TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - The Indiana State Swimming and Diving team continued their winning streak on Friday, this time defeating Missouri Valley Conference rival Illinois State. The Sycamores defeated the Redbirds by a score of 164.50-135.50.
 
Surging Sycamores
Junior Kendall Hansen once again had a record-breaking evening, topping two of her own pool-records in the 100 and 200-yard backstrokes. She claimed the victory in the 100-yard backstroke with an impressive time of 56.80 and also posted a strong time in the 200 at 2:02.37. In addition to claiming pool-records, Hansen was also a member of both winning relay teams. The 200-yard medley relay team was composed of Hansen, Megan Schade, Martina Marks and Alex Malmborg and won the event with a time of 1:46.38. The 400-yard freestyle relay team won by clocking a time of 3:33.67 and was made up of Malmborg, Marlene Pavlu Lewin, Hansen and Campbell.
 
Israel-native Martina Marks also had a phenomenal evening in the pool, winning three events for the trees. She started her day by claiming a victory in the 200-yard freestyle, touching the wall at 1:53.72, and followed that performance with a pool-record in the 100-yard freestyle, winning with a time of 52.55. In her final individual event of the day Marks finished in first place in the 200-yard individual medley, recording a time of 2:06.93. She was also a member of winning 200-yard medley relay team.
 
Elle Christie earned another win on the diving side of the pool for ISU, grasping victory in the three-meter dive with a score of 261.60. Fellow freshman Jolie Rusznak earned two personal-best scores in the one and three-meter dives at 192.60 and 184.57, respectively.
 
Coach Christensen's Corner
"This was a really great start for us," Head Coach Josh Christensen said. "Four meets in eight days was a very tough stretch mentally, physically and emotionally. I thought as a team we handled it very well. We competed well in all four meets, we're learning and growing and used these meets as learning opportunities, so that was great. Obviously it's nice to win, but it's early season and only means so much, but it is nice to win. Now we just need to get back to work. Tomorrow morning we need to put in some really good work and continue to do so for the next couple weeks and months as we build towards our mid-season meets. It's nice to have a couple weeks off between meets now to where we can just focus on training and continuing to progress."
 
Coach Chen's Remarks
"It was a very tough meet for us tonight, but I'm happy with their performances. I can tell they are exhausted from yesterday and last week, but they keep improving on their dives. They did better and better each meet, which is what I want to see from them," Diving Coach Fengting Chen said.
 
Top ISU Performers In Each Event
200-Yard Medley Relay: First Place, Kendall Hansen, Megan Schade, Martina Marks, Alex Malmborg, 1:46.38
1000-Yard Freestyle: First Place, Vivian Kritikou, 10:33.99
200-Yard Freestyle: First Place, Martina Marks, 1:53.72
100-Yard Backstroke: First Place, Kendall Hansen, 56.80
100-Yard Breaststroke: Second Place, Megan Schade, 1:05.62
200-Yard Butterfly: Second Place, Cierra Campbell, 2:06.98
50-Yard Freestyle: First Place, Alex Malmborg, 23.93
100-Yard Freestyle: First Place, Martina Marks, 52.55
200-Yard Backstroke: First Place, Kendall Hansen, 2:02.37
200-Yard Breaststroke: Second Place, Anna Maria Nasiou, 2:25.63
500-Yard Freestyle: Second Place, Cierra Campbell, 5:12.35
100-Yard Butterfly: Second Place, Joelle Borchers, 57.89
200-Yard Individual Medley: First Place, Martina Marks, 2:06.93
400-Yard Freestyle Relay: First Place, Alex Malmborg, Marlene Pavlu Lewin, Kendall Hansen, Cierra Campbell, 3:33.67
One-Meter Diving: Third Place, Elle Christie, 230.93
Three-Meter Diving: First Place, Elle Christie, 261.60
 
Up Next
The blue and white hit the road to compete against Xavier in Cincinnati, Ohio on Friday, Oct. 26 before heading to Louisville, Ky. for a meet against Bellarmine and Rose-Hulman on Oct. 27.
 
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.