Southern Illinois University
Arkansas-Little Rock
Swim and Dive rolls past Little Rock
01/19/2019 | 4:37:00 | Swimming & Diving
CARBONDALE, Ill. - The Southern Illinois women's swimming and diving team defeated conference opponent Arkansas-Little Rock 174.5-122.5 inside Shea Natatorium on Saturday. It was the Salukis first dual meet victory of the 2018-19 season.Â
Saluki swimmers and divers won nine events in the team victory and came second in an additional 12 events. Samantha Parsons led the charge for Southern with three first-place finishes.Â
"We had some great performances today for this time in the season," said assistant coach Ivan Sanchez. "Starting a new semester and going back to a routine can be tough but overall I thought we swam well for where we are right now. I am happy with what I saw today from our girls."
EVENT WINS
Carvalho, Parsons, Brazeau, Naude
• 400-medley relay (3:59.04)
Emma Brazeau
• 100-fly (58.34)
Laura Carver
• 400-IM (4:35.52)
Beibei Ji
• One-meter dive (302.02)
Baobao Ji
• Three-meter dive (306.75)
Rita Naude
• 100-back (59.47)
Samantha Parsons Â
•100-breast (1:08.00)
• 200-breast (2:24.04)
Audrey Snyder
• 200-fly (2:06.92)
MEET HIGHLIGHTSÂ
The Saluki relay team of Juliana Carvalho, Sam Parsons, Emma Brazeau and Rita Naude won the 400-medley relay with a time of 3:59.04 in the meets opening event. The quartet held a commanding lead over the six opposing teams, beating out the Trojans fastest team by over three seconds (4:02.27).Â
Southern took three of the top four spots in the 100-yard backstroke. Rita Naude claimed first in the event with a time of 59.47 and was followed by Brazeau in third (1:00.82) and Carvalho in fourth (1:01.61).Â
Parsons earned victories in the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke (1:08.00 & 2:24.04) for the Salukis. It was the junior's second sweep of breast events this season, the first transpiring against McKendree (10/6/18). Southern swimmers also placed second in both events, as Abby Kresal (1:08.54) did in the 100-breast and Laura Carver in the 200-breast (2:25.94).Â
In the 200-yard butterfly, Audrey Snyder collected her first win of the 2018-19 season with a time of 2:06.92. Teammates Payton Parman and Jordan Ries out-swam three Trojans to take second and third in the event (2:09.92 & 2:15.96).Â
Brazeau also netted her first individual victory of the season in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 58.34. The three-time All-MVC selection beat out Trojan swimmer Lindsey Butler (59.36) in the win.Â
Laura Carver, Parman and Parsons went one-two-three for the Salukis in the 400-IM (4:35.52, 4:40.10, 4:40.38) to cap off individual swimming events. The landslide resulted in 16 team points for Southern.Â
The Ji twins continued to show their dominance in diving against Little Rock. Beibei Ji took first in the one-meter dive with a score of 302.02. The victory gave Beibei a total of three wins on the weekend and eight on the season. Baobao Ji dived to first place in the three-meter with a season-best mark of 306.75. The pair has accumulated 10 wins and eight second-place finishes on the season.
MORE THOUGHTS FROM COACH SANCHEZÂ
We are in the right path to do great things at conference. We still have work to do to get where we want to be and we need to take care of the things that we can control. If we are able to do that individually, then we will be able to accomplish amazing things as a team next month. Physically, we are a little tired right now but that is normal. Once we get more rest, we are going to be a tough team to beat.Â
NEXT UP
The Salukis hit the road for the final time until conference championships next weekend. Southern will first travel to Terra Haute, Ind. to face-off against Indiana State and Ball State in a tri-meet on Jan. 26. The following day, Southern will travel further east to Indianapolis, Ind. for the Butler Invite.
Players Mentioned
