TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - Despite a week of heavy training, the Sycamore Swimming and Diving team raced hard and battled for a victory at the Indiana State Relay Meet on Saturday.
 
ISU placed first with 170 points and defeated Saint Louis (102), Illinois State (74), Butler (68), Eastern Illinois (14) and Maryville (6).
 
Surging Sycamores
The Sycamore swimmers won eight out of the 10 relay events during the day, including a pool-record performance in the 200-yard freestyle relay. The team made up of Alex Malmborg, Marlene Pavlu Lewin, Joelle Borchers and Hena Hassan set the Vigo County Aquatic Center record with a time of 1:36.60.
 
Leading off for the blue and white during the 200-yard freestyle relay was Malmborg who also set a pool-record for the 50-yard freestyle, clocking an impressive time of 23.78.
 
At the beginning of the meet the 300-yard butterfly relay squad of Borchers, Megan Schade and Ashleigh Sinks claimed victory with a final time of 2:57.37. Then, the 300-yard backstroke team of Kendall Hansen, Madison Brand and Pavlu Lewin followed that performance up with a win as well, touching the wall at 2:51.23, six seconds in front of second place.
 
Trying to make it three in-a-row for Indiana State, Martina Marks, Kerry Tepe and Schade earned a hard-fought victory in the 300-yard breaststroke relay as they finished at 3:23.11. The distance swimmers didn't let off the gas for the Trees, as the 800-yard freestyle relay team of Cierra Campbell, Emily Webb, Vivian Kritikou and Elisabeth Peskin dominated the event with a win and a time of 8:02.61, 10 seconds in front of second.
 
Borchers, Malmborg, Caitie Mansker and Pavlu Lewin kept it rolling in the 500-yard freestyle relay, finishing with a title and a time of 4:43.31. The three-woman team of Kritikou, Peskin and Campbell were also dominant in the 1500-yard freestyle relay, winning the event by 12 seconds at 15:58.67.
 
In the final event of the meet, ISU came out on top, swimming to victory in the 400-yard freestyle relay thanks to Malmborg, Hansen, Borchers and Pavlu Lewin. They finished with an overall time of 3:35.32.
 
Coach Christensen's Corner
"It was a productive day in the pool for us," Head Coach Josh Christensen said. "We stayed focused and I saw us applying things that we've been working on in training."
 
Coach Chen's Remarks
"Overall it was a good meet for the divers today," Diving Coach Fengting Chen said. "We did a different format than regular meets that allows divers to have the opportunity to do something different and fun after a long season meet. We will be off until January and that will give us some time to refresh and only focus on training and being ready to compete then."
 
Top ISU Performers In Each Event
300 Fly Relay: First Place, Joelle Borchers, Megan Schade, Ashleigh Sinks, 2:57.37
300 Back Relay: First Place, Kendall Hansen, Madison Brand, Marlene Pavlu Lewin, 2:51.23
300 Breast Relay: First Place, Martina Marks, Kerry Tepe, Megan Schade, 3:23.11
800 Free Relay: First Place, Cierra Campbell, Emily Webb, Vivian Kritikou, Elisabeth Peskin, 8:02.61
3M Diving: Second Place, Keara Shelton and Jolie Rusznak, 204.80
500 Free Relay: First Place, Joelle Borchers, Alex Malmborg, Caitie Mansker, Marlene Pavlu Lewin, 4:43.31
400 Medley Relay: Second Place, Madison Brand, Kerry Tepe, Ashley Jenkins, Elisabeth Peskin, 4:08.64
200 Free Relay: First Place, Alex Malmborg, Marlene Pavlu Lewin, Joelle Borchers, Hena Hassan, 1:36.60
1500 Free Relay: First Place, Vivian Kritikou, Elisabeth Peskin, Cierra Campbell, 15:58.67
1M Diving: Second Place, Keara Shelton and Jolie Rusznak, 204.15
400 IM Relay: Second Place, Martina Marks, Megan Schade, Ashley Jenkins, Katherine Minatra, 4:07.88
400 Free Relay: First Place, Alex Malmborg, Kendall Hansen, Joelle Borchers, Marlene Pavlu Lewin, 3:35.32
 
Up Next
The blue and white will be back in action after the winter recess, traveling to Springfield, Ohio on Jan. 12 for a double-dual meet with Wittenburg and the University of the Cumberlands.
 
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.