Salukis edged out by the Bears

Saturday, December 3

Carbondale, Ill.

11 a.m.

Southern Illinois University

Missouri State University

12/03/2016 | 7:21:00 | Swimming & Diving

By: By Drew Hoffman, SIUSalukis.com

COMPLETE RESULTS

CARBONDALE, ILL. - The Southern Illinois University Swimming and Diving teams both fell to Missouri State today in their first home meet of the season. The women's squad lost a close one, 155-143, and the men's team fell, 195-93. Over the course of the meet the Salukis racked up 11 total first place finishes, and 34 top-three finishes.

On the women's side the Salukis were strong in all freestyle events, having at least two Salukis that finished in the top three in every single one of them(1,000-yard, 200-yard, 50-yard, 100-yard, 500-yard). One of the big highlights came from two of these events. In the 200-yard meter SIU would sweep Missouri State, grabbing first, second, and third. The finishes from Bryn Handley, Kelsie Walker, and Jordan Ries, gave SIU 16 points. The Salukis found the same success in the 500-yard freestyle, Handley, Walker, and Lauren Stockon, securing all three spots. The women's team ended the day with 23 total top three finishes, and had at least one Saluki inside the top three in every event except one.

Handley went on to win the other two events she competed in, going a perfect four for four on the day. Joining Handley at the top, Samantha Parsons continued her great start, winning the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:18.29. The last individual win came from the board. Junior, Rachel Williams, dominated the field in the one-meter, winning by a margin of 37 points. The final first place victory for the women came in the 400-yard freestyle relay. McKenna Avery, Walker, Kristina Ksarjian, and Handley finished with a time of 3:32.48, beating Missouri State by three full seconds.

On the men's side the Salukis were lead by senior, Andre Brilhante, and freshman, Kai Hoffman-Dussome. Brilhante did his damage in the pool, coming away with two first place finishes and one third place finish. He would win both the 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard freestyle by less than one second. Hoffman-Dussome found success on the board, winning both the one and three-meter diving. The freshman scored 270 plus points in both events to give his team 18 points on the day.

Both, the men and the women, have more than a month off before their next meet, as they have competed in their last meet in 2016. The next time either team will be in action comes on Jan. 14, where the women's team will take on Arkansas-Little Rock in Carbondale.