The Illinois women's swimming and diving team had nine athletes swim at a last chance qualifying meet at Purdue on Saturday. The small squad produced 10 lifetime-best performances during the competition.
“Overall, it was a good meet to go to because it gave us the opportunity to race again,” said head coach Sue Novitsky. “Taking advantage of these chances allows the athletes to learn more about themselves, particularly in terms as their mindset and strategy. For the coaches, it allows us to gain more information and keep evaluating ways to help the athletes continue their improvement.”
Lori Lynn and Gabbie Stecker produced the most noteworthy performances of the day for Illinois. Lynn improved upon the third-best 100 fly time on the school’s fastest-individuals list, swimming 54.84. She also jumped into second in the 50 back with a time of 25.93. Stecker’s performance in the 50 back of 27.00 makes her the ninth-fastest Illini of all-time.
Also competing in the meet were Ashley Aegerter, Gabrielle Bethke, Stephanie Hein, Kaitlyn Joyce, Sloane McDermott, Sascha Meyers and Samantha Stratford.
The Illini divers, none of whom competed today, will return to action at to the NCAA Zone Diving Championships in Columbus, Ohio in less than two weeks. Competition begins on March 12 and continues through March 14.
