Jerod Simek Director of Operations | University of Illinois Division of Intercollegiate Athletics Website
Jerod Simek Director of Operations | University of Illinois Division of Intercollegiate Athletics Website
The Illinois swim and dive team is preparing for their final home meet of the season, which will take place on Saturday, February 1, at 11 a.m. CT at the ARC Pool in Champaign. The Fighting Illini will face off against Eastern Illinois.
This event will also mark senior day for the team, with seven seniors set to be recognized: Laurel Bludgen, Suvana Baskar, Paloma Canos Cervera, Logan Kuehne, Sydney Stoll, Jane Umhofer, and Molly Yetter.
In their recent meet against Nebraska, standout swimmer Sydney Stoll broke the school record in the 100 butterfly with a time of 53.97 seconds. She also achieved victories in both the 100 freestyle (49.86) and 200 freestyle (1:47.54). Over that weekend, Stoll competed in six individual races and secured gold medals in each one.
Diver Dani O'Kelly led her team with strong performances on both the one-meter and three-meter boards. She placed third in the one-meter dive with a score of 273.15 and achieved a personal best in the three-meter dive with a fourth-place finish and a score of 290.93. Matilda Garcia followed closely behind O'Kelly on the three-meter board, earning her NCAA Zone Cut with a score of 285.00 and placing fifth in the one-meter dive with a score of 261.15.
Eastern Illinois enters this meet holding a season record of 1-9. The Panthers share one common opponent with Illinois—Southern Illinois—against whom they lost by a wide margin of 217-40 while Illinois managed to secure victory over them with a score of 157-143. In their last encounter on October 16, 2015, Illinois defeated Eastern Illinois decisively with a scoreline of 371-66 at the ARC Pool.
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