The UIC swimming and diving team will begin its 2017-18 regular season Saturday with a dual meet against Indiana State.  The opener will take place at Flames Natatorium at 1:00 pm.  The Flames' women's team will swim for competition, while the men's team will swim as an exhibition.

UICFlames.com caught up with head swimming coach Tim Loeffler and head diving coach Susan Bromberg after the team's annual Red vs. Blue exhibition meet.  Both coaches offered their thoughts on their returning athletes, the freshman class, results of the Red vs. Blue meet, and the challenges they will face during the upcoming season.  Those conversations can be seen in the videos below.  For more information on the swimming and diving season, please continue to scroll down past the embedded videos.




 
Swimming the Sycamores: Indiana State comes to UIC in just its second year as a women's swimming program, and first as a diving team.  The Sycamores already have wins over Evansville and Valpo this year.  Blanca Saez-Illobre and Kendall Hansen each turned in a first place performance in the meet that also featured Xavier and St. Louis.

The Road Ahead: Saturday marks the first of three dual meets in the first half of the season.  Two multi-team events will challenge the Flames later this month.  Horizon League foe Green Bay, in a tri-meet with Valparaiso, awaits UIC next Saturday.  Big Ten powers Northwestern and Rutgers, and a city rival in the University of Chicago, will get together for a quad meet in Evanston at the end of the month. 

The Flames will return home November 4 for a dual against Milwaukee, and the following Friday will venture to Michigan to swim against the defending Horizon League champions on both the men's and women's sides, Oakland.  The final competition of the season's first half will be the annual TYR Invitational at Northwestern, which brings together many top programs from around the area.

After a break for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's, the Flames will be back in the pool January 13 and 14 in Cleveland against two Horizon League opponents, Cleveland State and IUPUI.  The annual Flames Invitational will be January 19 and 20, followed by the UIC Diving Invitational on February 3.  After those two home invites, it's back to Cleveland for the Horizon League Championships starting February 21.

Names to Know: Senior Max Pohl is the defending Horizon League champion in the 200 fly.  Brie Hines was a double conference champion, taking the crown in the 500 free and 1650 free.  Her winning 500 free time set a new meet record.  Rachel Criscione holds the school record in the 3-meter diving event and is poised for a successful senior season.  Junior Lexie Joy was a top-5 finisher in six events at last year's conference championships.  Michael Tegeler made a strong impact in the backstroke as a freshman last year, capturing fifth place at the Horizon League Championships in a school record time.  Diver Sean Scarry qualified for the NCAA Zones last season.

Hines and Pohl were named last season's Most Valuable Swimmers.  Senior Katy Knight was the women's Most Valuable Diver.

On the Horizon: The men's and women's teams each finished in third place at the Horizon League Championships last season.  It was the best finish for the men's team in nearly a decade, and the best finish for the women all time.  Loeffler was named Horizon League Coach of the Year at the championship meet.  With only four swimmers and one diver lost to graduation across both teams, the Flames are poised to be in the mix for the conference championship again this year.  The league's preseason poll will be released next Wednesday.

Team Leaders: At the end of last season, the coaching staff named Tanner Alms, Nathan Bosse, Sophia Shalabi, Brianna Hines, Katy Knight and Marissa Savegnago the captains for 2017-18.