TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State swimming and diving will travel to Iowa City, Iowa to compete in their second Missouri Valley Conference Championships from Feb. 14 through Feb. 17.

The Sycamores enter the championship coming off an impressive second season of competition as they currently hold a 13-6 overall record.

"The team has worked hard this season and are looking forward to their second conference meet. Our program has grown this year as we have recorded our first winning season, won our first conference dual meet, and added our diving program. Our focus has always been on the MVC Championships and we look to make great strides this year as we continue to build a championship caliber program," said head coach Matt Leach.

Indiana State was led by numerous Sycamores during throughout the season.

Kendall Hansen provided multiple impressive performances as she placed first in the 100 and 200 backstroke at nearly every meet. Hansen currently holds both of these school records for the Sycamores while also being a member of four record holding relay teams.

Alex Malmborg continued her momentum from last season as she dominated the freestyle events. Malmborg swam a 23.85 as her best time in the 50 freestyle this season.

Other notable returners for the Sycamores include Blanca Saez-Illobre, Jacquie Price and Cierra Campbell.

Campbell continued to be a driving force for the Sycamores in the distance events as she holds the top mile time of the year with a 17:50.98.

Saez-Illobre remained a consistent performer in the 100 and 200 breaststroke as she recorded the top times in both events.

Lastly, Price dominated her teammates in the 100 butterfly, recording the top season time by more than two seconds.

While the returning Sycamores showed strong all season, multiple newcomers made a name for themselves in the pool as well.

Junior, transfer Martina Marks provided especially notable performances for ISU. Marks holds the top in season times in the 500 free (5:06.99) and 200 butterfly (2:06.61) while also being second in numerous others.

While freshmen Megan Schade, Vivian Kritkou and Marlene Pavlu Lewin battled hard during their debut season.

The 2017-2018 season was also the inaugural diving season for Indiana State. Under the direction of diving coach Fengting Chen senior Laura Fulton and sophomore Mykenzie Plummer became the first divers in program history.

The pair improved their scores every week as they improved and honed their skills while also learning multiple new dives throughout the season.

The addition of diving will be an important asset for the Sycamore program heading into the conference meet.

Indiana State will head to Iowa City, Iowa as the Championships will take place Feb. 14 through Feb. 17. The Sycamores will battle to climb the rankings as they were placed to finish in sixth in the Pre- Championship Poll which is shown below.

 
               School (First Place Votes)              Points

1. Missouri State (8)                            64
2. Southern Illinois                              56
3. UNI                                                     47
4. Illinois State                                      41
5. Evansville                                          28
6. Little Rock & Indiana St                 21  (tied)

8.    Valparaiso                                         10
 
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.
 
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