Chambana Sun

The Illinois swim and dive team is set to compete in the Big Ten Championships, scheduled from February 19 to 22. The event will take place at the McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion in Columbus, Ohio.

Under the guidance of third-year head coach Jeana Kempe, the team has achieved a 6-3 overall record this season, with a strong 4-1 performance in home meets. The Illini have also set seven school records so far this season.

In their last meet on February 1 against Eastern Illinois, the team secured a victory with a score of 108-73. Sydney Stoll made notable achievements by setting two pool records: one in the 50 freestyle with a time of 23.08 seconds and another in the 100 IM at 55.51 seconds. Her performance in the 50 freestyle was recorded as the seventh-fastest time in program history.

Other swimmers also delivered commendable performances during this competition. Sara Jass swam the second-fastest 100 IM with a time of 56.44 seconds, while Kalina Nikolaeva posted the sixth-fastest time at 58.40 seconds.

Reflecting on last year's Big Ten Championships, Illinois finished in twelfth place with contributions from several individual scorers. "Jass led with 19 points," followed by "Stoll who scored 12," and "Matilda Garcia had five." Additional contributions came from "Gwen Bakker who added three," "Bethany Mercer scored two," and "Kylee Sessions had one."