TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – It's a busy weekend in store for Indiana State swimming and diving as the Sycamores will compete in the IUPUI Tri-Meet on Friday, before making the trip to Southern Illinois for a dual meet on Saturday.
 
The Sycamores are in their first action since January 7 when ISU fell on the road in a dual meet at Purdue, but several standouts headlined the team's efforts in the matchup against the Boilermakers. Senior Emily Webb and freshman Daniela Orta Castaneda swept Missouri Valley Conference Swimmer and Diver of the Week awards from the conference.
 
Webb claimed the event win in the women's 200-yard freestyle event. Orta Castaneda was the Sycamores' top diver in the women's 3M event and finished third overall in the 1M event to claim her first weekly recognition.
 
In addition to Webb's win and Orta Castaneda's performance, Chloe Farro continued a strong start to her 2022 season picking up the win in the women's 100-yard freestyle event, while Rhiannon Wozny took over five seconds off her season-best time in the 1000-yard freestyle field with a time of 10:39.02.
 
The Sycamores' sights are starting to look ahead to the 2022 Missouri Valley Championships held on February 16-19 on the campus of Northern Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa. Head Coach Josh Christensen hopes to utilize this weekend to continue the team's development as they prepare for the championships.
 
"This weekend will provide us a lot of quality competition opportunities, as we prepare for the MVC Championships next month," Christensen said. "Everyone will get several races in over the two days and we'll look to apply the things we've been working on in training and keep growing and learning individually and as a team."
 
Friday's meet features two familiar opponents for the Sycamores this season as ISU previous lined up against both IUPUI and Butler at the Indiana Intercollegiates back in October. The Sycamores finished third overall in the 12-team field with their 356 eclipsing the point totals by both IUPUI (222) and Butler (83) at the meet.
 
The Tri-Meet will be IUPUI's first action in the pool since November 20 as their January 7-8 meets against UIC and Cleveland State were canceled due to COVID concerns within the program. The Jags currently boast a 5-3 overall record on the season after opening the year with wins in five of their first six matchups. IUPUI has already topped Butler in their opening meet back in September (160-70), and is coming off a sixth-place result in the 2021 House of Champions meet back in November.

Butler is also in its first action in 2022 as the Bulldogs completed their Winter Training Trip back at the beginning of January. The Bulldogs finished seventh overall at the 2021 House of Champions meet in November and currently sit sixth among Big East schools at this point in the season. Isabelle Petersen and Alani Hightower Bend lead the Bulldogs sprinters, while Kaelyn Crane and Olivia Klafta are among the top distance swimmers on the squad.
 
Saturday's contest at Southern Illinois will feature two of the top three teams in the Missouri Valley according to the current rankings with the Salukis slotted just ahead of ISU. Sierra Forbord and Eden Girloanta lead the freestyle squad on the year, while Celia Pulido is among the top all-around swimmers in the conference on the year.
 
Schedule Updates
Indiana State announced several schedule updates on Wednesday afternoon as the team looks ahead to the remainder of the regular season. The Sycamores will now host Illinois State on Friday, January 28, at the Vigo County Aquatic Center with the dual meet set to start 1 p.m. ISU also added the CSCAA National Invitational to the schedule on March 10-12 in Elkhart, Ind. The Sycamores will also no longer be attending the Butler Meet on January 30.
 
Up Next
The Sycamores will return home to the Vigo County Aquatic Center on Friday, January 28, as Indiana State welcomes Illinois State for a dual meet starting at 1 p.m.
 
Follow the Sycamores
For the latest information on Sycamore Swimming and Diving, visit GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media, including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. Fans can also receive updates on Sycamore Athletics by downloading the March On App from the both the App Store and the Google Play Store.