Illinois State vs. Western Illinois

MACOMB, Illinois. October 17. THE Illinois State's swimming and diving team was led by sophomore Amy Schaefer, who boasted two first-place finishes as the Redbirds went on to beat Western Illinois with a final score of 187-110. This meet marks the third straight win for the Redbirds and they now hold a 3-0 dual-meet record.

Schaefer led the Redbirds with a first-place finish in the 200-yard butterfly event with a time of 2:08.80. Schaefer then went on to finish first in the 100-yard freestyle event with a time of 55.06.

Head coach Steve Paska is very proud of how the sophomore performed at the meet.

"Amy Schafer won the 200-fly and 100-freestyle and she's just performing exceptionally well," Paska said. "For someone to train as hard as she does and to put in as much effort into a sport as she does; it is great to see her excel week in and week out. I really believe her fastest swimming is yet to come."

Senior Allison Fishbein, sophomores Ashley Bachler, Christine Byron and Molly Gomberg, freshmen Lauren Boyd, Michele Stoeppelman, and Jillian Olson all joined Schaefer with first-place finishes in their respective events. Fishbein swam the 200-yard breaststroke in a time of 2:28.36. Ashley Bachler recorded a personal-best time in the 1000-yard freestyle as she touched the wall with a time 10:43.75. Byron secured a first-place finish in the 200-yard backstroke event with a time of 2:10.21. The 100-yard backstroke event was swam by Gomberg who finished with a time of 1:00.80. Boyd went on to swim the 50-yard freestyle event with a time of 25.24. Stoeppelman followed her teammates as she competed in the 500-yard freestyle event ending with a time of 5:16.03. The 200-yard individual medley was led by Olson as she touched the wall with a time of 2:15.00.

"One thing we emphasized all week was swimming and racing with consistency and you can see that in the results," Paska said. "I was impressed with how the girls entered the meet and were ready to race. Our depth was a key reason to why we were successful. A number of girls stepped up and performed as well as they did last week, many swimming even faster this weekend. I am impressed with where we are right now. I know we have a lot of work to do and I think we're taking the right steps in getting ready for the Akron meets early in December."

Junior Caitlin Falconer and freshman Jessica McGee also had notable performances as they achieved personal-best times in the 1000-yard freestyle and 100-yard butterfly events, respectively. Falconer recorded a time of 11:00.45 and McGee finished with a time of 1:01.62.

Junior Katelyn Prorok led the Redbirds on the diving board as she recorded a first-place finish on the one-meter board with a score of 265.13. Prorok's finish qualified her for NCAA Zone C Diving Regionals and was personal-best score for the junior. Prorok went on to a second-place finish, behind teammate junior Liza Perrino, on the three-meter board with a score of 232.95.

"This was a great meet for Katelyn," said head diving coach Phil Hoffmann. "It was an exceptional meet and it will boost her confidence as she faces our top competitors [Evansville and Missouri State] next week."

Perrino, juniors Elizabeth Herner and Annette Danilowski and freshman Polly Hirt each had outstanding performances on the diving boards. Perrino secured a first-place score of 237.75 as she led the Redbirds on the three-meter board. Herner earned personal-best scores on both the one-meter and three-meter board as she finished second (227.25) and third (210.83), respectively. Danilowski recorded a personal-best score of 201.61 on the one-meter board and a seventh place finish. Hirt also recorded a personal-best score as she placed fifth on the three-meter board with a score of 203.70.

"As a whole it was a good competition for all of our divers," Hoffmann said. "We had several personal-best scores and we look forward to seeing how we turn around and get ready for competition next week."

Special thanks to Illinois State for contributing this report.

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