Feb. 2, 2013
Complete Results
MADISON, Wis. - The Fighting Illini swimming and diving team fell to No. 13 Minnesota, 291-62, Purdue, 268-85, and Wisconsin, 210-143, Saturday in the final day of action at the Big Ten Quad Meet. With the losses, Illinois falls to 2-7 on the season.
"Overall, we performed better than yesterday," Illini head coach Sue Novitsky said. "It was good to see people making adjustments in their events, and that will help in the coming weeks. We have had a tough couple of weeks with a lot of competitions, and we are tired physically and mentally. There have been many challenges thrown at the team in January, and I feel that we have continued to step up to them and face them head on. We have a couple of weeks coming up to rest, get focused and prepare for the Big Ten Championships."
Junior Erica Lynn led the Orange and Blue with a fourth-place finish in the 200 breast (2:20.48). Two Illini swimmers secured top-10 finishes in the 200 back, including junior Jessica Holz, who finished sixth (2:04.67), and sophomore Mary Beth Howard, who earned ninth (2:07.42). Sophomore Alison Meng rounded out the top-10 finishers for the Illini by finishing ninth (57.35) in the 100 fly.
Senior Erin Rodriguez finished just out of the top 10, placing 11th in the 400 IM (4:31.87). Junior Courtney Pope continued her consistent season in the 100 free (52.78) by finishing in 12th place in that race. Meanwhile, two Illini swimmers captured 13th-place finishes, including senior Kathleen Knight in the 100 fly (57.77) and junior Alyssa Toland in the 500 free (5:10.86).
On the boards, seniors Darragh McDermott and Keri Eberhardt led the Illini, finishing 10th (253.10) and 11th (234.64), respectively, in the one-meter dive.
The Orange and Blue will return to action in Minneapolis next weekend to compete in the Minnesota Challenge. The meet will take place Feb. 8-9 at the University Aquatic Center.
