Saturday, February 22
Columbia, Mo.
Southern Illinois University
vs
MVC Championships (Women)
Salukis place second at MVC Championships
02/22/2020 | 10:52:00 | Swimming & Diving
COLUMBIA, Mo. — The Southern Illinois women's swimming and diving team finished in second place with 603 points at the 2020 Missouri Valley Conference Championships. It was the fourth-straight year SIU placed runner-up. Missouri State won MVC's with 826.5 points.
Southern strung together six school records and one conference record over the course of the four-day championship event. Eleven Salukis earned All-MVC honors, which included seven named to the first team.
Southern's success led to four individual conference honors as well. Baobao Ji was named Diver of the Year for the second time in her career. SIU's Chunhua Zhao earned her sixth Diving Coach of the Year recognition. Lucia Romero was named Freshman of the Year and Sierra Forbord captured the Elite 17 award.
The Salukis achieved top-10 finishes in 12 events on the final day of competition.
SIU's lone victory came from diver Beibei Ji. The senior won the three-meter dive (323.25) by a 15-point margin over Baobao Ji, who was second at 308.35. The duo both finished the weekend with a win and runner-up finish in diving.
Forbord sprinted to a second-place mark of 50.65 in the 100-yard freestyle, which was Southern's best individual finish by a swimmer on Day four. The junior transfer turned in top-five finishes in three freestyle events (50-free, 100-free, 200-free) in her first appearance at MVC's. Rita Naude qualified for the B-final and finished 10th overall with a time of 52.00.
Two Salukis reached the podium in both the 200-yard backstroke and 200-yard breaststroke. Romero placed third (1:58.65) while Deven Speed took seventh (2:01.83) in the 200-back. Samantha Parsons produced a third-place mark (2:17.25) in the 200-breast. Laura Carver followed close behind Parsons in sixth (2:18.73).
Eden Girloanta tabbed a fifth-place finish in the 1,650-yard freestyle with a time of 17:06.32. Payton Parman qualified for the A-final in the 200-yard butterfly and ended in sixth place with a time of 2:04.49. Mariana Sanchez swam 2:06.76 in the 200-fly B-final to place second in her heat and 10th overall.
SIU closed the championship meet with a third-place finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay. The team of Forbord, Naude, Jacqueline Rose and Romero swam a time of 3:25.02. The Salukis finished top-three in four of the five relays at MVC's and broke school records three (200-medley relay, 200-free relay, 400-medley relay).
All-MVC Salukis
* First Team
Laura Carver (4th at SIU)
Baobao Ji (3rd at SIU)
Beibei Ji (3rd at SIU)
Samantha Parsons (3rd at SIU)
Rita Naude (2nd at SIU)
Lucia Romero (1st at SIU)
Sierra Forbord (1st at SIU)
Sarah Vogt (1st at SIU)
* Honorable Mention
Payton Parman (3rd at SIU)
Eden Girloanta (2nd at SIU)
Deven Speed (2nd at SIU)
Final Team Scores
Missouri State - 826.5
Southern Illinois - 603
Indiana State - 539.5
Illinois State - 454
Northern Iowa - 445
Evansville - 272
Little Rock - 216
Valparaiso - 127
Southern strung together six school records and one conference record over the course of the four-day championship event. Eleven Salukis earned All-MVC honors, which included seven named to the first team.
Southern's success led to four individual conference honors as well. Baobao Ji was named Diver of the Year for the second time in her career. SIU's Chunhua Zhao earned her sixth Diving Coach of the Year recognition. Lucia Romero was named Freshman of the Year and Sierra Forbord captured the Elite 17 award.
The Salukis achieved top-10 finishes in 12 events on the final day of competition.
SIU's lone victory came from diver Beibei Ji. The senior won the three-meter dive (323.25) by a 15-point margin over Baobao Ji, who was second at 308.35. The duo both finished the weekend with a win and runner-up finish in diving.
Forbord sprinted to a second-place mark of 50.65 in the 100-yard freestyle, which was Southern's best individual finish by a swimmer on Day four. The junior transfer turned in top-five finishes in three freestyle events (50-free, 100-free, 200-free) in her first appearance at MVC's. Rita Naude qualified for the B-final and finished 10th overall with a time of 52.00.
Two Salukis reached the podium in both the 200-yard backstroke and 200-yard breaststroke. Romero placed third (1:58.65) while Deven Speed took seventh (2:01.83) in the 200-back. Samantha Parsons produced a third-place mark (2:17.25) in the 200-breast. Laura Carver followed close behind Parsons in sixth (2:18.73).
Eden Girloanta tabbed a fifth-place finish in the 1,650-yard freestyle with a time of 17:06.32. Payton Parman qualified for the A-final in the 200-yard butterfly and ended in sixth place with a time of 2:04.49. Mariana Sanchez swam 2:06.76 in the 200-fly B-final to place second in her heat and 10th overall.
SIU closed the championship meet with a third-place finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay. The team of Forbord, Naude, Jacqueline Rose and Romero swam a time of 3:25.02. The Salukis finished top-three in four of the five relays at MVC's and broke school records three (200-medley relay, 200-free relay, 400-medley relay).
All-MVC Salukis
* First Team
Laura Carver (4th at SIU)
Baobao Ji (3rd at SIU)
Beibei Ji (3rd at SIU)
Samantha Parsons (3rd at SIU)
Rita Naude (2nd at SIU)
Lucia Romero (1st at SIU)
Sierra Forbord (1st at SIU)
Sarah Vogt (1st at SIU)
* Honorable Mention
Payton Parman (3rd at SIU)
Eden Girloanta (2nd at SIU)
Deven Speed (2nd at SIU)
Final Team Scores
Missouri State - 826.5
Southern Illinois - 603
Indiana State - 539.5
Illinois State - 454
Northern Iowa - 445
Evansville - 272
Little Rock - 216
Valparaiso - 127
Players Mentioned
Breast/IM
/ Swimming & Diving
Fly/Free
/ Swimming & Diving
Freestyle
/ Swimming & Diving
Diving
/ Swimming & Diving
Diving
/ Swimming & Diving
Back/Free
/ Swimming & Diving
Fly/IM
/ Swimming & Diving
Back/Free/Fly
/ Swimming & Diving
Free/Breast
/ Swimming & Diving
Breast/IM
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