Oct. 29, 2011
Complete Results
LAWRENCE, Kan. - The Fighting Illini swimming and diving team fell to 0-2 on the season, taking a 174.5-118.5 loss to Kansas on Saturday afternoon at the Robinson Natatorium in Lawrence, Kan. Despite the loss, the Illini claimed first-place finishes in both the 200 back and 200 free relay.
"Overall, we did not execute as a team as well as we needed to," Illini head coach Sue Novitsky said. "We looked pretty tight and were trying to force things. We have to keep working on learning how to finish races and learning how to win. We're trying too hard to make things happen instead of just letting them happen."
Leading the Illini was sophomore Jessica Holz, who captured first place in the 200 back (2:03.15) for the second meet in a row and earned second in the 100 back (58.00).
"Jessica Holz was our best individual swimmer of the meet," Novitsky said. "She had a really good 100 backstroke, won the 200 backstroke and just had some really good swims."
Junior Erin Lamb swam to a second-place finish in the 100 free (52.80) and a third-place finish in the 200 free (1:54.61), while sophomore Erica Lynn finished second in the 100 breast (1:06.88) and third in the 200 breast (2:24.55). Freshman Alison Meng captured third place in the 100 fly (57.82) to set a new career record in her second collegiate meet, and tied for fourth in the 100 back (59.06).
Also adding top-five finishes for the Orange and Blue were seniors April McKee and Brittancy McGowan, who captured second-place in the 200 IM (2:10.49) and 100 fly (57.85), respectively, while classmate Kristen Manias swam to a third-place finish in the 50 free (24.62). Juniors Kathleen Knight and Erin Rodriguez finished third in the 200 fly (2:07.94) and 200 IM (2:10.81), respectively.
The Illini relay teams captured the top two spots in the 200 free (1:36.69, 1:39.19), and swam for second- and third-place finishes in the 200 medley (1:47.32, 1:48.09).
On the boards, senior Britni Fisher (261.67) and juniors Darragh McDermott (258.22) and Tessa Adams (240.44) finished first, second and third in the one-meter dive. Adams also came in second on the three-meter board with a score of 249.75.
"We are competing really well when we have a group of swimmers together," Novitsky said. "It comes down to being in practice and learning how to race, even when you're tired, and it comes down to carrying that confidence over into the competitions. We're wavering a little bit with the confidence, but we're putting together some great practices. Now it's time to take that next step of believing in yourself and finishing well at a meet."
The Orange and Blue will travel to Michigan State on Friday, Nov. 4, for the first of two meets on the second road trip of the season, before heading to Chicago to take on Illinois-Chicago and Wisconsin-Milwaukee in a tri-meet on Saturday, Nov. 5.
