Jan. 19, 2008

Iowa City, Iowa - The Illinois swimming and diving team fell to the Iowa Hawkeyes, 179-120, in Iowa City on Saturday. Fighting Illini swimmers grabbed three event titles at the dual meet, while setting a few season and personal best times.

"We had some good swims," head coach Sue Novitsky said. "There were a number of close races, but we couldn't finish strong enough to pull out wins. This time of year is a test for our team and I know we can meet the challenges before us."

Junior Marissa Clapp led the Illini, once again, with multiple victories. She won the 200 IM and 200 Breast events. Her victories mark the seventh time in nine meets she has won an event title this season.

Sophomore Cece Marizu provided the most impressive performance of the meet for the Illini. Marizu stepped up and won the 200 Back with a career best time of 203.60. Her performance ranks as the seventh best in Illinois swimming history.

Continuing her solid string of performances, sophomore Kyla Bachtell grabbed second place on both the 1M and 3M boards. Her score of 244.80 on the 1M was a new season best for the Naperville native.

"She has gained more confidence this season," diving coach Chris Waters said. "It has paid off in consistent scores and more points for the team. Now we just need to move up the averages of her dives and use her previous experiences to keep getting better."

The Illini will take a week off of competition to prepare for the Big Ten Quad Duals, Feb. 1-2 in West Lafayette, Ind. Purdue, Minnesota and Wisconsin will provide tough competition for the Illini with the Gophers and Badgers ranked nationally.

"Practice will be crucial for us over the next couple of weeks," Novitsky said. "We are doing things well day in and day out in practice. We just need to keep working hard and believe that we can accomplish the goals we have set."