Saturday, January 18
Carbondale, IL
12 PM
Southern Illinois University
vs
Eastern Illinois
Recap | SIU Dominates Eastern Illinois for Senior Day Wins
01/18/2025 | 7:19:00 | Swimming & Diving
Carbondale, Ill. – It was Senior Day on Saturday for Southern Illinois swimming and diving, and the Salukis welcomed in-state rival Eastern Illinois to Shea Natatorium for an afternoon competition. In what was the final home meet of the year, SIU's men's team picked up a 164-78 victory while the women's team won 194-58.
"Extremely proud of this group of seniors who have transformed this program in so many ways to enjoy a successful Senior Day," said head coach Geoff Hanson. "With big goals in mind we are focused on hard work and details moving into the final weeks of the season. This group of senior Salukis will be missed."
Inside the Results
How It Happened
The day started with the 1650-yard freestyles, with both events only featuring Southern Illinois. On the women's team, Fernanda Sánchez finished first, followed by Ale Hoyos Horvath and Vritti Agarwal. Joshua Aceves was the only participant in the men's event, finishing his run in 16:21.67.
Following the distance swims, the Salukis took a break to recognize their 21 seniors during the Senior Day ceremony for all they have contributed to the Southern Illinois swimming and diving program. These seniors included Pulido, Sanchez, Jules Atkinson, Morgan Dietzel, Addy Foreman, Megan Mathers, Farida Moussa, Keely Ohlhauser, Apryl Paquette, Jasmine Rau, Ali Robertson, Karen Rodriguez, Mia Sinkiewicz, and Corrin Williams from the women's team, and Santiago, Pacheco, Nicolas Lanuza, Alex Brodsky, John Cameron, Donat Csuvarszki, and Lee Haywood from the men's squad.
After the ceremony, the competition resumed with the women's 200-yard medley relay, where Southern Illinois swept the podium. The "A" team took first, followed by the "B" and "C" teams.
Individual events started with the women's 200-yard freestyle, in which Pulido finished first, Herron second, and Bea Padron third. The men's 200-yard freestyle was just as much as success, with Rodrigo Ramos, Willem Huggins, and Hazem Aboustate standing on the podium in that order.
Moving to the 100-yard backstroke, Liseska Gallegos Gutierrez was crowned champion on the women's side, but her teammates Brooklyn Anderson and Tia Jankovics also found spots on the podium. The men's event also featured three Salukis on the podium in the form of Cameron, Alex Cimera, and Elliott Dye.
While SIU did not sweep the podium in the women's 100-yard breaststroke, Robertson and Madalyn Booker still occupied the top two spots. Pacheco and Tiago Faleiros won the gold and silver medal on the men's side, respectively.
Southern Illinois returned to sweeping the podium in the 200-yard butterfly events, with Atkinson, Sanchez, and Tamara De la Torre filling up the women's top-three, while Lanuza, Nate Worsham, and Juraj Barcot did so for the men's event.
The women's team was just as dominate in the women's 50-yard freestyle, as Hernandez finished first, Zaria Terry second, and Masha Zhukova came in third. Santiago led the charge in the men's 50-yard freestylee, being the only swimmer to finish the race in less than 20 second. Runner-up to Santiago was his teammate, Benedek Andor.
Hernandez sat in first place again after the women's 100-yard freestyle, with Zaria Terry acting as her runner-up again; Ava Rines rounded out the podium The men also had three podium finishes in their 100-yard freestyle, as A.J. Terry, Andor, and Csuvarszki finished top-three in that order.
All six podium spots between the two 200-yard backstroke podiums were occupied by Salukis. The women's top-three was Gallegos, Jankovics, and Anderson, while Huggins, Dye, and Brodsky were top-three for the men's 200-yard backstroke.
The women's 200-yard breaststroke featured the first and only NCAA "B" standard time for SIU, with Herron's swim of 2:12.80 qualifying while also putting her in first place. Booker and Robertson followed Herron up in the event. Pacheco was the only SIU swimmer in the top-three for the men's 200-yard breaststroke, but he managed to grab first place.
Another gold-medalist was Pulido in the women's 500-yard freestyle, and Barcot did the same on the men's side of the event. Moving to the 100-yard butterfly, Padron led the pack for the women while Santiago finished first on the men's side. The individual events concluded with the 200-yard IM. Herron was able to add one more first-place finish to her resume in the event, while Andor sat atop the podium in the men's group.
The competition ended with the 200-yard free relay. SIU's "B" team beat out the rest of the group in the women's relay, then the men's "A" team ended the afternoon on a high note with one final gold medal.
Up Next
Both squads earn some time off before the women's squad resumes action on February 1 with a trip to Vanderbilt. As for the men's team, they will not be competing again until the Missouri Valley Conference Championships, which start February 19.
Follow the Salukis
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Salukis by following the team on X at @SIU_SwimDive, on Instagram at @SIU_Swimdive, and on Facebook at facebook.com/SIUSwimDive. Fans can also download the "Salukis" Mobile App on the App Store or Google Play Store.
"Extremely proud of this group of seniors who have transformed this program in so many ways to enjoy a successful Senior Day," said head coach Geoff Hanson. "With big goals in mind we are focused on hard work and details moving into the final weeks of the season. This group of senior Salukis will be missed."
Inside the Results
- Across the 26 events featuring both schools, 54 Saluki individuals or relay teams finished in the top-three of an event. Thirteen of those 26 events featured podium sweeps by Southern Illinois.
- All but one of the first-place finishers in the competitive events was from SIU.
- Celia Pulido, Olivia Herron, Susanna Hernandez, Henrique Pacheco Januario, and Alex Santiago all finished first multiple times in individual events for SIU.
How It Happened
The day started with the 1650-yard freestyles, with both events only featuring Southern Illinois. On the women's team, Fernanda Sánchez finished first, followed by Ale Hoyos Horvath and Vritti Agarwal. Joshua Aceves was the only participant in the men's event, finishing his run in 16:21.67.
Following the distance swims, the Salukis took a break to recognize their 21 seniors during the Senior Day ceremony for all they have contributed to the Southern Illinois swimming and diving program. These seniors included Pulido, Sanchez, Jules Atkinson, Morgan Dietzel, Addy Foreman, Megan Mathers, Farida Moussa, Keely Ohlhauser, Apryl Paquette, Jasmine Rau, Ali Robertson, Karen Rodriguez, Mia Sinkiewicz, and Corrin Williams from the women's team, and Santiago, Pacheco, Nicolas Lanuza, Alex Brodsky, John Cameron, Donat Csuvarszki, and Lee Haywood from the men's squad.
After the ceremony, the competition resumed with the women's 200-yard medley relay, where Southern Illinois swept the podium. The "A" team took first, followed by the "B" and "C" teams.
Individual events started with the women's 200-yard freestyle, in which Pulido finished first, Herron second, and Bea Padron third. The men's 200-yard freestyle was just as much as success, with Rodrigo Ramos, Willem Huggins, and Hazem Aboustate standing on the podium in that order.
Moving to the 100-yard backstroke, Liseska Gallegos Gutierrez was crowned champion on the women's side, but her teammates Brooklyn Anderson and Tia Jankovics also found spots on the podium. The men's event also featured three Salukis on the podium in the form of Cameron, Alex Cimera, and Elliott Dye.
While SIU did not sweep the podium in the women's 100-yard breaststroke, Robertson and Madalyn Booker still occupied the top two spots. Pacheco and Tiago Faleiros won the gold and silver medal on the men's side, respectively.
Southern Illinois returned to sweeping the podium in the 200-yard butterfly events, with Atkinson, Sanchez, and Tamara De la Torre filling up the women's top-three, while Lanuza, Nate Worsham, and Juraj Barcot did so for the men's event.
The women's team was just as dominate in the women's 50-yard freestyle, as Hernandez finished first, Zaria Terry second, and Masha Zhukova came in third. Santiago led the charge in the men's 50-yard freestylee, being the only swimmer to finish the race in less than 20 second. Runner-up to Santiago was his teammate, Benedek Andor.
Hernandez sat in first place again after the women's 100-yard freestyle, with Zaria Terry acting as her runner-up again; Ava Rines rounded out the podium The men also had three podium finishes in their 100-yard freestyle, as A.J. Terry, Andor, and Csuvarszki finished top-three in that order.
All six podium spots between the two 200-yard backstroke podiums were occupied by Salukis. The women's top-three was Gallegos, Jankovics, and Anderson, while Huggins, Dye, and Brodsky were top-three for the men's 200-yard backstroke.
The women's 200-yard breaststroke featured the first and only NCAA "B" standard time for SIU, with Herron's swim of 2:12.80 qualifying while also putting her in first place. Booker and Robertson followed Herron up in the event. Pacheco was the only SIU swimmer in the top-three for the men's 200-yard breaststroke, but he managed to grab first place.
Another gold-medalist was Pulido in the women's 500-yard freestyle, and Barcot did the same on the men's side of the event. Moving to the 100-yard butterfly, Padron led the pack for the women while Santiago finished first on the men's side. The individual events concluded with the 200-yard IM. Herron was able to add one more first-place finish to her resume in the event, while Andor sat atop the podium in the men's group.
The competition ended with the 200-yard free relay. SIU's "B" team beat out the rest of the group in the women's relay, then the men's "A" team ended the afternoon on a high note with one final gold medal.
Up Next
Both squads earn some time off before the women's squad resumes action on February 1 with a trip to Vanderbilt. As for the men's team, they will not be competing again until the Missouri Valley Conference Championships, which start February 19.
Follow the Salukis
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Salukis by following the team on X at @SIU_SwimDive, on Instagram at @SIU_Swimdive, and on Facebook at facebook.com/SIUSwimDive. Fans can also download the "Salukis" Mobile App on the App Store or Google Play Store.
Players Mentioned
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IM/Back
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Free/Breast/Fly/IM
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IM/Back
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Freestyle
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Dive
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Breast/IM
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Free/Fly
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Freestyle
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Back/Fly
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Free
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Free/Fly
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Freestyle
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Breast/Free/IM
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IM/breast/free
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IM/Free
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Freestyle
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Back/IM
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Free/Fly
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Dive
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