TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - The Indiana State Swimming and Diving team got the 2018-19 season started with a win, taking down the Illinois-Chicago Flames by a score of 178.5-121.5 for the first victory in the Josh Christensen era.
 
Surging Sycamores
It was a record-breaking day for the Sycamores on their first day of competition. Freshman Elle Christie, in her first collegiate meet, broke the school-records in both the one-meter dive and three-meter dive with scores of 254.03 and 267.98, respectively. Fellow freshman Keara Shelton also overtook the previous school-record of 211.5 with a score of 218.7 in the three-meter dive. Christie finished second in both events while Shelton took third in the three-meter.
 
Hansen and Malmborg both own new pool records at the Vigo County Aquatic Center after strong performances on Friday. Hansen came out with two records after recording time of 56.93 and 2:03.12 in the 100 and 200-yard backstrokes, respectively. Malmborg managed to overtake the previous pool record 24.09 in the 50-yard freestyle, touching the wall for a new time of 23.90.
 
Overall, the Sycamores claimed 10 individual victories and avenged their 2017 loss to the Flames.
 
Coach Christensen's Corner
"It was a really good start to the season," Head Coach Josh Christensen said. "Across the board we had ladies step-up and swim in some really tough situations. We had some people pulling some pretty mean triples in individual events and some tough back-to-backs. I saw a lot of good energy from the team, toughness there, and attempts at really good execution, which are things we've been working on in practice. It's the start of the season, we want to get better from here, but it was a great start. I'm really proud of these ladies for overcoming the crazy start to the year and seeing how they've come together. They've embraced me as a coach and we've been able to hit the ground running and be in the place we are now. I think that says a lot about the student-athletes we have here."
 
Coach Chen's Remarks
"I'm very happy about their [the divers] performance today. They did very good and they're all freshmen, so it was their first meet in college. They can do better and have a lot of room to improve over the rest of the season. I'm excited for tomorrow and next week," Diving Coach Fengting Chen said.
 
 
Top ISU Performers In Each Event
200-Yard Medley Relay: First Place, Kendall Hansen, Anna Maria Nasiou, Megan Schade, Alex Malmborg, 1:46.31
1000-Yard Freestyle: First Place, Vivian Kritikou, 10:32.25
200-Yard Freestyle: Second Place, Martina Marks, 1:53.63
100-Yard Backstroke: First Place, Kendall Hansen, 56.93
100-Yard Breaststroke: First Place, Anna Maria Nasiou, 1:07.41
200-Yard Butterfly: First Place, Cierra Campbell, 2:07.05
50-Yard Freestyle: First Place, Alex Malmborg, 23.90
100-Yard Freestyle: Second Place, Alex Malmborg, 53.27
200-Yard Backstroke: First Place, Kendall Hansen, 2:03.12
200-Yard Breaststroke: First Place, Anna Maria Nasiou, 2:26.00
500-Yard Freestyle: Second Place, Cierra Campbell, 5:09.47
100-Yard Butterfly: First Place, Joelle Borchers, 58.33
200-Yard Individual Medley: Second Place, Martina Marks, 2:08.25
400-Yard Freestyle Relay: First Place, Alex Malmborg, Marlene Pavlu Lewin, Kendall Hansen, Cierra Campbell, 3:34.47
One-Meter Diving: Second Place, Elle Christie, 254.03
Three-Meter Diving: Second Place, Elle Christie, 267.98
 
Up Next
The trees will head to Bourbonnais, Ill. tomorrow afternoon to compete against Olivet Nazarene at 2 p.m. ET.
 
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.