BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The Fighting Illini swimming and diving team put up three school records en route to a strong day three at the 2019 Big Ten Championships. Illinois is back in the pool tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. CT for the preliminary rounds of the 200 backstroke, 100 freestyle, 200 breaststroke and 200 butterfly.
"It was fantastic to see people keep stepping up and battling. Taylor Shegos put together a great list and competed strong. Megan and Gabby had great swims and were .01 from making it back to the finals. To see them break school records was the culmination of the work they have put in this season. We have one more day and expect them to keep fighting."
Senior Gabriele Serniute was a huge bright spot for the Illini on day three, as the Lithuania, native posted two school-record times in one event. Serniute clocked a program-best 1:01.99 100 breaststroke, while her 50 breaststroke split time of :28.92 also marked an Illinois record.
After earning a spot in the 100 butterfly time trials after a 25th-place finish in prelims, senior Megan Vuong put together a school-record performance, touching the wall in a time of :54.46. The time just narrowly beat former Illini Allison Meng's :54.47.
Both freshman Taylor Shegos and senior Ling Kuhn competed in three-meter diving competition on Friday. Shegos led the way, placing 24th in prelims with a six-dive total of 275.65. Kuhn scored a 259.30 to place 35th overall.
The Illini currently sit in 13th place with a point total of 142. Host Indiana paces the field at 938.5, followed by Michigan (827.5), Ohio State (779), Minnesota (657), Wisconsin (478), Purdue (399), Northwestern (392), Iowa (315.5), Penn State (277.5), Nebraska (260), Rutgers (259) and Michigan State (157).
Schedule of Events
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.
Follow the Illini
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.
100 Butterfly
25. Megan Vuong - Prelim » 54.51 // Time Trial » 54.46 (school record)
40. Rebecca Corzine - 55.97
50. Molly Hein - 58.58
54. Lauren Partridge - 1:01.24 (lifetime best)
400 Individual Medley
41. Fiona McDermott - 4:33.75
42. Tiffany Qiao - 4:35.64
200 Freestyle
31. Abigail Cabush - 1:49.94 (Illinois career best)
55. Kristin Anderson - 1:52.22
72. Emily Martin - 1:55.10
73. Monica Guyett - 1:55.13
74. Abigail Martin - 1:55.42
76. Sidney Kennedy - 1:56.42
78. Emily Bolger - 1:56.58
100 Breaststroke
24. Gabriele Serniute - 1:01.99 (lifetime best, school record)
47. Jimena Martinez - 1:04.91
53. Lauren Partridge - 1:07.03
54. Rebecca Corzine - 1:07.03
55. Kathryn Sanders - 1:07.12
100 Backstroke
31. Aby Olson - 54.88 (lifetime best)
42. Sarah Cano - 55.81
55. Gabrielle Loeck - 57.16
59. Emma Curtis - 57.47 (lifetime best)
62. Kaylee Heimes - 58.35
63. Natalie Edwards - 59.14
