Jan. 16, 2004

Ann Arbor, Mich. - Illinois began the Michigan Invitational with a bang Friday night in Ann Arbor, winning the 200 free relay, the first event on the night. No. 16 Michigan found their stroke after a few events and moved into a lead over the Illini after the first six events 70-40. But, the Orange and Blue swam well enough to gain an edge on No. 21 Notre Dame after the first night, 66-44.

Highlighting the evening session was freshman Barbie Viney who led the Illini into the first event, the 200 free relay. The team of Viney, Christina Brunka, Ilkay Dikmen, and Meghan Farrell won the 200 free relay in a time of 146.70. In the fourth event of the night, Viney won the 50 free in an impressive time of 26.51. Viney was the only multiple winner of the night for any team in the Invitational.

The Illini also got solid performances from Kirsten Koepcke and Britta Jansson who finished fourth and fifth respectively in the 400 free. Koepcke ended up with a time of 4:19.61, while Jansson swam to a time of 4:24.33. In the only other relay of the night the Illini finished second with the team of Brunka, Viney, Dikmen, and McAdam in the 400 Medley Relay with a time of 4:16.64.

The Illini will continue competition tomorrow at 9 a.m. for the morning session. The evening session will begin at 5 p.m.