Illinois swim & dive kicked off homecoming week with a home meet against Indiana State at the ARC Pool on Saturday, Oct. 8. The Illini finished the 2021-2022 regular season 6-4 and 11th place in the Big Ten Championship.

With a new program vision under head coach Jeana Kempe, the program will look to start strong against their familiar foe, Indiana State.

In the 200-yard medley relay, Indiana State snuck away with a win in the first event. With the Illinois combo of sophomore Sydney Stoll, junior Laurel Bludgen, seniors Kaleigh Haworth and Isabella Guerra (1:45.8) and third with the combo of sophomores Suvana Baskar, Logan Kuehne, senior Mariclaire Lynch and junior Paige Koscielski (1:47.99).

Assistant swimming coach Kyle Patnode kept the fans engaged throughout the meet, whistling, hooting and hollering, running up and down the pool deck.

His constant high motor and energy are “a huge reason” why Kempe hired Patnode. “His energy level is always at a 10, that’s what I love about him,” Kempe said. “He brings that enthusiasm on a daily basis.”

In the 1,000-yard freestyle, the Illini dominated Indiana state as freshman Liv Dorshorst took first (10:24.15) in her first collegiate event. Senior Jeanri Buys was not far behind in second (10:38.19), giving life back to Illinois after just missing first place in the 200-yard medley relay.

Illinois amplified its momentum on the 200-yard freestyle, sweeping the podium with sophomore Sydney Stoll (1:52.94) taking first, junior Cara Bognar (1:54.02) taking second and Laurel Buldgen (1:55.55) taking third.

After Indiana State won the 100-yard backstroke, Illinois responded with another win, this time in the 100-yard breaststroke. Haworth (1:05.63) finished on top while freshman Sara Jass (1:05.98) took second. In the 200-yard butterfly Bognar (2:02.60) continued to dominate in the butterfly, winning the event with a hefty margin over the opposing Sycamore.

To end the first half of the meet, Guerra (24.00) stood alone on the podium, placing first in the intense 50-yard freestyle sprint.

After taking the first two podium spots on the 3-meter dive, the Sycamores came out of the half fighting, placing first and third in the 100-yard freestyle while Bludgen took second (52.46).

Domination was necessary to ensure that the meet didn’t get out of hand in favor of Indiana State. Stoll (2:04.73), Aegerter (2:06.81) and Salfatinos (2:07.38) took that challenge themselves, taking first, second and third in the 200-yard backstroke, respectively.

Kempe bounded up and down the sideline, cheering on her swimmers as they swept the podium for the 200-yard breaststroke. Jass (2:21.33) took first in her second event, giving Illinois control of the meet. Haworth (2:22.29) and Umhofer (2:24.40) followed shortly behind in second and third.

Jass in her first collegiate meet, established her winning ability and poise, especially when counted on to come out with a win.

“Sara was incredible today. She had a great meet,” Kempe said. “Absolutely expected because of how she trains on a daily basis.”

Bognar (5:01.47) and Dorshorst (5:03.06) took first and second in the 500-yard freestyle. Guerra (56.27) also won the 100-yard butterfly, extending the Illini lead.

Throughout the meet, Illini pride chants rang out after every win by the first-place finisher.

“Like any other sport, crowd noise and involvement is a big deal — it gets people psyched up, it helps swing the meet. Our girls thrive in that,” Kempe said. “The more involvement we can get with the fans the better.”

The meet closed out with the 1-meter dive, 200-yard individual medley and 400-yard freestyle relay medley.

With the entire team on their feet and the echoes of excitement bouncing off the tiled floor, Stoll (2:05.28) won the IM, with Jass (2:05.69) following closely behind in second.

To end off the day, the 400-yard freestyle was the loudest event of the afternoon. Indiana State held less than half a second lead over Illinois throughout the laps. Illinois never managed to catch up, placing second (3:30.09).

Despite the final event, Illinois’ overall performance and numerous podium sweeps elevated Illinois over Indiana State, 165-135. The win marked Kempe’s first win as head coach of the program, with her family celebrating with her at the poolside.

After the end of a long and high-energy day, Kempe sat in a chair poolside the feeling of “relief” came over her instantly.

“Indiana State is a really great program and I knew that they were going to come in ready to go,” Kempe said.

Next, Illinois stay home for a tri-meet against Illinois State and Southern Illinois at the ARC pool on Friday, October 14.

“We talked a lot (heading into the meet) about staying in our process and knowing the expectation of where we want to be in November at midseason and at Big Tens. Everything comes back to that. Each little spot is a stepping stone.”

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