March 2, 2000

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The Fighting Illini will send 12 swimmers to the Illinois Senior Championships at the University of Illinois-Chicago Natatorium in Chicago, Ill., this weekend.

Illinois will send juniors Molly Busch, Colleen Farrell and Katie Scheurich, sophomores Kathy Kielty and Jen Peters, and freshmen Alison Czmarko, Jessica Eaton, Molly Macari, Jennifer Ochab and Sara O'Fallon to the championships which take place March 3-5. The Illini, now 8-5 overall and 3-1 in conference, are coming off a seventh-place showing at the Big Ten Championships in Indianapolis, Ind.

"It's an opportunity to practice and let some people swim different events than they usually would do ," Head Coach Jim Lutz said.

Kielty, of Arlington, Heights, qualified for the 2000 Summer Olympic Trials at the conference championships, where the sophomore took 12th in the 200 back with a time of 2:01.68, which provisionally qualifies for the NCAA Championships. Peters also is a provisional qualifier in 1650 free after clocking a 16:48.61 at Big Tens.

This weekend's championships is an opportunity for UI swimmers to qualify for the USS Senior Nationals, which take place March 1 - April 1 in Federal Way, Wash.