Friday, September 15
Carbondale, Ill.
5 p.m.
Southern Illinois University
vs
Lindenwood University
Salukis win nine events in season opener
09/15/2017 | 8:31:00 | Swimming & Diving
The Salukis took on Lindenwood in the opening meet of the 2017-18 season winning three of the four diving events and posting low times in six races.
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Assistant coach Elise Knoche said she liked the team's energy in the season opener and that the Salukis were itching to start the season.
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"It was exciting to start the season. You see something different in meets than you do in practices. It was a really nice way to get everyone to get up and race and swim fast," she said. "I thought our energy was really good. The way that the meet was set up with half the team swimming and the other half not, allowed us to support each other. I loved all of the cheering and support that the freestyle swimmers gave the stroke swimmers and the stroke swimmers gave the freestyle swimmers."
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The Salukis opened the night with a win in the women's 100-yard medley relay. The team of Juliana Carvalho, Jessica Peck, Emma Brazeau and Chandler Ott finished nearly half of a second ahead of the second place team from Lindenwood with a time of 50.60.
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While races were going on in the pool, SIU's divers were dominating their portion of the meet taking home wins in three of the four diving events of the night.
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In the women's one and three-meter dives, the Salukis swept all three podium positions. In the one-meter dive, Sophomores Jiarong Ji and Jiaxin Ji finished first and second with scores of 279.80 and 279.30 respectively. Senior Rachel Williams rounded out the top-three with a score of 248.50.
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In the women's three-meter dive, Jiaxin Ji took home the best score at 288.80. Her twin sister, Jiarong Ji was second 270.80. Williams was third with a score of 242.50.
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On the men's side, Sophomore Eli Mercado won the one-meter dive with a score 278.40. He was nearly 20 points ahead of the second place finisher in the event. Mercado placed second in the three-meter dive with a score of 218.00.
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Of the Saluki Swimmers, sophomore Rita Naude had one of the better performances of the night. Naude was the fastest in the 50-yard butterfly and backstroke with times of 25.85 and 27.32 respectively in each event. She was also second-fastest in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 24.89. She also helped her 100-meter relay team of Naude, Samantha Parsons, Abbie Young and Abby Kersal to a third place finish.
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Knoche said Naude's performance really stood out on the evening.
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The Salukis also took home wins in the women's 100-yard IM and the 50-yard breaststroke. Junior Jessica Peck won the 50-yard breaststroke with a time of 31.16. She was followed closely behind by sophomores Samantha Parsons and Laura Carver who placed second and third in the race.
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In the 100-yard IM, junior Emma Brazeau finished first with a time of 1:00.40. Parsons and Carver were second and third in the race. The Salukis dominated the 100-yard IM, swimmers from Southern took first through eighth in the event.
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Senior swimmer McKenna Avery also had a strong showing in the season opener. Avery posted third place finishes in the 50 and 100-yard freestyle and was seventh in the 200-yard freestyle.
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On the men's side, senior Alex Crawford won the 50-yard backstroke with a time of 24.37. He also placed third in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 21.91, fifth in the 100-yard IM at 55.04 and sixth in the 50-yard butterfly with a time of 24.05.
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Freshman swimmer Sam Drew also had a good night for Southern. He was second in the 100-yard IM, third in the 50-yard breaststroke and was on the third place 100-yard freestyle relay team of Drew, Joao Facciotti, Chris Phillips and Benson Jones.
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"We're going to take what we saw today and build on it," Knoche said. "We're going to identify where we can improve so that we're stronger and faster in the next meets."
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The Salukis have their second meet of the season when head coach Rick Walker and the Saluki distance swimmers race in the CSCAA Open Water National Championships tomorrow in Lawrence, Kansas.
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For all of the updates regarding Saluki Swimming and Diving follow the team on Twitter @SIU_SwimDive, on Instagram @SIUSwimDive and on Facebook at Saluki Swimming and Diving.
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Assistant coach Elise Knoche said she liked the team's energy in the season opener and that the Salukis were itching to start the season.
Â
"It was exciting to start the season. You see something different in meets than you do in practices. It was a really nice way to get everyone to get up and race and swim fast," she said. "I thought our energy was really good. The way that the meet was set up with half the team swimming and the other half not, allowed us to support each other. I loved all of the cheering and support that the freestyle swimmers gave the stroke swimmers and the stroke swimmers gave the freestyle swimmers."
Â
The Salukis opened the night with a win in the women's 100-yard medley relay. The team of Juliana Carvalho, Jessica Peck, Emma Brazeau and Chandler Ott finished nearly half of a second ahead of the second place team from Lindenwood with a time of 50.60.
Â
While races were going on in the pool, SIU's divers were dominating their portion of the meet taking home wins in three of the four diving events of the night.
Â
In the women's one and three-meter dives, the Salukis swept all three podium positions. In the one-meter dive, Sophomores Jiarong Ji and Jiaxin Ji finished first and second with scores of 279.80 and 279.30 respectively. Senior Rachel Williams rounded out the top-three with a score of 248.50.
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In the women's three-meter dive, Jiaxin Ji took home the best score at 288.80. Her twin sister, Jiarong Ji was second 270.80. Williams was third with a score of 242.50.
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On the men's side, Sophomore Eli Mercado won the one-meter dive with a score 278.40. He was nearly 20 points ahead of the second place finisher in the event. Mercado placed second in the three-meter dive with a score of 218.00.
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Of the Saluki Swimmers, sophomore Rita Naude had one of the better performances of the night. Naude was the fastest in the 50-yard butterfly and backstroke with times of 25.85 and 27.32 respectively in each event. She was also second-fastest in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 24.89. She also helped her 100-meter relay team of Naude, Samantha Parsons, Abbie Young and Abby Kersal to a third place finish.
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Knoche said Naude's performance really stood out on the evening.
Â
The Salukis also took home wins in the women's 100-yard IM and the 50-yard breaststroke. Junior Jessica Peck won the 50-yard breaststroke with a time of 31.16. She was followed closely behind by sophomores Samantha Parsons and Laura Carver who placed second and third in the race.
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In the 100-yard IM, junior Emma Brazeau finished first with a time of 1:00.40. Parsons and Carver were second and third in the race. The Salukis dominated the 100-yard IM, swimmers from Southern took first through eighth in the event.
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Senior swimmer McKenna Avery also had a strong showing in the season opener. Avery posted third place finishes in the 50 and 100-yard freestyle and was seventh in the 200-yard freestyle.
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On the men's side, senior Alex Crawford won the 50-yard backstroke with a time of 24.37. He also placed third in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 21.91, fifth in the 100-yard IM at 55.04 and sixth in the 50-yard butterfly with a time of 24.05.
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Freshman swimmer Sam Drew also had a good night for Southern. He was second in the 100-yard IM, third in the 50-yard breaststroke and was on the third place 100-yard freestyle relay team of Drew, Joao Facciotti, Chris Phillips and Benson Jones.
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"We're going to take what we saw today and build on it," Knoche said. "We're going to identify where we can improve so that we're stronger and faster in the next meets."
Â
The Salukis have their second meet of the season when head coach Rick Walker and the Saluki distance swimmers race in the CSCAA Open Water National Championships tomorrow in Lawrence, Kansas.
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For all of the updates regarding Saluki Swimming and Diving follow the team on Twitter @SIU_SwimDive, on Instagram @SIUSwimDive and on Facebook at Saluki Swimming and Diving.
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Players Mentioned
Free/Back
/ Swimming & Diving
IM
/ Swimming & Diving
Back/IM
/ Swimming & Diving
Breast/IM
/ Swimming & Diving
Back/Free
/ Swimming & Diving
Fly/Back
/ Swimming & Diving
Diving
/ Swimming & Diving
Diving
/ Swimming & Diving
Back/Free
/ Swimming & Diving
Diving
/ Swimming & Diving
Back/Free
/ Swimming & Diving
Fly/IM
/ Swimming & Diving
Breast/IM
/ Swimming & Diving
Breast/IM
/ Swimming & Diving
Diving
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