The UIC swimming and diving program was in action on Saturday as the Flames traveled to take on the Milwaukee Panthers. The men (1-3, 1-2 HL) put together a well-balanced attack en route to their first victory (153-147) of the season. The women (1-3, 1-2 HL) won nine individual events, including record-breaking performances by Brianna Hines and Whitney Johnson, but fell short (171-129).
“This team continues to progress with each meet,” said Coach Tim Loeffler. “We asked a lot out of them this week and they responded well. They proved how tough they can be.”
The men’s squad set the tone in the very first event as the 200 medley relay team (Sebastian Ostrowski, Christian Grobe, Vincent Errichiello, and Mike Reed) defeated the Milwaukee team by .02 seconds to claim the Flames’ first victory of the meet. UIC followed that up by finishing first and second in the 100 back as junior Peter Errichiello set a season-best time of 52.38 for first place and was followed closely by Ostrowski (52.48).
In the 100 breast, juniors Brayden Amendola and Christian Grobe tied for first with identical times of 59.79. Grobe also won the 200 breast with a time of 2:08.55 and finished second in the 200 IM with a season-best time of 1:57.61.
Junior Kei Ishimaru earned his third straight victory in the 200 fly by posting a time of 1:54.37. He also finished second in the 100 fly with a time of 50.94.
Senior Mike Reed captured his second victory this season in the 50 free by touching the wall in 21.19 seconds. Sophomore Nick Kowaleski earned a victory in the 100 free (47.20) while also finishing second in the 200 free (1:44.61).
On the diving boards, sophomore Tyler Pastore captured a fourth place finish in the three-meter with a score of 264.53 while senior Connor Howard took home second in the one-meter (293.78).
Hines made her collegiate debut in the tri-meet with Northwestern and Oakland and collected three top-five finishes. She broke the Klotsche Natatorium record in the 1650 free Saturday with a time of 17:09.51, surpassing the previous record by over 15 seconds. Hines captured two more first place finishes in the 200 free (1:54.10) and 500 free (5:01.25).
Johnson won the one-meter (292.05) and placed second in the three-meter (294.75). With both of these scores, Johnson became the first diver in UIC history to qualify for the NCAA Zones in four consecutive seasons.
Freshman Sophia Shalabi captured two first place finishes in the 100 breast (1:05.36) and 200 breast (2:24.32). Junior Veronica Gibson was victorious in the 200 fly with a time of 2:09.49 while junior Danel Voorhees earned first place in the 100 fly (58.34). Sophomore Claire Haggerty locked up the final victory of the day for the women’s team as she touched the wall first in the 200 IM (2:12.62).
The Flames are back in action next week for their home opener as they host Olivet Nazarene on Friday, Nov. 14 at the Flames Natatorium.
College Swimming News courtesy of UIC swimming and diving.