The 1998-99 University of Illinois swimming and diving season was a success any way you look at it. The team finished in sixth place in the Big Ten Conference, broke numerous school records and saw one individual compete at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships.

The year started innocently enough, as Illinois opened to a 7-3 dual meet start before the winter break. The Illini spent the holidays in Hawaii and finished in second place to Notre Dame at the Rainbow Invitational. The Orange and Blue then posted a 2-3 record in the second half of the season leading up to the Big Ten Championships.

At the conference meet, held in Minneapolis, Minn., Illinois had a number of stellar individual accomplishments. Junior captain Natasha Messmer was the surprise of all. The Minnesota native, who had never qualified for a Big Ten final, finished 10th in the 100-yard butterfly and then set her first school record in placing fourth overall in the 200 fly. Other notable performances came from Darcy Adler, who qualified for the 2000 United States Olympic Trials with her third-place time of 1:02.60 in the 100-yard breaststroke. The Illini milers placed three among the top eight, as Jen Peters erased the oldest school record in the books by clocking a 16:46.06 to finish fourth. She was followed by Kelly Handel in fifth place and Jessica Aveyard in seventh.

Darcy Adler, who entered the Big Ten meet with a streak of eight straight victories in the 100-yard breaststroke, was the only Illinois swimmer to compete at the NCAA Championships. She finished 23rd in the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:03.43 and 38th in the 200-yard breaststroke in a time of 2:20.31.

Year-end awards went to senior Nicola Homenock, who was named Most Valuable Swimmer and Jessica Ohr, who was the Most Valuable Diver. Adler was named the team's Athlete of the Year and Peters was the Newcomer of the Year. Senior Trisha Henry, who returned to limited action following a bout with cancer, was awarded the University of Illinois Spirit Award.