Oct. 24, 2009
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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The Fighting Illini swimming and diving team defeated Iowa State, 173-122 in front of a packed crowd of 763 in its home opener earlier today at the ARC pool, highlighted by the second annual Splash Bash event prior to the meet. With the win, the Orange and Blue improve to 4-1, while Iowa State falls to 2-1, as the Illini took 10 of the 16 events, while freshman Lauren Wismer broke the Illini's three-meter diving record.
"Having over 700 fans here was fantastic and I couldn't be happier with all of the work that was put into it," head coach Sue Novitsky said. "A special thanks goes out to the sponsors, WDWS, News-Gazette, and WHMS and the Pool Sharks. It was nice to see people taking advantage of the event and we hope they'll come back for our next meet."
After re-writing the record book in the one-meter dive at Nebraska just a few weeks ago, Wismer shattered the three-meter dive record with a score of 304.8 and also finished second in the one-meter dive with a score of 268.43.
"It was great for (Lauren) Wismer to set the new record in front of such a big home crowd," Novitsky said. "This was a good confidence builder and I'm proud of her for the hard work she's put in."
Teammate Britni Fisher also had a solid day on the boards, setting a new personal best in the one-meter dive with a score of 277.65, while finishing second in the three-meter (287.93).
In the swimming events, the Illini claimed the top three spots in five different events, including the 200 free, 500 free, 1000 free, 200 fly, and 200 breast.
Kristen Kloeckener placed first in the 200 free with a time of 1:54.79, while April McKee swam to first in the 500 free (5:06.97) and Amy Forsberg finished on top in the 1000 free (10:34.00). Jen Ivarson posted a first-place finish in the 200 fly with a time of 2:05.87 and Erica Lynn led the way in the 200 breast (2:23.45).
Kristen Manias captured two event titles in the 50 free (24.56) and 100 free (52.88) and Amy Johnson placed first in the 100 breast with a time of 1:06.02.
"I am very pleased with the outcome today," Novitsky said. "We kept our focus and competed against a very good team."
The Fighting Illini will take a week off before returning to action on Friday, Nov. 6 when they travel to Illinois State for a meet beginning at 5 p.m.
