Final Results 

MIAMI - The Fighting Illini swimming and diving team could not overcome a slow start in a two-day meet against Florida International, falling to the Panthers 251.5-166.5. Senior Samantha Stratford added to her successful Illini career, earning a school-record time of :57.66 in the 100 individual medley.

"Once again our second day was much stronger than the first day," head coach Sue Novitsky said. "We were competing very timid for the majority of the time on Friday. There were some bright spots, but we were not able to capitalize on those moments. On Saturday we came out and competed much better throughout the session."

In addition to the school-record time in the 100 IM, Stratford earned top times in four other events, including the 100 freestyle (:51.50), 200 freestyle (1:49.16), 200 butterfly (2:00.71) and 400 individual medley (4:22.66). The 200 butterfly, 200 freestyle and 400 IM times were season-best times for the Illini.

Freshman Michelle McCord wasn't far behind Stratford, as the Canton, Georgia, native posted the second-fastest 100 IM time in school history and finished third in the event. McCord also won the 200 individual medley, touching the wall in a time of 2:06.00.

Sophomore Monica Guyett also won an event for the Orange and Blue, finishing with the top time of 10:20.12 in the 1000 freestyle. The relay team of McCord, Stratford, Vuong and Curtis posted the fastest 200 medley relay time on the season for the Illini and earned a second-place finish in the event.  

ON THE BOARDS

Junior diver Madeline Kuhn was the only diver to compete for the Illini, finishing second in 3-meter and fourth in 1-meter competition. Kuhn posted scores of 277.80 and 256.12, respectively.

NEXT UP

The Orange and Blue will have a week off from competition before heading to Columbia, Missouri, for the Missouri Invitational. The annual meet will be held Nov. 16-18.

"As a team we need to solve this puzzle of starting slow," Novitsky said. "Once we do, it will be a big step forward for the team and it will help us the rest of the season. Our next meets coming up will require us to bring our best in the preliminary sessions to allow us the opportunity to earn those spots in finals."

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