Nov. 1, 2003
Chicago, Ill.- It was a rough day at the pool for the UIC men's and women's swimming and diving teams, who dropped their first Horizon League dual meet of the season against defending league champion Wright State at the UIC Natatorium on Saturday.
The Flames' men (1-1, 0-1 Horizon League) were downed by the Raiders (1-0, 1-0 Horizon League), 144-99, while the UIC women's team (1-1, 0-1 Horizon League) was defeated by the Wright State women (1-0, 1-0 Horizon League), 149-93. The losses for both UIC squads were the first dual meet defeats for each in the 2003-2004 season.
UIC hung tough in both the men's and women's competitions against the 2003 Horizon League Champions, particularly on the boards. Junior Caitlin Carey swept the women's diving events by a two-event average of nearly 30 points (29.66), taking the three-meter dive with a final score of 259.95 while securing the one-meter board with a tally of 260.62. Tara Goodwin was also strong for the Flames, placing second behind Carey in the one-meter event (224.10) and taking third in the three-meter dive (232.57).
Freshman Mark Pappalardo was excellent for the second straight week, earning first place in the men's three-meter dive (280.28) and finishing second on the one-meter board (264.22). Mike Horwitz, another freshman standout for the Flames, finished third in both of the mens' diving events.
On the swimming side, Bill Hare scored an outstanding victory in the men's 50-yard freestyle with a time of 21.93. Freshman Blake Booher followed Hare in the event with an extremely-close second-place time of 21.94.
For the women, freshmen Kelly Hyatt and Jennifer Gessford finished second and third, respectively, in the 50-yard freestyle behind Wright State's 2003 Horizon League Athlete of the Year, Jackie Dexter, in a close race. Dexter finished in 25.16, while the fab first-year duo of Hyatt (25.39) and Gessford (25.76) completed the event just behind the Wright State captain.
The Flames were strong in relays against the Raiders, taking the men's and women's 400-yard freestyle relays. Booher, Hare, Adan Jimenez, and LeRoy Stevens took the men's relay in 3:12.58, while the UIC women were led to victory in the same event by Aisha Williams, Vanessa Segovia, Christine Hare, and Emily Biancalana in 3:43.22.
Both of the UIC swimming and diving teams will return to action on Saturday, November 8th as the Flames travel to UW-Milwaukee for a men's matchup with the Panthers, while the women's team will face the Panthers of both UW-Milwaukee and Northern Iowa in Milwaukee, Wis. Start time is 12 p.m.
