Feb. 18, 2011
Results
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The Fighting Illini swimming and diving team remained in 11th place (68 points) after the third day of action at the Big Ten Championships Friday. Three Illini qualified for event finals, including senior Ann Miller, sophomore Erin Rodriguez and junior Brittany McGowan, who broke school records in the 50 and 100 fly.
"Today was our best day of the meet so far," head coach Sue Novitsky said. "People came in focused and kept the momentum going. Our 400 IM swimmers got us started this morning with some really great swims. Erin (Rodriguez) and Ann (Miller) were really strong and got second swims. Brittany (McGowan) took it to another level with two school records and was able to go even faster tonight. It was a very exciting day for us. I am very proud of the team today for coming back and fighting."
Host Indiana leads the standings with 531 points, followed by Minnesota (395), Ohio State (302), Penn State (275), Purdue (255.5), Michigan (255), Wisconsin (226.5), Iowa (133), Northwestern (131), Michigan State (74) and Illinois (68).
McGowan highlighted the day for the Orange and Blue with her performance in the 100 fly and collected the only individual points for the Illini with a 13th-place finish in the event. The Beverly Hills, Mich., native broke two school records, including the 100 fly (54.58), which she set during finals, and the 50 fly (25.61 -- split), which she set during the 100 fly prelims. McGowan earned a "B" time with her record-breaking performance, which makes her eligible for a possible invitation to the NCAA Championships.
Rodriguez and Miller also advanced to the finals with personal-best times in the 400 IM. During the finals, Rodriguez earned a "B" time and topped her prelim time with the sixth-fastest performance in Illini history (4:19.43), climbing from fourth to third on Illinois' all-time individuals list, while Miller (4:22.71) improved to fifth on the all-time individuals list during prelims.
The Orange and Blue 400 medley relay team of junior Kristen Manias, redshirt freshman Erica Lynn, McGowan and freshman Courtney Pope posted a season-best time of 3:45.39, the second-fastest 400 medley relay time in school history. Sophomore Sarah Coady secured a personal-best time of 4:31.03 in the 400 IM, while sophomore Alyssa Petruzzello posted a personal-best time of 56.23 in the 100 fly, becoming the eighth-fastest Illini to swim the event in school history. Freshman Marin Thompson (57.54) and sophomore Kathleen Knight (57.54) also added personal bests in the 100 fly.
In the 200 free prelims, Pope led the Orange and Blue and became the ninth-fastest Illini all-time in that event with a personal-best time of 1:50.68. Juniors Kelly Kunkel (1:51.59) and Caitlin Conroy (1:52.13) also captured personal-best times in the event, while senior Meghan Mason (1:52.72) added a season best.
Lynn led the Illini in the 100 breast and moved from sixth to fifth on Illinois' all-time fastest individuals list with a time of 1:04.03, while senior Corey Kasten (1:04.14) climbed from eighth to seventh with her personal-best performance. Junior Rachel Japp Joyce also secured a personal best in the event with a time of 1:05.18.
In the 100 back prelims, junior Kristen Manias was Illinois' fastest finisher and became the seventh-fastest Illini to swim the event with a personal-best time of 57.10, followed by freshman Jessica Holz with a personal best (57.38) and Petruzzello with a season best (59.98).
On the boards, sophomore Darragh McDermott led the Illini with a 225.35 in the three-meter dive.
Prior to the finals, the Big Ten awarded the Sportsmanship Award to one athlete from each team based on coach nominations, with Japp Joyce receiving the award for the Illini.
The Orange and Blue will begin the final day of action tomorrow at 10 a.m. CT. Live results will be available HERE. For results and recap at the conclusion of each day's events, visit fightingillini.com.
Schedule of Events
Trials will begin at 10 a.m. CT, Finals at 5:30 p.m. CT
Saturday, Feb. 19 // Trials & Finals
1650 Free
200 Back
100 Free
200 Breast
200 Fly
Platform Dive
400 Free Relay
