Southern Illinois Tops Evansville To Open Season

CARBONDALE, Illinois, October 5. The Southern Illinois University Salukis kicked off the 2014-2015 season by sweeping Evansville on Saturday afternoon, with the men winning by a 181-159 score and the women coming out ahead 136-107.

Southern Illinois Press Release

The Southern Illinois University swimming and diving teams opened the regular season with a sweep against the University of Evansville on Saturday. The men’s team won 181-59, while the women’s team won 136-107. SIU won 20 of the 26 events on the day.

The men’s team had a strong day against the Purple Aces. The team of Alex Crawford, Andy Ross, Dusan Vukobrat, and Andre Brilhante won their first race of the season, taking the 400-yard Medley Relay in a time of 3:29.90. Brilhante kept his hot streak going, as he won the 1000-yard Freestyle in 10:02.93.

Freshman Michael Wolfe had a great day, besting the field in the 200-yard Freestyle and the 200-yard Butterfly. Till Pallmann got his junior campaign started in the right direction, winning the 200-yard IM and 200-yard Backstroke.

On the men’s diving team, Kegan Skelton won the one- and three-meter dive handidly.

On the women’s side, the Salukis saw strong performances from some newcomers. Freshman Nicole Fuller dominated the field in the 1000-yard Freestyle with a time of 10:34.43, nearly nine seconds faster than second place. Fellow freshman Bryn Handley put on a similar performance in the 200-yard Freestyle, winning the event in 1:52.72, seven second faster than the second place finisher. Handley also took first in the 500-yard Freestyle. Kelsie Walker looked great in her debut, winning the 200-yard Butterfly with a time of 2:07.18.

Kaixuan “Sherry” Zhang began right where she left off last season, winning both the one- and three-meter dive.

The Salukis are back in action next Saturday, when the team hosts Missouri State. That meet is set for an 11 a.m. start time.

Evansville Press Release

The official reopening of Wyttenbach Pool on Saturday saw Southern Illinois earn wins over the University of Evansville men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams.

On the women’s side, the Salukis took a 136-107 win while the men finished with a 181-59 victory.

“We had a great meet today, it was fun to be home again,” head coach Rickey Perkins said. “The team responded nicely to a good SIU team. I am proud of the way we competed.”

Michaela Kent, Mackenzie Powell, Sam Montgomery and Michelle Tipton picked up the win in the 400 medley relay. They won by almost four seconds, finishing with a time of 3:55.93. In the 400 freestyle relay, Freeman, Montgomery, Smith and Tipton teamed up to win a close one over SIU. UE finished with a 3:33.52, just 0.43 ahead of the Salukis.

Sophomore Danielle Freeman had another strong day. She was dominant in the 50 yard freestyle, finishing with a 24:18 to take the win. Just behind her in the event was Abby Smith. In the 100 freestyle, Freeman took the win once again. A 52.93 topped her nearest competition by 1.41 seconds.

Powell was victorious in the 200 IM, topping teammate Carolina Lee for top honors. Powell swam a 2:12.22. She earned another win in the 200 breaststroke. Her time of 2:25.41 topped Lee once again by 2.27 seconds.

Tipton came in a close second in the 200 yard freestyle. Her 1:52.92 was just 0.20 behind the winner.

Ethan O’Rourke, Troy Burger, Daniel O’Brien and Ashton Bishop came in a close second in the 400 medley relay. They were less than 2 seconds off of SIU’s winning pace. O’Rourke later swam in the 200 IM, taking third place with a 2:01.30. Bishop brought home a second-place finish in the 100 freestyle. His 48.03 was 0.29 behind the win. Bishop outswam SIU by 0.2 seconds in the final 50 yards before coming up just short.

Freshman Everett Plocek performed well in the 50 yard freestyle. His 22.21 was second, just 0.25 off the winning pace. Troy Burger competed in the 200 breaststroke. He finished in second place, less than a second off the win, swimming 2:10.84.

The 400 yard freestyle relay saw Plocek, O’Brien, Phil Stevenson and Bishop finish in second with a solid 3:12.18.

Diving saw freshman Courtney Coverdale qualify for the NCAA Zones. Her final score in the 1 meter event was a 266.77. Leading the men’s divers was Austin Penler, whose score came in at a 230.25 in the 1 meter. He did even better in the 3-meter, posting a 245.02.

Both squads will be back in action in conference next week, swimming against Missouri State at 3 p.m. Friday.

Results: Evansville vs. Southern Illinois

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