Behind dominant performances from the senior class, the Arkansas swimming and diving team cruised past Illinois 187-101 on Saturday at the Arkansas Natatorium on Senior Day.
The Razorbacks captured first-place finishes in all 16 events on the day. But it was the senior class that was responsible for nine of those, helping the squad improve to 9-1 overall this season.
“This group of 10 seniors is just really special to me,” Arkansas swimming and diving head coach Sean Schimmel said. “In my collegiate coaching career, I’ve never had 10 seniors walk. For them to stay together and go through everything that they’ve gone through to make this happen is very special and unique. We go through a lot, day in and day out, both academically and athletically. So it’s a testament to them.”
The 200 medley relay team of senior Anna Mayfield, freshman Madison Strathman, junior Natalie Burnett and senior Nina Drolc opened the meet with a win, clocking a time of 1:43.68 – the fourth-best time in the event this season.
Individually, Drolc and Mayfield led the way, racking up two wins apiece. Drolc placed first in the 50 free (23.51) and 100 free (51.12) while Mayfield won the 100 back (55.54) and 500 free (4:53.14).
Senior Rachel Stoehr touched the wall first in 1000 free in 10:23.52 – her second best time in the event this season – while senior and Arkansas Female Scholar Athlete of the Year Maddie Monroe registered a time of 1:50.88 in the 200 free en route to a first-place finish.
Three-time SEC Freshman of the Week Madison Strathman continued her winning ways. Strathman was victorious in the 100 breast (1:04.60) and 200 breast (2:17.12). Just behind her in the 100 breast was senior Erika McGovern with a time of 1:04.93 – just .52 seconds from her lifetime best. McGovern shifted her focus to the 100 fly later in the meet where she achieved a lifetime best with a time of 58.68.
Also posting lifetime-best times were sophomore Taylor Weiss and freshman Erin Kelly. In the 200 fly, Weiss outswam her competition in 1:59.47, which marks the fastest time in the event by a Razorback this season and ranks 74th nationally. Kelly picked up a second-place finish in the 50 free in 23.99.
Sophomore Chloe Hannam also garnered two victories on the day, winning the 200 back (1:59.61) and the 200 IM (2:03.58). In addition, she placed second in the 100 back with a time of 56.86.
Also contributing to the Razorbacks’ scoring efforts, sophomore Jessie Garrison placed second in the 200 fly (2:01.91) while senior Rachel Kessler followed with a time of 2:06.04.
Junior Natalie Burnett (50 free, 24.00), sophomore Chelsea Tatlow (200 free, 1:51.78) and freshman Madison Umberger (100 back, 57.36) all added third-place finishes in their respective events.
The Razorback diving squad had a career day as seniors Shelby Bartlett and Hannah Bortnick and freshman Molly Harvie turned in personal bests on both the three-meter and one-meter competitions. In addition, senior Nicole Gillis scored a personal best in the one-meter (304.28).
Bartlett won the three-meter competition with a score of 336.45 and placed third in the one-meter with a score of 301.05. Bortnick was victorious in the one-meter, tallying 304.58 and snagged third in the three-meter, scoring 329.33. Harvie registered a 310.58 on the three-meter and a 271.20 on the one-meter en route to qualifying for the NCAA Zone Diving Championships. All four divers have now achieved zone qualifying scores.
“It makes me proud that the seniors and this team finished the regular season like they did today,” Arkansas diving coach Jeff DiNicola said. “We’re really starting to click. It’s all starting to come together at the right time as we get ready for the championship season. Everyone performed well, but those seniors really had a good day. That’s really fun to watch.”
Mayfield, Drolc, Stoehr and Monroe closed out Senior Day in style by nabbing first-place in the 400 free relay (3:26.66).
The Razorbacks will head to Columbia, Missouri for the SEC Championships on Feb. 16-20.
Illinois
The Fighting Illini Swimming and Diving team wrapped up its dual season in a showdown with 22nd-ranked Arkansas on Saturday, Jan. 30. The Orange and Blue fell to the Razorbacks by a final score of 187-101. With the defeat, the Illini drop to 8-4 on the season, while Arkansas improves to 9-1.
“We definitely faced the strongest team in a dual meet this season,” said head coach Sue Novitsky. “Arkansas is a tough and deep team and they showed why they are [highly ranked] in the country. I was happy to see us not back down from the challenge.”
The relay team of Sloane McDermott, Jennifer Coady, Lori Lynn and Audrey Rodawig quickly earned points for the Illini with a second-place finish in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:45.68. Junior Amelia Schilling and sophomore Samantha Stratford followed with second-place finishes of their own in the 1000 freestyle (10:28.23) and 200 freestyle (1:51.37), respectively.
Other swimmers earning second-place finishes for the Illini included sophomore Gabrielle Bethke in the 100 freestyle (:51.95), senior McDermott in the 200 backstroke (2:03.30), sophomore Charli Wike in the 200 breaststroke (2:19.34), junior Gabbie Stecker in the 500 freestyle (5:02.15), senior Lynn in the 100 butterfly (:55.69), Stratford in the 200 IM (2:04.05) and the relay team of Megan Vuong, Bethke, Stecker and Rodawig in the 400 freestyle relay with a time of 3:26.89.
“At the start, we talked about our strength as a team and one of those is that we are infinitely better when we have each other's back and stay together,” said Novitsky. “That definitely shined through on the relays, where people put it on the line and raced all the way to the wall for their teammates.”
Over on the boards, junior Olivia Kassouni finished second in the one-meter diving competition with a score of 274.13, while freshman Madeline Kuhn finished third with a reading of 271.73. Kassouni led the Illini divers with a mark of 279.83 on the three-meter board.
Despite suffering three losses to close out the regular season, the Illini finished with eight wins for only the second time since 2000. With the 8-4 dual record, UI has also completed three-consecutive winning seasons, marking the first such occurrence since the three-year span of 2008-10.
“Now that we are finished with our dual meets it is time to turn our full focus to preparing for the Big Ten Championships,” shared Novitsky. “We are a little beat up and the opportunity to rest will definitely help us in the next couple of weeks.”
The Illini will now have just over two weeks to prepare for the Big Ten Championships, which will be held in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Competition will begin at 7 a.m. CT on Tuesday, February 17th, and will conclude on Saturday, February 20th.
