COLUMBIA, Mo. - The Sycamore Swimming & Diving team rewrote the record book as two school records fell on Thursday at day two of the Missouri Valley Conference Championships.
 
After two days of the MVC Championships, ISU sits in fifth place with 172.50 points, trailing Illinois State (182.50), Southern Illinois (186), Northern Iowa (199.50) and Missouri State (278). The Sycamores lead Little-Rock (126.50), Evansville (117) and Valparaiso (66).
 
Surging Sycamores
Thursday was a school record day for Alex Malmborg, as the junior had possibly her best day in the pool for the Sycamores. During the preliminary round of the 50-yard freestyle, Malmborg recorded the fastest time in school history of 23.12 and then followed that performance up with a time of 23.16 in finals for third place and First Team All-MVC honors.
 
Also in the 50-yard freestyle, Marlene Pavlu Lewin earned All-MVC Honorable Mention honors with an seventh place finish in finals and a time of 23.60. During prelims the sophomore clocked a personal-best and second-best time in ISU history of 23.48.
 
Joelle Borchers and Ashleigh Sinks both managed to score for the Trees in the 50-yard freestyle behind Malmborg and Pavlu Lewin. Borchers placed 12th with a time of 24.03, but her time of 23.98 from prelims is fourth in school history. Sinks took 15th overall at 24.10, but she raced to the third-best time in Indiana State history of 23.78 during prelims.
 
Malmborg's school record day didn't end in the 50-yard freestyle, as the 200-yard freestyle team composed of Malmborg, Pavlu Lewin, Martina Marks and Borchers swam to the top time in Sycamore history of 1:33.32 en route to a third place finish. Pavlu Lewin recorded the best split for the team with an incredible 50-yard time of 22.91.
 
The lone scorer in the 200-yard individual medley for the blue and white on Thursday was senior Martina Marks. The Israel native raced to a fifth place finish in the event, touching the wall at 2:02.85 for the second-fastest time in school history and All-MVC Honorable Mention honors.
 
In the first event of finals, Cierra Campbell walked away with All-MVC Honorable Mention honors after posting a fifth place finish in the 500-yard freestyle relay with an impressive time of 4:55.91, just .06 away from her own school record.
 
Two other athletes managed to score for the Sycamores in the 500-yard freestyle relay, with Kendall Hansen finish behind Campbell in 10th at 5:01.42, fifth in the ISU record book. Vivian Kritikou gave Hansen a battle, finishing less than a second behind Hansen with a time of 5:01.94 in 11th. The Greece native's time of 5:01.08 from prelims is fourth in school history.
 
On the diving end of the pool Keara Shelton was the top finisher for the Trees, placing 16th with a score of 200.75, just .25 away from 15th.
 
Coach Christensen's Corner
"It took us a couple of events to get going this morning, but our 50s were on point and then we came back tonight and had a great evening. Today was our weakest day in terms of event lineup, so we're looking forward to the next two days," Head Coach Josh Christensen said.
 
Coach Chen's Remarks
"The divers performed well today as they had pretty good consistency with their dives," Diving Coach Fengting Chen said. "They could do better and there is still a lot of room for them to grow. The one-meter dive is our weakness, and I'm looking forward to seeing how they will do on the three-meter tomorrow."
 
MVC Day Two Scores:
1. Missouri State - 278
2. Northern Iowa - 199.50
3. Southern Illinois - 186
4. Illinois State - 182.50
5. Indiana State - 172.50
6. Little-Rock - 126.50
7. Evansville - 117
8. Valparaiso - 66
 
Up Next
The blue and white will stay at the Mizzou Aquatic Center for the remainder of the MVC Championships, with events beginning on Friday at noon 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.