March 6, 2008

Champaign, Ill. - The Fighting Illini swimming and diving team continued its postseason competition at the Boiler-Make-It Last Chance Meet on March 1-2, at the Boilermaker Aquatic Center in West Lafayette, Ind.

Six Illini underclassmen took part in the two-day event. The young Illini made the most of the opportunity, with each athlete setting at least one career-best time.

"Overall it was a successful weekend," head coach Sue Novitsky said. "We gave the swimmers a chance to get one more competition in after the Big Ten Championships in order to learn more."

Sophomore Kelly Smithwick had an outstanding meet with a pair of third-place finishes and season best times. Smithwick grabbed third place in the 400 IM (4:33.95) and 200 Fly (2:05.41), setting a new season and career-best time, respectively. In her final event, the 50 Free, she broke her second season-best time with a time of 25.31.

Fellow classmate Kristen Kloeckener finished the meet strong with career best times in the 50 Free (24.61) and 100 Fly (58.55), along with a third place finish in the 500 Free (5:01.40).

Other career-best times included sophomores Morgan Gilman in the 100 Free, Amy Johnson in the 100 Fly and Courtney Spivak in the 200 Free. Freshman Meghan Mason got in on the action in the 100 Fly as well.

The group's performance now helps the coaching staff prepare for future training regimens and see how the younger Illini fare with postseason competition.

"It gives us a chance to see if one more week of rest helps," Novitsky said. "A change in the competition environment can have an effect and also allows them to swim some other events rested that they normally do not get to swim in a limited entry situation. At the very least, they gain more competitive experience, which is always beneficial."