INDIANAPOLIS – Sycamore Swimming and Diving competed in their second meet of the season today (Oct. 1) in Indianapolis, Ind.

Although the Sycamores fell to St. Louis and Xavier, they picked up two Missouri Valley Conference wins over Evansville and Valparaiso. The Sycamores also defeated the Butler Bulldogs for the second time in program history.

"We came out and were victorious over two MVC opponents and it's nice to get that monkey off our backs. The team came out much better today as compared to yesterday's meet. They came in today more hungry and it showed throughout the results," said head coach Matt Leach.

While Xavier and St. Louis found themselves dominating the day the Sycamores showed promise in their performances.

Starting off the day ISU finished fourth in the 200 yard medley relay. The Sycamores then continued to battle their way through the placings with Cierra Campbell swimming strong in the 1000 yard freestyle.

Martina Marks and Alex Malmborg came out hot in the freestyle events. Marks finished fourth in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:58.35 and then Malmborg came up fourth in the 50 freestyle with a 24.87.

Laura Fulton performed well for the Sycamores yet again placing fourth in one meter dive.

Two especially notable performances came from two sophomores, Blanca Saez-Illobre and Kendall Hansen.

Saez-Illobre placed second in the 400 IM with a time of 4:34.68 and later earned herself a first place finish in the 200 breaststroke with a 2:25.40.

Hansen then added a first place finish of her own in the 200 yard backstroke. Hansen finished with a time of 2:05.29.

"We had some tough ones, but all in all we swam much better today than we did yesterday and that's exactly what we need to do to continue building the program. I couldn't be more excited in where we're heading and we will continue pushing in that direction," said Leach.

The Sycamores will be back in the pool on Oct. 6 traveling to South Bend, Ind. for the Notre Dame Relay meet at 5 p.m. The following day the Sycamores will face off with the Flames of UIC at 2 p.m. in Chicago, Ill.

For the latest information on the Sycamore Swimming and Diving team, make sure to check out GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.