87), Kristen Manias (57.38), April McKee (56.46) and Kathleen Knight (58.22) all set lifetime bests in the event. Erin Rodriguez became Illinois' fifth fastest individual in the 400 medley prelims with a time of 4:24.76.
Lifetime best times also were recorded by Kim Kalenda (1:54.47) and Kelly Kunkel (1:52.03) in the 200 freestyle prelims, Sarah Coady (58.12) in the 100 backstroke prelims and Rachel Japp (1:05.30) in the 100 breaststroke prelims.
"We had people with lifetime bests, but we're still waiting for the breakout swim to loosen the tension," head coach Sue Novitsky said. "We're taking small steps and have another opportunity to get it moving, to get some second swims and hopefully put something together tomorrow."
In the 400 medley relay, the team of CeCe Marizu, Corey Kasten, McGowan and Manias now rank fifth in school history after finishing with a time of 3:45.74.
"We had another solid relay tonight," Novitsky said. Some girls put up some of the fastest splits they've ever had, which was good to see."
Prior to tonight's competition, the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award was given to an athlete from each school who portrays the greatest amount of sportsmanship throughout the year. Illinois selected Marizu as its recipient for this year's award.
"Throughout her career, CeCe (Marizu) has been very involved with the entire athletic department and has really stepped up her efforts this year," Novitsky said. "She is supportive of her teammates and other athletes here and really is a great example of what an Illinois student- athlete should be."
The final day of the Big Ten Championships gets underway tomorrow at 10 a.m. CT with the 200 backstroke, 100 freestyle, 200 breaststroke, 200 butterfly, 1650 freestyle and platform diving.
Live streaming will be available HERE, in addition to live results .
Schedule of Events:
Complete Results
Saturday, Feb. 20:
Preliminaries: 10 a.m.
21. 200 Backstroke
22. 100 Freestyle
23. 200 Breaststroke
24. 200 Butterfly
25. Platform Diving (Prelims and consolation final)
26. 1650 Freestyle
Finals: 5:30 p.m.
27. 1650 Freestyle (last heat of timed finals)
28. 200 Backstroke
29. 100 Freestyle
30. 200 Breaststroke
31. 200 Butterfly
32. Platform Diving
33. 400 Freestyle Relay
