TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - The Indiana State Swimming and Diving team made history on Thursday evening as they took down Big 10 foe Illinois for the first time in program history, 148-135
 
Surging Sycamores
Once again, freshman diver Elle Christie dominated the dives for the Sycamores. In the one-meter dive, Christie claimed her first collegiate victory while also breaking her own school-record with a score of 258.82. Prior to the one-meter dive, Christie broke her own record in the three-meter dive with a score of 283.27, which also qualifies her for the NCAA Zone C Diving Regional.
 
On the swimming side of things, Alex Malmborg once again broke her own pool-record in the 50-yard freestyle, clocking a time of 23.88 for a first place finish. The junior was also a member of the winning 400-yard freestyle relay that touched the wall with a time of 3:33.52.
 
Senior Martina Marks came away with two wins in the pool, taking the victories in the 100-yard freestyle and 200-yard individual medley with times of 53.02 and 2:06.90, respectively.
 
Also winning two events for the Sycamores was sophomore Megan Schade. Schade battled for the win in the 100-yard breaststroke, overtaking her teammate Anna Maria Nasiou by just .22 with a time of 1:06.09. She then won the 50-yard breaststroke with a time of 20.54, .03 in front of Nasiou.
 
Kendall Hansen and Vivian Kritikou were both triumphant in their respective events, taking the 100-yard backstroke and 1000-yard freestyle. Hansen finished the backstroke with a time of 57.19, while Kritikou walked away with a season-best time of 10:28.30 in the freestyle.
 
In addition to Christie, fellow freshmen divers Keara Shelton and Jolie Rusznak also had personal-best days in the dives for ISU. Shelton posted scores of 211.05 and 240.30 in the one and three-meter dives, respectively. Rusznak earned scores of 183.08 and 190.50 in the same events.  
 
Coach Christensen's Corner
"It was a good evening for us, we've been working pretty hard and to see the ladies step up and race really well against a Big 10 team was exciting," Head Coach Josh Christensen said. "I'm very proud of how they raced tonight. It's early season, it only means so much, but I think it's a good step to build some confidence and we've got a meet tomorrow night that we've got to get ready for. It was good early season racing, good to see them compete well, and a good stepping stone for our program."
 
Coach Chen's Remarks
"We faced a few strong divers today, but our divers came out with fantastic performances," Diving Coach Fengting Chen said. "Some of them broke their personal and school-records again and had better consistency on their dives. I'm so proud of them for doing such a great job, especially Elle for qualifying for the NCAA Diving Zone meet, which is a big success for our young program. Tomorrow will be a tough meet for all of us, but I'm looking forward to seeing how they will do."
 
 
Top ISU Performers In Each Event
100-Yard Backstroke: First Place, Kendall Hansen, 57.19
100-Yard Breaststroke: First Place, Megan Schade, 1:06.09
100-Yard Butterfly: Second Place, Martina Marks, 57.70
1000-Yard Freestyle: First Place, Vivian Kritikou, 10:28.30
200-Yard Freestyle: Second Place, Cierra Campbell, 1:54.81
50-Yard Freestyle: First Place, Alex Malmborg, 23.88
200-Yard IM: First Place, Martina Marks, 2:06.90
One-Meter Diving: First Place, Elle Christie, 258.82
50-Yard Butterfly: Second Place, Joelle Borchers, 26.23
100-Yard Freestyle: First Place, Martina Marks, 53.02
50-Yard Backstroke: Second Place, Kendall Hansen, 27.20
500-Yard Freestyle: Third Place, Cierra Campbell, 5:10.16
Three-Meter Diving: Second Place, Elle Christie, 283.27
50-Yard Breaststroke: First Place, Megan Schade, 30.54
400-Yard Freestyle Relay: First Place, Joelle Borchers, Alex Malmborg, Marlene Pavlu Lewin, Cierra Campbell, 3:33.52
 
Up Next
The trees will host Illinois State tomorrow evening at 2 p.m. ET at the Vigo County Aquatic Center.
 
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.