CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Fighting Illini swim team completed their home-opening meet on Saturday, Nov. 4 from the ARC Pool. Illinois was victorious over the Commodores, 156-106, and set five new pool records along the way. The Orange and Blue claimed nine event titles and saw two finishes rank in the program's all-time top-10 times.
No diving competition took place as Vanderbilt does not field a dive team.
"I am really proud of this team performance today," said head coach Jeana Kempe. "They knew it was going to take our best performance to win this meet and that is what we got. It's a great spot for us to be heading into our midseason invite (Boilermaker Invite)."
The 200 medley relay team of junior Sydney Stoll, freshman Kylee Sessions, junior Logan Kuehne and senior Lily Olson opened the meet with a splash, securing a win and a new ARC pool record (1:42.21).
Sophomore Sara Jass added two new pool records of her own with her wins. First in the 200 breaststroke (2:13.12), she also improved her mark that ranks as the program's second-best time, and the 400 IM (4:15.46). Jass also placed second in the 100 breaststroke (1:03.32). Stoll went on to set a new pool record in her 200 freestyle win (1:48.99).
Sophomore Adelaide Reaser notched the program's 10th-fastest 1,000 freestyle time in her win (10:10.14) and junior Paloma Canos Cervera placed second. Canos Cervera shaved nearly 15 seconds off her previous best time and set a new personal-best of 10:10.52. Canos Cervera would later win the 500 freestyle (4:57.74) and Reaser placed third (5:01.57). Reaser later collected bronze in the 400 IM (4:27.89).
Senior Laurel Bludgen touched first in the 50 freestyle (23.57) with teammate Olson earning bronze (23.72). Bludgen also placed third in the 100 freestyle (52.22).
Junior Suvana Baskar won the 100 backstroke (55.31) while freshman Kalina Nikolaeva finished fourth (56.94). Nikolaeva would later earn silver in the 400 IM (4:25.83).
Sophomore Alexis Wendel placed second in the 200 butterfly (2:03.77). Kuehne placed second in the 100 butterfly (55.89) and senior Sophia Burwitz. Sessions placed third (1:03.86) in the 100 breaststroke.
The 200 freestyle relay team of Bludgen, Olson, Kuehne and junior Molly Yetter closed out the meet with a win and a fifth pool record on the day (1:33.00).
POOL RECORDS
200 medley relay – Sydney Stoll, Kylee Sessions, Logan Kuehne, Lily Olson – 1:42.21
200 freestyle – Sydney Stoll – 1:48.99
200 breaststroke – Sara Jass – 2:13.12
400 IM – Sara Jass – 4:15.46
200 freestyle relay – Laurel Bludgen, Lily Olson, Maggie Adler, Molly Yetter – 1:33.00
PROGRAM TOP-10 MARKS
Sara Jass – 200 breaststroke – Second – 2:13.12
Adelaide Reaser - 1,000 freestyle – 10th – 10:10.14
EVENT TITLES
200 medley relay – Sydney Stoll, Kylee Sessions, Logan Kuehne, Lily Olson – 1:42.21
200 freestyle – Sydney Stoll – 1:48.99
200 breaststroke – Sara Jass – 2:13.12
400 IM – Sara Jass – 4:15.46
1,000 freestyle – Adelaide Reaser – 10:10.14
500 freestyle – Paloma Canos Cervera – 4:57.74
50 freestyle - Laurel Bludgen – 23.57
100 backstroke – Suvana Baskar – 55.31
200 freestyle relay – Laurel Bludgen, Lily Olson, Maggie Adler, Molly Yetter – 1:33.00
UP NEXT
The Orange and Blue swim and dive squads are back in action Nov. 16-18 for the Boilermaker Invite in West Lafayette, Ind.
