CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Indiana State Sycamores faced off with the Illinois Illini tonight (Oct. 13) in what proved to be a strong performance for ISU.

"The meet today was a solid meet for us as we continue to work on getting stronger, faster and better on our turns. We make sure we do the work right during the week and we come into these meets pretty tired, but that's how we develop toughness and we are starting to see that hard work pay off," said head coach Matt Leach.

Despite being tired from their rigorous training regimens the Sycamores came out ready to battle from the start as they began the first event at 5 p.m.

The Sycamores picked up a second place finish in the first event of the night, the 400 medley relay. The team made up of Kendall Hansen, Megan Schade, Jacquie Price and Alex Malmborg posted a time of 4:02.92.

Indiana State competed more strongly in their distance events during this meet with the Illini as Elisabeth Peskin posted a third place finish in the 1000 freestyle with a time of 11:04.97, and later Cierra Campbell earned a second place finish in the 500 freestyle (5:15.74).

Hansen yet again provided a consistent, and standout performance for the Sycamores as she placed first in both the 100 and 200 yard backstroke. Her time in the 100 back narrowly missed her previous school record.

Another special performance on the day came from Campbell as she provided a first place finish of her own in the 200 butterfly. Campbell posted a time of 2:10.20 as she swam strong and maintained flawless technique throughout the event.

Alex Malmborg and Joelle Borchers provided notable performances for the Sycamores as well. Malmborg came away with a third place finish in the 50 freestyle (24.65) as Borchers finished fourth and then earned herself a second place finish in the 100 freestyle with a time of 25.17.

Blanca Saez-Illobre also added two second place finishes for Indiana State. First in the 200 breaststroke with a 2:24.02 followed by a 4:36.52 in the 400 IM.

Laura Fulton and Mckenzie Plummer continue to rack up points for Indiana State during the diving competition as well. Fulton placed first in the one meter diving with 211.50 and second earning 199.5 points. Plummer added an additional 141.55 in the one meter dive.

"Laura's 211.50 in the one meter dive was a personal record and Mckenzie gave a strong performance tonight too. They are doing such a great job and I am so proud of them. They are working extremely hard and improving every time we compete," said diving coach Fengting Chen.

Indiana State will be back in action tomorrow (Oct. 14) as they host their first home meet of the season matching up with Xavier and Olivet-Nazarene at the Vigo County Aquatic Center at 2 p.m.

"We're seeing people step up, swimmers are stepping up, the divers continue to amaze me, and we look at this meet last year and we only scored 77 points against Illinois and tonight we scored 111, so we're closing the gap. I'm excited to see how we do against Xavier and Olivet-Nazarene tomorrow, it should be a fun meet," said Leach.

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.

"The meet today was a solid meet for us as we continue to work on getting stronger, faster and better on our turns. We make sure we do the work right during the week and we come into these meets pretty tired, but that's how we develop toughness and we are starting to see that hard work pay off," said head coach Matt Leach.

Despite being tired from their rigorous training regimens the Sycamores came out ready to battle from the start as they began the first event at 5 p.m.

The Sycamores picked up a second place finish in the first event of the night, the 400 medley relay. The team made up of Kendall Hansen, Megan Schade, Jacquie Price and Alex Malmborg posted a time of 4:02.92.

Indiana State competed more strongly in their distance events during this meet with the Illini as Elisabeth Peskin posted a third place finish in the 1000 freestyle with a time of 11:04.97, and later Cierra Campbell earned a second place finish in the 500 freestyle (5:15.74).

Hansen yet again provided a consistent, and standout performance for the Sycamores as she placed first in both the 100 and 200 yard backstroke. Her time in the 100 back narrowly missed her previous school record.

Another special performance on the day came from Campbell as she provided a first place finish of her own in the 200 butterfly. Campbell posted a time of 2:10.20 as she swam strong and maintained flawless technique throughout the event.

Alex Malmborg and Joelle Borchers provided notable performances for the Sycamores as well. Malmborg came away with a third place finish in the 50 freestyle (24.65) as Borchers finished fourth and then earned herself a second place finish in the 100 freestyle with a time of 25.17.

Blanca Saez-Illobre also added two second place finishes for Indiana State. First in the 200 breaststroke with a 2:24.02 followed by a 4:36.52 in the 400 IM.

Laura Fulton and Mckenzie Plummer continue to rack up points for Indiana State during the diving competition as well. Fulton placed first in the one meter diving with 211.50 and second earning 199.5 points. Plummer added an additional 141.55 in the one meter dive.

"Laura's 211.50 in the one meter dive was a personal record and Mckenzie gave a strong performance tonight too. They are doing such a great job and I am so proud of them. They are working extremely hard and improving every time we compete," said diving coach Fengting Chen.

Indiana State will be back in action tomorrow (Oct. 14) as they host their first home meet of the season matching up with Xavier and Olivet-Nazarene at the Vigo County Aquatic Center at 2 p.m.

"We're seeing people step up, swimmers are stepping up, the divers continue to amaze me, and we look at this meet last year and we only scored 77 points against Illinois and tonight we scored 111, so we're closing the gap. I'm excited to see how we do against Xavier and Olivet-Nazarene tomorrow, it should be a fun meet," said Leach.

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.