Toledo Swimming and Diving Team Finishes Sixth at Indiana Invitational
11/21/2004 12:00:00 PM | Women's Swimming and Diving
Nov. 21, 2004
Bloomington, IN - The University of Toledo women's swimming and diving team wrapped up its weekend in Bloomington, IN at the Indiana Invitational today, Nov. 21. Within the last two days of competition, the Rockets remained in a constant sixth-place spot and finished the tournament with 283.50 points. Mid-American Conference competitor, Miami, finished in seventh with 245 points.
"We put in a good overall team effort this weekend," Head Coach Lars Jorgensen said. "I was very excited about Iiris Hilvo's performance on Saturday. She is one of the most dedicated, hard working athletes I've ever had the chance to coach. I'm really proud of her efforts throughout the entire weekend. I was also very excited about Chelsea Perkins. She did a fantastic job, as well, and really played a key role in a lot of events for us."
Saturday's preliminary competition began with the 400 IM. Toledo placed once swimmer, freshman Chelsea Perkins, in the consolation finals heat, and one swimmer, sophomore Lindsay Tubbs, in the bonus finals heat. Perkins broke her season-best time of 4:32.78 in the finals heat with a 10th-place finish in 4:31.10. She scored seven points for the Rockets. Tubbs finished 23rd in 4:46.48 in the bonus finals heat.
The next event for the Rockets was the 100 butterfly. Sophomore Makenzie Manard was the lone Rocket to qualify for the consolation finals heat. She finished in a tie for 12th place with 58.13 in the finals heat. Manard broke her season-best time of 58.68, and earned 4.5 points for UT.
In the 200 freestyle prelims, UT advanced freshmen Samantha Telljohann and Perkins to the bonus finals heat. Telljohann finished in 17th (1:53.15), improving her season-best time by more than three seconds. Perkins placed 19th (1:54.82).
The 100 breaststroke proved to be historical for the Rockets when senior Iiris Hilvo broke the school record in the consolation finals heat with a time of 1:04.99, placing ninth and scoring nine points for the team. The school record had been claimed by Sonja LeRoux back in February of 2003 with a time of 1:05.63. Freshman Christa Salerno also swam in the consolation finals heat and placed 16th (1:09.96), scoring one point for the Rockets.
In the 100 backstroke, sophomore Briana Henning was the only Rocket to qualify for the consolation finals heat with a 16th-place finish (1:00.44) in prelims. Henning placed 14th in the finals heat (59.77) and scored three points for Toledo.
As in their first day of action, the Rockets scored most of their points in the relay events. In the 200 medley relay, Toledo's 'A' team of Henning, B., Hilvo, Manard and senior Emily Markovich placed sixth in a time of 1:47.98, scoring 26 points for UT. The 'B' squad, consisting of senior Jennifer Patterson, Salerno, freshman Ashley Tremblay and freshman Elizabeth Hinkleman, finished 14th (1:52.93) adding six points to the team's total score.
In the 800 freestyle relay, the 'B' team of Manard, Henning, B., Hinkleman and Tremblay took charge for UT and claimed sixth place (7:43.11). The 'A' squad included Markovich, Telljohann, sophomore Courtney Curry and Hilvo. Their squad took 11th place in a time of 7:47.60. Combined, both relay teams scored 38 points in the event.
Rounding out Saturday's competition was the 3-meter diving event. Freshman Megan McKinley led the Rockets with a seventh place (400.70) finish, scoring 12 points. Freshman Jill Reighard finished in 11th with 350.70, scoring six points.
The final day of the three-day event (Sunday), Perkins started the team out on a good note in the 1,650 freestyle. She finished in third place in a school record-breaking time of 16:54.87, scoring 16 points for the Rockets. The old record was held by Sheona Lottering back in February of 2000 with a time of 16:55.18. Other point scorers for UT included Telljohann (13th, 17:58.22, four points) and Tubbs (14th, 18:00.09, three points).
For the 200 backstroke event, the Rockets placed three swimmers into the bonus finals heat. Henning, B. paced UT with an 18th-place finish (2:08.38), and broke her current season-best time of 2:09.47 in the event. Tremblay followed right behind Henning's lead and took 19th in the finals heat in a time of 2:08.73, her current season-best time, as well. Patterson rounded out the event for Toledo with a 24th-place finish (2:15.01).
In the 100 freestyle, Markovich was the only point scorer for UT in the event. Markovich qualified for the consolation finals heat and took ninth place (51.67), scoring nine points for the Rockets. Other finals swimmers for Toledo were Henning, B. (17th, 52.92) and Hinkleman (24th, 54.25).
Hilvo made a major impact in the 200 breaststroke for Toledo with her fifth-place championship finals finish. She was the only Rocket all weekend to qualify for the championship finals heat. Hilvo broke her own second-place school record time in the event with a time of 2:20.23. She also earned 14 points for her team. Other UT swimmers in the bonus finals heat for the event were Salerno (17th, 2:27.71) and Bezdek (24th, 2:37.46).
The final individual event of the tournament was the 200 butterfly. Toledo finished with two swimmers qualifying for the bonus finals heat. Manard placed 18th with a time of 2:09.01, while Tubbs finished 24th (2:12.08).
In the final relay event of the Indiana Invitational, Toledo's 'A' squad of Henning, B., Tremblay, Manard and Markovich claimed 11th place (3:34.25) in the 400 freestyle relay event. The 'B' team consisting of Telljohann, Hilvo, freshman Brittany Dominique and Hinkleman took 14th (3:37.57).
