Indiana State vs Northern Iowa
- Friday, October 22, 2021
- Terre Haute, Ind.
- Results
Courtesy: Indiana State Athletics
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State showcased its depth on Friday night as the Sycamores took 11 of the 16 events on their way to topping visiting Northern Iowa at the Vigo County Aquatic Center on Friday night, 187-113.
Overall, the Sycamores had the event winner in seven of the first eight events with Carmen Alard Vegas and Marni Gray combining to touch the wall first in four different events on the night as ISU picked up its first win in the 2021-22 season. Indiana State moved to 1-3 overall on the year and is 1-0 against Missouri Valley Conference opponents.
“Overall, we had a really strong showing this evening,” ISU head swimming and diving coach Joshua Christensen commented. “We swam tough in a lot of places and raced well. Our depth was definitely highlighted tonight.”
The Sycamores had a swimmer or diver finish in the top two in all 16 events on the evening to highlight their performance in their home facility. Gray swept both the 100 and 200 Butterfly events, while freshman Chloe Farro continues to build on a strong inaugural campaign in winning the 100 Free.
Vegas also continued to showcase her versatility on the season winning the 100 Backstroke and the 200 Individual Medley while , and second place in the 200-Yard Backstroke. Vegas, Gray, and Farro also contributed in ISU’s first-place finish in the 400 Medley Relay.
The divers also had a standout showing with Sarah Montgomery and Bailey Betzer both smashing season-best marks on the evening. Montgomery picked up her first win in the 3M Diving event with a score of 260.17, while Betzer took second place in 1M Diving with a score of 222.75.
The Sycamores were all smiles after the competition, but Christensen acknowledges there is still work to do as ISU heads into the bulk of their 2021-22 season.
“Moving forward we still need to work on winning close races,” Christensen said. “We’ll continue to focus in on that in training.”
Top ISU Performers in Each Event
400-Yard Medley Relay: First place – Carmen Alard Vegas, Alexandria Cotter, Marni Gray, Chloe Farro (3:51.12)
1650-Yard Freestyle: First place – Molly Fogarty (17:46.27)
200-Yard Freestyle: First place – Emily Webb (1:55.20)
100-Yard Backstroke: First place – Carmen Alard Vegas (57.13)
100-Yard Breaststroke: First place – Alexandria Cotter (1:06.64)
200-Yard Butterfly: First place – Marni Gray (2:06.19)
50-Yard Freestyle: Second place – Chloe Farro (24.05)
100-Yard Freestyle: First place – Chloe Farro (52.67)
200-Yard Backstroke: Second place – Carmen Alard Vegas (2:04.81)
200-Yard Breaststroke: First place – Elle Gilkerson (2:24.61)
500-Yard Freestyle: Second place – Sarah Moreau (5:08.93)
100-Yard Butterfly: First place – Marni Gray (56.80)
200-Yard Individual Medley: First place – Carmen Alard Vegas (2:11.25)
200-Yard Freestyle Relay: Second place – Chloe Farro, Marissa Kozel, Alexa Szadorski, Kaimi Matsumoto (1:37.47)
One-Meter Diving: Second place – Bailey Betzer (222.75)
Three-Meter Diving: First place – Sarah Montgomery (260.17)
News, Notes and Record-Watch
- Indiana State recorded an event-winner in a season-high 11 different events on Friday night at the Vigo Aquatic Center.
- Two ISU athletes Carmen Alard Vegas (100 Back, 200 Back, 200 IM) and Marni Gray (100 Fly, 200 Fly) winning multiple events on the day.
- Sarah Moreau cut nearly three seconds off her previous season-best in the 500 Free on Friday night as she finished second in the field with a time of 5:08.93.
- Carmen Alard Vegas was one one-hundredth of a second off her season-best time in the 200 Back as her time of 2:04.81 was just behind the time she set against Illinois (2:04.80).
- Elle Gilkerson posted the Sycamores’ lowest time in the 200 Breaststroke event as the freshman posted a time of 2:24.61 to finish .12 faster than her previous time against Illinois (2:24.73).
- Marni Gray topped her previous season-best in the 200 Fly as the junior cut more than two seconds off her time set back against Kentucky and Indiana in the season opener (2:08.40).
- Sarah Montgomery topped her previous season high in the 3M dive as her 260.17 score was nearly 16 points higher than her previous best set at the Indiana Intercollegiates (224.45).
- Montgomery’s 260.17 was the Sycamores’ third-highest score in the event in program history.
- Bailey Betzer also set a new season mark in the 1M dive as her 222.75 score was nearly 11 points higher than her previous season high set against Illinois (211.27).
Up Next
The Sycamores have a two-week break before traveling to Springfield, Mo. on November 5 against Missouri State. The Trees face off against the Bears on back-to-back days starting on Friday evening at 6 p.m. and then again Saturday at 11 a.m. at the Hammons Student Center in Springfield, Mo.
Courtesy: Northern Iowa Athletics
CEDAR FALLS – The University of Northern Iowa Swim and Dive team battled against the Indiana State Sycamores on Friday evening. Freshman Faith Larsen and Hallory Domnick earned big points for the Panthers, however, the Sycamores topped UNI 187-113.
“We knew Indiana State would be really tough at home,” Head Coach Nick Lakin said. “They won a lot of close races today but we also had a ton of bright spots.”
Larsen recorded her third consecutive victory in the 50 freestyle with a 23.98, tying her season-best. She also anchored the winning 200 freestyle relay of Clare Christensen, Taylor Short, and Natalia Verastegui with a 23.38.
Domnick fought off a late charge by a pair of Sycamores in the 500 Freestyle with a 1:00.20 final hundred en route to a season-best 5:08.86. Domnick and Verastegui also took second and third in the 200 Freestyle.
Junior Taylor Hogan captured the top spot on 1-meter with a score of 239.03. On 3-meter, she finished second, scoring a 241.05.
Sophomore Amber Finke claimed the 200 Backstroke by over two seconds, swimming a season-best 2:02.63. In the 100 Backstroke, Finke was narrowly touched out, taking second by 0.01. Fellow sophomore Scout Bergwall finished third.
Freshman Meghan Pallett swam to second in the 200 breaststroke by cutting over a second from her season-best. Bergwall collected a second place finish in the 100 Butterfly and freshman Ema Lavigne took third in the 100 Breaststroke.
“We had some great progress over the past two weeks and are looking forward to keep working with this group,” Lakin said.
The Panthers return to the Glen F. Henry Pool for a matchup against another Indiana foe, Valparaiso. The meet is scheduled for 4 p.m. on Friday, October 29. Fans can follow along on the Meet Mobile App.