CLEVELAND, Ohio - After one day of the Magnus Cup in Cleveland, the Sycamore Swimming and Diving team finds themselves in fifth place with 198 points.
 
Indiana State is currently in front of Cleveland State, Simon Fraser, Indiana University of PA, Delaware, Saint Francis University, University of the Cumberlands and Youngstown State. The Trees trail Xavier, Duquesne, Buffalo and current leader Akron.
 
Surging Sycamores
Freshman diver Elle Christie once again put on stellar performances in the one-meter dive. During the preliminary round she led all divers with a score of 257.50, and then she claimed the overall victory in the event by recording the top score in finals of 246.10.
 
In the pool, Anna Maria Nasiou and Megan Schade had strong showings in the 50-yard breaststroke. Nasiou took ninth in finals with a final time of 30.21 while Schade took 10th at 30.35. In the preliminary round, Nasiou raced to a time of 30.08 which is the top time in the Missouri Valley Conference and Schade finished at 30.18 for second in the Valley.
 
Elsewhere in the pool, senior Martina Marks performed well in the 200-yard individual medley, placing sixth overall in finals by clocking a time of 2:05.20. During the preliminary round the senior clocked the second-best time in school history at 2:05.16.
 
Joelle Borchers, the only other senior on the squad, also made an entrance in the record books on Friday. The Atlanta-native placed second in group C finals and 22nd overall, touching the wall with the third-fastest time in school history of 24.10.
 
The Sycamore relay teams also had an impressive Friday in Cleveland. The 200-yard freestyle relay team composed of Alex Malmborg, Marlene Pavlu Lewin, Marks and Borchers placed fifth at 1:34.69, the second overall time in ISU history.
 
Later in the meet, the 400-yard medley relay team comprised of Kendall Hansen, Schade, Marks and Malmborg finished in 13th place with a time of 3:49.53, which is also the second-best time in Sycamore history. The relay team of Pavlu Lewin, Nasiou, Borchers and Cierra Campbell entered the record books with the third-fastest time of 3:51.53.
 
Coach Christensen's Corner
"We were kind of mixed today," Head Coach Josh Christensen said. "We had some solid performances and some that we would have liked to have been better. The highlight for the day was definitely Elle on the one-meter dive. It was really exciting to see her get the win. I expect that we'll get better with each day and I'm excited to see what we can do tomorrow."
 
Coach Chen's Remarks
"The divers did really well today. It was the first time for them to dive in a pool outside of their home pool at ISU, so it's a new experience and new format for them, but I'm glad to see that they adapted to it quickly and performed well. I can't wait to see how they will do tomorrow in the 3-meter dive," Diving Coach Fengting Chen said.
 
Top ISU Performers In Each Event (Finals)
200 Freestyle Relay: Fifth Place, Alex Malmborg, Marlene Pavlu Lewin, Martina Marks, Joelle Borchers, 1:34.69
50 Breaststroke: Ninth Place, Anna Maria Nasiou, 30.21
500 Freestyle: Seventh Place, Cierra Campbell, 4:59.04
200 IM: Sixth Place, Martina Marks, 2:05.20
50 Freestyle: Ninth Place, Alex Malmborg, 23.58
400 Medley Relay: 13th Place, Kendall Hansen, Megan Schade, Martina Marks, Alex Malmborg
 
Up Next
Day two of the Magnus Cup begins tomorrow, Nov. 17, at 9 a.m. ET with preliminary rounds.
 
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.