Southern Illinois University
McKendree University
Salukis win 12 events in season opener
10/07/2018 | 12:41:00 | Swimming & Diving
The Southern Illinois swimming and diving program opened the 2018-19 campaign with narrow defeats to McKendree at Shea Natatorium. The woman fell to the Bearcats 146-152. On the men's side, the Salukis lost 138-161.
Despite absences due to injury, the Salukis racked individual personal bests and 12 first-place finishes.
For the men, they opened up the dual meet on a high note. In the first event of the season, Ryan Lehane, Chris Phillips, Tamas Hajtman and Robert Chelberg cruised to a win in the 200-yard medley relay (1:34.84). Jimmy Dooley also proved that his breakout sophomore season was no fluke, as he swam to victories in the 100 and 200-yard breaststroke (58.01 and 2:07.35).
In the men's 100-yard freestyle, Hajtman added another victory, swimming 46.45 to hold off a McKendree competitor. He also placed second in the 100-yard butterfly (50.76) to cap off a successful start to the season.
In both the 500- and 1,000-yard freestyle, Chris Cole and Kevin Kluge finished second and third (4:47.01 & 4:48.45 and 9:36.22 & 9:51.53). Cole's 9:36.22 in the 1,000-free, was just one second behind winner.
On the women's side, they also commenced the meet with a victory in the 200-medley relay (1:48.89). Deven Speed, Samantha Parsons, Emma Brazeau and Rita Naude secured the win for the Salukis.
Jordan Ries and Parsons were standout swimmers on the women's side. Ries began her last season as a Saluki in winning fashion as she took the 200-yard freestyle (1:54.23), with the closest Bearcat finishing more than a second later. Parsons, a 2018 first team All-MVC honoree, won both the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke to total her meet wins at three. Laura Carver, Abby Kresal and Jess Peck placed two-three-four in the 200-breast, right behind Parsons.
Brazeau delivered an impressive performance as well. The three-time All-MVC selection placed second in the 100-yard backstroke (59.03) and 100-yard butterfly (57.52). In the 100-fly, she fell just .29 short of the winning time.
In diving, the Salukis won all four events. On the women's side, Beibei Ji swept the meet, with victories in the one- and three-meter dive. She scored a 298.12 in the one meter and a 306.22 in the three meter. Her twin, Baobao Ji, placed second in both events with scores of 288.48 and 293.47. Last season, the Ji twins placed first and second in all eight dual meets.
On the men's side, Eli Mercado, placed first in the one meter, with a score of 339.05. He fell just short of his career-best, 340.27. In the three meter, Kai Hoffman-Dussome took first with a personal best score of 343.68. His former career-best was 336.85.
Newcomers Robert Chelberg and Speed also delivered noteworthy performances in their collegiate debuts. Chelberg sprinted his way to a second-place finish in the 50-yard freestyle (21.46), while Speed managed to place second in the 200-back (2:10.07) and third in the 100-back (59.27).
The Salukis will be back in action on October 20 at Shea Natatorium for a tri-meet against Illinois and Illinois State.
Players Mentioned
