Southern Illinois University
MVC Championships (WOMEN)
Salukis finish second, Walker named MVC Coach of the Year
02/23/2019 | 9:51:00 | Swimming & Diving
Columbia, Mo. — The Southern Illinois women's swimming and diving team closed out the Missouri Valley Conference Championships on Saturday with a second-place finish. It was the third-straight year that SIU finished in second place.
Southern — picked fourth in the MVC pre-championship poll — strung together gutsy performances in several events throughout the weekend to ascend near the top of the standings. Eight Salukis earned all-conference honors and head coach Rick Walker was named MVC Coach of the Year. This was Walker's 14th time receiving the accolade.
Today also marked Walker's final time coaching SIU at the MVC Championships. In total, Walker guided his teams to 16 conference titles.
"This was a dream team", Walker said. "Being picked to finish fourth made it apparent that no one took us seriously. I am so proud of our women, who exceeded expectations and in many cases overachieved. They demanded more from themselves than even they should expect to accomplish."
On the day, Southern achieved 13 top-10 finishes and five top-three marks. Additionally, 17 Salukis advanced to individual finals events.
SIU's lone win of day four came from diver Beibei Ji. The junior won the three-meter dive (327.10) by a landslide to earn the Valley diving sweep, as she also won the one-meter dive on Thursday. Baobao Ji finished runner-up to Beibei in the three-meter with a mark of 306.70.
On the weekend, the Ji twins took first and second in both diving events.
In the pool, Southern started off finals on a strong note. Saluki newcomer Eden Girloanta opened the last session of swim with a second-place finish in the 1650-yard freestyle finals with a time of 17:02.90. Senior swimmer Jordan Ries claimed ninth overall with a time of 17:36.05.
Freshman Deven Speed then stepped up to the big stage in the next event, which was the 200-yard backstroke. Speed swam a personal-best mark of 2:02.20 to finish sixth in the top heat. Juliana Carvalho placed just outside the top-10, as she came 11th overall (2:02.81).
In the 100-yard freestyle, sprinters Rita Naude and Jacqueline Rose advanced to the finals. Naude finished in seventh with a personal-best time of 52.19. Rose ended up 12th overall (52.78) with a personal-best time as well.
A remarkable four SIU swimmers reached the podium in the 200-yard breaststroke.
Senior swimmer Emma Brazeau led the charge with a second-place finish. Brazeau's time of 2:15.37 in the final was a personal best and the second fastest in SIU history. Right behind her in third and fourth were teammates Laura Carver and Samantha Parsons (2:18.05 & 2:18.25). Not much further back was Abby Kresal, who took seventh overall (2:20.54).
Southern added another three top-12 performances in the 200-yard butterfly. In the A final, Audrey Snyder and Payton Parman placed fourth and seventh with times of 2:03.78 and 2:04.95. Abigail Young competed in the B final and finished 12th overall with a time of 2:07.00.
In the final event of the championship meet, the Saluki quartet of Naude, Rose, Young and Ries swam to a sixth-place finish in the 400-yard freestyle.
"I could not have scripted a better conclusion to my career with the women", Walker said. "These women gave me everything they had and trusted the process. It's been a pure joy watching them band together and succeed as only a true team can."
All-Conference Salukis
• Laura Carver
• Abby Kresal
• Rita Naude
• Payton Parman
• Samantha Parsons
• Jordan Ries
• Audrey Snyder
• Deven Speed
Final Team Scores
1. Missouri State - 759
2. Southern Illinois - 619.5
3. Indiana State - 511.5
4. Northern Iowa - 497.5
5. Illinois State - 438
6. Little Rock - 273.5
7. Evansville - 269
8. Valparaiso - 115
Players Mentioned
