EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Erin Cummins set the Indiana State record in the 200-yard Freestyle event twice on Friday, while Alexandria Cotter set a new Sycamore record in the 400-yard IM to pace Indiana State on day three of the Missouri Valley Conference Swimming & Diving Championships held at the Deaconess Aquatic Center.
 
Cummins broke the mark in the morning's preliminary rounds on her way to earning the top overall seed. She followed up by surpassing the mark in the evening going 1:48.33 on her way to finishing fourth in the field. Alexandria Cotter set a new mark for ISU in the 400-yard IM going 4:18.52 to place second in the field. Cotter (400-IM, 2nd) and Kaleigh Kelley (100-Fly, 3rd) both finished inside the top three in their respective events.
 
The Sycamores sit second overall in the team standings with 829.5 points over the first three days. Missouri State (964.5) is the overall team leader, while Southern Illinois (718.5) and Illinois State (588.5) round out the top four.
 
Friday Evening Recap
Kaleigh Kelley was ISU's top finisher in the 100-yard Fly as the freshman earned the podium finish in the A-Finals of the event touching the wall in 54.67. Kaimi Matsumoto (55.58) and Raz Harel (56.75) both competed in the A-Finals as well to provide strong finishes for the Sycamores in the event.
 
The 400-yard IM record went down on Friday night as Alexandria Cotter smashed the previous mark set by Blanca Saez-Illobre (2018) in finishing second in the field in 4:18.52. Dorotea Bukvic joined her in the A-Finals finishing eighth overall in 4:26.94. Esther Rydbeck Nordan was just outside the top-10 placing 11th in 4:27.33 in the B-Finals.
 
Erin Cummins broke the school record in the 200-yard Freestyle for the second time on the evening as the freshman topped the field in 1:48.33 to place fourth overall. Claire Parsons finished ninth in 1:49.65, while Peyton Heagy (1:51.87) and Chloe Farro (1:52.00) finished 14th and 16th respectively in the B-Finals.
 
The Sycamores finished fifth-sixth-seventh in the 100-yard Breaststroke event as Indiana State put three athletes inside the A-Final event. Ali Pearson went fifth in 1:02.24, while Alexa Szadorski touched in 1:02.36. Matsumoto finished seventh in her second A-Final of the evening touching in 1:02.68.
 
The Sycamores placed six athletes overall in the 100-yard Backstroke B- and C-Finals on the day. Kate Reeves was ISU's top finisher in 13th in 56.86, while Trista Bullock (56.99) and Olivia DiRuzza (57.16) finished 14th and 15th. Kalli Agapios won the C-Finals touching the wall in 56.97 with Ella Moustgaard (58.44) and Raz Harel (58.92) rounding out the Sycamores in the field.
 
Bailey Betzer finished second overall in the 3M Diving consolation bracket as the senior totaled a six-dive score of 264.60 to lead ISU in the event. Daniela Orta Castaneda totaled 232.45 to place fourth on the evening.
 
Friday Evening Finals

• 100-yard Butterfly: A-Finals – Kaleigh Kelley (54.67, 3rd), Kaimi Matsumoto (55.58, 7th), Raz Harel (56.75, 8th)
• 400-yard IM: A-Finals – Alexandria Cotter (4:18.52, 2nd), Dorotea Bukvic (4:26.94, 8th); B-Finals – Esther Rydbeck Norden (4:27.33, 11th)
• 200-yard Freestyle: A-Finals – Erin Cummins (1:48.33, 4th); B-Finals – Claire Parsons (1:49.65, 9th), Peyton Heagy (1:51.87, 14th), Chloe Farro (1:52.00, 16th)
• 100-yard Breaststroke: A-Finals – Ali Pearson (1:02.24, 5th), Alexa Szadorski (1:02.36, 6th), Kaimi Matsumoto (1:02.68, 7th)
• 100-yard Backstroke: B-Finals – Kate Reeves (56.86, 13th), Trista Bullock (56.99, 14th), Olivia DiRuzza (57.16, 15th); C-Finals – Kalli Agapios (56.97, 17th), Ella Moustgaard (58.44, 19th), Raz Harel (58.92, 22nd)
• 3M Diving: B-Finals – Bailey Betzer (264.5, 10th), Daniela Orta Castaneda (232.45, 12th)

Friday Morning Preliminary Recap
Nineteen Sycamores advanced to the Friday night finals as the Sycamores opened up the third day of the MVC Swimming & Diving Championships at the Deaconess Aquatic Center. The Sycamores put three athletes in the A-Finals of both the 100-yard Fly, and 100-yard Breaststroke, while adding six athletes to the field in the 100-yard Backstroke to highlight the morning sessions.
 
Three Sycamores made the A-Finals in the 100-yard Fly as Kaimi Matsumoto, Kaleigh Kelley, and Raz Harel all placed in the top-eight of the field in the day's opening event. Becca Shaffer (56.96) and Allie Barasch (57.45) both missed out on advancing to the finals with their swims designated exhibitions.
 
Alexandria Cotter was second overall in the 400-yard IM prelims to highlight two Sycamores advancing to the A-Finals as Cotter touched the wall in 4:21.27. Dorotea Bukvic joined her teammate in 4:24.43 to place seventh in the field giving ISU two in the top-eight. Esther Rydbeck Norden will take on the field in the B-Finals with a time of 4:31.58.
 
Erin Cummins set a new Indiana State school record and posted the fastest time in the 200-yard Freestyle prelims as the freshman touched the wall in 1:48.77 to highlight ISU in the A-Finals. Claire Parsons, Peyton Heagy, and Chloe Farro all advanced to the B-Final round finishing in the 9-16 range. Rose Parsons (1:54.74), Jordan Gruce (1:53.18), Kamila Nowak (1:57.20), and Ash Saple (1:58.12) all competed in the field.
 
The Sycamores put three more in the 100-yard Breaststroke A-Finals as Ali Pearson, Kaimi Matsumoto, and Alexa Szadorski all finished five, six, and seven in the field.
 
Indiana State put six in the 100-yard Backstroke finals highlighted by three athletes in the B-Final and three more in the C-Final. Olivia DiRuzza, Trista Bullock, and Kate Reeves all finished 9-16 in the field, while Kalli Agapios, Ella Moustgaard, and Raz Harel all finished 17-24 to advance to the C-Final round.
 
Zoe Smith qualified for the A-Finals placing in the top-eight in the 3M Diving preliminaries on Friday afternoon as the senior will take on the rest of the field in Saturday evening's finals. Bailey Betzer and Daniela Orta Castaneda both finished inside the top-16 to qualify for the B-Finals, while Sierra Bowman and Brenna Woodruff both competed in an exhibition on the boards.
 
Friday Morning Qualifiers

• 100-yard Butterfly: A-Finals – Kaimi Matsumoto (54.99), Kaleigh Kelley (55.05), Raz Harel (55.71);
• 400-yard IM: A-Finals – Alexandria Cotter (4:21.27), Dorotea Bukvic (4:24.43); B-Finals – Esther Rydbeck Norden (4:31.58)
• 200-yard Freestyle: A-Finals – Erin Cummins (1:48.77, 1st); B-Finals – Claire Parsons (1:50.17), Peyton Heagy (1:51.53), Chloe Farro (1:51.64)
• 100-yard Breaststroke: A-Finals – Ali Pearson (1:02.14), Kaimi Matsumoto (1:02.72), Alexa Szadorski (1:03.07)
• 100-yard Backstroke: B-Finals – Olivia DiRuzza (56.95), Trista Bullock (56.95), Kate Reeves (57.37); C-Finals – Kalli Agapios (57.66), Ella Moustgaard (58.22), Raz Harel (58.94)
• 3M Diving: A-Finals – Zoe Smith (231.80); B-Finals – Daniela Orta Castaneda (230.15), Bailey Betzer (230.10)

Up Next
Indiana State closes out the 2024 MVC Championships tomorrow morning with the preliminary qualification rounds in the 200-yard Backstroke, 100-yard Freestyle, 200-yard Breaststroke, 200-yard Butterfly, and the 1650-yard Freestyle starting at 11:30 a.m. ET. The event finals of the swimming events, the finals of the 3M Diving, and the 400-yard Freestyle Relay finals will start at 7 p.m. ET.
 
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