BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Wednesday night marked the start of the 2019 Big Ten Swimming and Diving Championships and the Illini produced right out of the gate, posting the second-fastest 200 medley relay time in program history. Senior Gabriele Serniute led the way in the event, as the Lithuania native swam the fastest 50 breaststroke split in school history (:27.45). After day one, Illinois sits in 11th place with a point total of 70.
"It's always exciting to be able to start the meet off with two relays," head coach Sue Novitsky said. "The medley relay got the team going strong, just missing the school record. Abigail Cabush led off the 800 free relay in a lifetime best and the relay as a whole raced tough. Before the session we talked about taking advantage of all our opportunities and having that zeal and energy as a team to fuel a relentless spirit that never gives in. This group is ready to keep competing and have fun as a group."
In addition to Serniute's split time, fellow-senior Aby Olson swam the third-fastest 50 backstroke in school history with a leadoff split of :25.30. The time also makes Olson the second-fastest Illini individual ever in the event. The only other race of the night was the 800 freestyle relay and the Illini relay squad of Cabush, Anderson, Guyett and Vuong placed 12th overall with a time of 7:24.10.
With three days still to go, Michigan leads the way with 120 points, followed by Indiana (114), Ohio State (106), Wisconsin (106), Minnesota (106), Purdue (94), Northwestern (82), Penn State (76) and Nebraska (74). Michigan State and Rutgers round out the group with 60 and 44 points, respectively.
Schedule of Events
Thursday, Feb. 21 (Preliminaries at 10 a.m., Finals at 5:30 p.m.)
500-yard Freestyle
200-yard Individual Medley
50-yard Freestyle
One-Meter Diving (12 p.m.)
400-yard Medley Relay
Friday, Feb. 22 (Preliminaries at 10 a.m., Finals at 5:30 p.m.)
100-yard Butterfly
400-yard Individual Medley
200-yard Freestyle
100-yard Breaststroke
100-yard Backstroke
Three-Meter Diving (12 p.m.)
200-yard Freestyle Relay
Saturday, Feb. 23 (Preliminaries at 10 a.m., Finals at 5:30 p.m.)
200-yard Backstroke
100-yard Freestyle
200-yard Breaststroke
200-yard Butterfly
Platform Diving (12 p.m.)
1,650-yard Freestyle (3:15 p.m.)
400-yard Freestyle Relay
Scoring Format
A Final Scoring: 32-28-27-26-25-24-23-22
B Final Scoring: 20-17-16-15-14-13-12-11
C Final Scoring: 9-7-6-5-4-3-2-1
Relay Scoring: 64-56-54-52-50-48-46-44-40-34-32-30-28
Note: Only A & B finals (championship & consolation) will be contested in the diving events.
Watch the Championships
The Big Ten Championships will be streamed live via BTN Plus on BTN2Go. Complimentary access to BTN2Go is available to viewers connected to the internet network of a Big Ten university. Fans elsewhere can sign up for the pay-per-view webcasts.
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Stay tuned to FIGHTINGILLINI.com for all the latest information on Fighting Illini Swimming and Diving. Follow the Orange and Blue on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for even more coverage.
