Jan. 9, 2008
Boca Raton, Fla. -
The Fighting Illini swimming and diving team competed in two meets while on their annual training trip to Florida. St. Andrews School in Boca Raton, FL hosted the Goodbye December Invitational on Dec. 31st and the 3rd Annual Scots Collegiate Relay Challenge on Jan. 6.
Along with Illinois, North Carolina State, University of Maryland Baltimore County and University of Findlay participated in the Goodbye December Invitational. The Illini swimmers seized control of the meet early and went on to win seven of the meet's twelve events.
Junior Marissa Clapp and sophomore Jen Ivarson took home multiple event titles for the Illini. Clapp won the 200 IM and 200 Breast, and Ivarson proved to be the victor in the 50 and 200 Fly events.
The 200 Free and 200 Back events ended with a one-two-three sweep for the Illini. In the 200 Free, senior Kellie Stevens took first with a time of 1:55.58 and was followed by junior Allie Keehn and sophomore Kristen Kloeckner. The 200 Back champion was sophomore Cece Marizu with a time of 2:07.94, while sophomore Anna Johnson and senior Meg Bradley rounded out the second sweep for the Illini.
"Overall, we raced well considering how tired the team is right now," head coach Sue Novitsky said. "We have trained double swim practices, and either a weight or dry land practice as well in the days leading up to the meet. We have put in a lot of good work in the pool, and it paid off today."
At the 3rd Annual Scots Collegiate Relay Challenge, Illini swimmers continued their impressive performances. The University of Miami (Ohio) and Rider University proved to be no match for the Orange and Blue. Out of 11 events, the Illini won eight and set three new meet records.
Johnson, Marizu, Bradley and senior Mallory Craft posted a new meet record time of 51.98 in the 4 X 25 Back. Not to be out done, Junior Katie Theissen, Clapp and Johnson set a meet best time of 4:09.49 in the 100 IM-200 IM-100 IM relay.
"We started and finished our races very strong," Novitsky said. "We have worked really hard to improve on the details in training and are starting to see some breakthroughs. The team has a great attitude, and they are focusing on a strong start to the spring semester."
The Illini open up the second half of their season Jan.11-12 in South Bend, Ind. against Notre Dame and Big Ten foes Indiana and Michigan. Competition will be tough with Indiana and Michigan currently ranked 22nd and 13th, respectively, while Notre Dame has been previously ranked in the top 25 this season. A full recap of both days of competition will be available on fightingillini.com at the conclusion of each day's action.
