Illinois traveled to Chicago last weekend to face Northwestern and the University of Illinois at Chicago for a tri-meet at the Norris Aquatic Center.

Illinois beat UIC 207-92 but fell short against Northwestern 107-192. Despite splitting the weekend with one win and one loss, the Illini picked up four first-place finishes.

Senior Kristen Anderson started off strong with a time of 0:23.57 in the 50-meter freestyle and recording a time of:51.90 in the 100-meter freestyle.

Illinois faced Illinois State and Southern Illinois Thursday evening at the team’s last home meet of the season. In addition to celebrating the season’s final home meet, it was also Paint the Pool Pink day. The pink-out is an opportunity for the team to show its support for women and honor breast cancer survivors during Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

The team collected 10 first-place finishes out of 16 total events. The meet started off with the 400-meter medley race, and the team took first with the time of 3:54.12. Freshman Kaleigh Haworth snagged first place in the 200-meter breaststroke and set a career-best with a time of 2:23.21.

Head coach Sue Novitsky said the Illini did well throughout the meet. The Illini showed their versatility through their performance in a variety of events across the weekend.

One of Novitsky’s goals was to see the team progress and fix small details, something the Illini were able to do last weekend and Thursday.

Not only is the team winning meets, but it’s also thriving outside of the pool.

Recently, senior Emily Martin was named to the Homecoming Court. The honor of being on Homecoming Court encompasses requirements including academic achievements, campus leadership and community involvement. Not only is Martin an established swimmer in the pool, but she’s also highly accomplished outside the pool.

Illinois went head to head against Michigan State on Saturday and obtained its first tie of the season. Illinois tied 150-150 against Michigan State, improving its record to 4-1-1. Illinois won 10 out of the 16 events, starting with sophomore Abby Cabush winning the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:52.30. Junior Jimena Martinez won two events, helping the team earn 10 victories. She was able to win both the 200 butterfly stroke with a time of 2:06.20 and the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:05.51.

The team of Cabush, junior Emma Curtis, freshman Athena Salafatinos and Anderson was also able to take top spot in the 400 freestyle relay. Despite the team’s hard work, the meet ended in a draw, causing Illinois to tie.

@Monzeeh03

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