Southern Illinois University
SIU Invitational
Swim and Dive to host SIU Invitational
11/13/2019 | 2:00:00 | Swimming & Diving
CARBONDALE, Ill. — The Southern Illinois swimming and diving program is set to host the SIU Invitational, a three-day event which will take place from Nov. 14-16 (Thursday-Saturday) inside Shea Natatorium. The invite will feature conference opponent Evansville and Division III Wisconsin-Whitewater. Results can be tracked online on the Meet Mobile app and a live stream will be available on the Saluki Swimming and Diving Facebook page.
SIU INVITE SCHEDULE
Thursday morning prelims: 10 a.m. »
| Women | Event | Men |
| 1 | 200-freestyle relay (optional prelim) | 2 |
| 10-minute break | ||
| 3 | 500-freestyle | 4 |
| 5 | 200-IM | 6 |
| 7 | 50-free | 8 |
| 20-minute break | ||
| 11 | 400-medley relay (optional prelim) | 12 |
| 9 | 1-meter diving (11 dives) | 10 |
Thursday evening finals: 5 p.m. »
| Women | Event | Men |
| 1 | 200-freestyle relay | 2 |
| 10-minute break | ||
| 3 | 500-freestyle | 4 |
| 5 | 200-IM | 6 |
| 7 | 50-free | 8 |
| 9 | 1-meter diving (11 dives) | 10 |
| 11 | 400-medley relay | 12 |
Friday morning prelims: 10 a.m. »
| Women | Event | Men |
| 13 | 200-medley relay (optional prelim) | 14 |
| 10-minute break | ||
| 15 | 400-IM | 16 |
| 17 | 100-fly | 18 |
| 19 | 200-free | 20 |
| 21 | 100-breast | 22 |
| 23 | 100-back | 24 |
| 25 | 3-meter diving (11 dives) | 26 |
Friday evening finals: 5 p.m. »
| Women | Event | Men |
| 13 | 200-medley relay | 14 |
| 10-minute break | ||
| 15 | 400-IM | 16 |
| 17 | 100-fly | 18 |
| 19 | 200-free | 20 |
| 21 | 100-breast | 22 |
| 23 | 100-back | 24 |
| 10-minute break | ||
| 25 | 3-meter diving (11 dives) | 26 |
Saturday morning prelims: 10 a.m. »
| Women | Event | Men |
| 31 | 200-back | 32 |
| 33 | 100-free | 34 |
| 35 | 200-breast | 36 |
| 37 | 200-fly | 38 |
| 20-minute break | ||
| 39 | 400-freestyle relay (optional prelim) | 40 |
| 29 | 1650-free | 30 |
Saturday evening finals: 4 p.m. »
| Women | Event | Men |
| 29 | 1650-free (fastest heat) | 30 |
| 31 | 200-back | 32 |
| 33 | 100-free | 34 |
| 35 | 200-breast | 36 |
| 37 | 200-fly | 38 |
| 25 | 3-meter diving (6 dives) | 26 |
| 39 | 400-freestyle relay | 40 |
THOUGHTS FROM COACH HANSON
On his expectations...
"We want our swimmers to compete for season-best times. We have put more rest and emphasis on this meet than anything we have done so far. We are going to shave down completely, just as we do at the end of the season. It will not be the length of a taper or the full preparation that we will do for conference meets, but it is what we consider a midseason version of it. I am certain we will see season-bests, lifetime-bests and some really great performances."
On the competition...
"Evansville is a conference opponent on both sides, so we want to perform well against them. Elise Knoche, a former assistant coach at SIU, is the head coach at UW-Whitewater, so it will be great to have her back on campus. I do not know a lot about her team since they are in a different conference and division, but I know that every team is coming here with the intention to swim and dive well. We set the meet up to be swimmer and diver friendly. We have opened up an extra finals heat, so we can get as many second swims as we can. We are going to focus on us and try to have a great weekend."
HISTORY AGAINST EVANSVILLE AND WISCONSIN-WHITEWATER
The women's team holds a 32-1 career record against Missouri Valley Conference opponent Evansville. The two have matched up in dual-meet action yearly since 1995. Last season, Southern rolled to a 143-100 victory over the Aces. Current Salukis Beibei Ji, Deven Speed and Abigail Young came away with victories in the meet.
The men's team has a perfect 37-0 advantage over Evansville. The first meeting was in 1965 and the teams have met an average of two times per season since 2011. SIU won 141-96 against the Aces in its last meeting, with current Salukis Zheng Yang Yeap, Kai Hoffmann-Dussome and Eli Mercado recording victories.
Wisconsin-Whitewater and SIU have never met in dual-meet action. Head coach of the Warhawks, Elise Knoche, enters her second season with the program and is assisted by Erin Hawker. Knoche is no stranger to SIU, as she spent four years as an assistant coach (2014-18) with the Salukis.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Evansville is off to a hot start on both sides to open the new season. The Lady Aces are 5-1 in dual meets with key wins over conference opponents Valparaiso and Little Rock. There lone loss came against Indiana State. The men's team is 3-1 with defeats over Eastern Illinois, Valpo and Birmingham-Southern.
Wisconsin-Whitewater competes in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and finished in the bottom half of the conference standings on both the men's and women's side last season. The women's team is 2-0 with wins against Illinois Tech and UW-Oshkosh in dual meets this season, while the men's team is 1-1.
CONFERENCE RANKINGS
*Salukis in the MVC top-five
Baobao Ji
1st - One-meter dive (319.35)
1st - Three-meter dive (326.40)
Beibei Ji
• 2nd - One-meter dive (298.65)
• 2nd - Three-meter dive (319.35)
Laura Carver
• 3rd - 200-breast (2:22.11)
• 5th - 400-IM (4:32.05)
Sierra Forbord
• 4th - 200-free (1:52.48)
Samantha Parsons
• 4th - 200-breast (2:22.78)
Eden Girloanta
• 5th - 500-free (10:26.56)
*Salukis in the MAC top-five
Adam Cernek
• 1st - 200-back (1:47.85)
• 2nd - 100-back (49.60)
• 4th - 200-IM (1:52.97)
• 4th - 400-IM (4:02.78)
Tamas Hajtman
• 5th - 50-free (21.07)
Kevin Kluge
• 5th - 1000-free (9:45.77)
LAST TIME OUT
Southern dropped a pair of road dual meets to Missouri State last weekend. The women's team fell by a narrow margin, 111-132, while the men's team lost 82-159. The Salukis managed to win 10 events against the Bears. Baobao Ji (One-meter dive, three-meter dive), Adam Cernek (200-IM, 200-back) and Kai Hoffmann-Dussome (1-meter dive, three-meter dive) each won a team-best two individual events to lead SIU. Sierra Forbord (200-free) and Samantha Parsons (200-breast) also tallied first-place finishes.
CONFERENCE HONORS
A trio of Salukis have earned weekly-conference honors three meets into the 2019-20 season. Baobao Ji tabbed her third-career MVC Diver of the Week accolade, as she won the one- and three-meter diving events at McKendree in the season-opener. Adam Cernek also excelled against the Bearcats, as he won three events en route to earning his first-ever MAC Swimmer of the Week. Laura Carver was named Valley Swimmer of the Week after tallying three wins in SIU's sweep over Bellarmine and Valparaiso.
10/8/19 - Baobao Ji - MVC Diver of the Week (3rd of career)
10/9/19 - Adam Cernek - MAC Swimmer of the Week (1st of career)
10/15/19 - Laura Carver - MVC Swimmer of the Week (1st of career)
A NEW ERA BEGINS
Geoff Hanson was named head coach of the Saluki swimming and diving program in late May, taking over for 32-year coaching veteran Rick Walker, who retired at the conclusion of the 2018-19 season. Hanson has over 19 years of collegiate coaching experience. He was an assistant coach at Arizona and Wisconsin and most recently had head coaching stints at Western State Colorado and Colorado Mesa. Hanson has mentored five Olympic finalists and four individual NCAA National Champions since joining the coaching ranks.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
For the latest updates on the SIU Invite, follow results on the Meet Mobile app and watch it live at Saluki Swimming and Diving on Facebook. Stay social for additional updates by following the team on Twitter @SIU_SwimDive, on Instagram @SIUSwimAndDive and on Facebook at Saluki Swimming and Diving.
Players Mentioned
