The UIC swimming and diving teams got a healthy dose of Horizon League competition over the weekend, competing in a two-day meet at Cleveland State with IUPUI.  Wright State joined the action on Saturday.  Each day's events were scored as separate meets.  With only the Flames Invitational and UIC Diving Invitational remaining on the regular season schedule, it was the last road trip of 2018.

Team Results

• The women's team racked up four wins in the five matchups, sweeping IUPUI and dominating Wright State, 209-79.
• They had two very close meets against the host Vikings.  CSU edged the Flames, 152-147 on Friday.
• UIC got revenge on Saturday with a 151-148 win.
• The men fell to both Cleveland State and IUPUI on Friday.
• Those results were repeated on Saturday, though the team defeated Wright State to pick up one win on the trip.

Individual Highlights – Women (Day 1)

• Cydney Liebenberg earned her fourth win this season on the 3-meter board.  She scored 245.30 to outdistance the field by nearly five points.  Later, she took third in the 1-meter event.
• The Flames' A-team was beaten to the wall by Cleveland State and settled for second in the 400 medley relay.  The lineup of Abby Kunze, Sophia Shalabi, Marisa Savegnago, and Lexie Joy swam together for the first time since the opening meet of the season, where they took first.
• Joy was first in the 200 free.  Her time of 1:53.67 was almost two and a half seconds faster than the second place finisher.  She was over two seconds faster than the field in winning the 100 free.
• Abby Kunze notched second place in the 100 back.  She finished just behind teammate Hannah Olsen in the 200 back, where Olsen took second.
• Shalabi was the winner in the 100 breast, finishing in 1:05.93; and claimed another victory in the 200 breast, in 2:23.21.
• Ashlin Ruiz and Savegnago finshed 3-4 in the 200 fly.  Savegnago won the 100 fly with a time of 58.30.
• Brie Hines won the 500 free.  Her final length was her second-fastest of the race, only behind the first 50 off the block.  She took second in the 200 IM.
• UIC closed Day 1 strong by winning the 200 free relay.  Nicole Eyssen joined the quartet for the first time.

 Individual Highlights – Women (Day 2)

• Liebenberg made it a clean sweep with first place finishes on both the 1- and 3-meter boards.  Rachel Criscione improved her 1-meter score by almost 33 points from Friday to Saturday.
• UIC exacted revenge in the medley relay, finishing ahead of Cleveland State to take first in a 200 meter race.  Kelly McGowan replaced Kunze in the leadoff spot.
• Hines took the 1000 free off on Friday, but returned to one of her most dominant events Saturday.  She took first place for the sixth time in as many races this season.  She won the 500 free on both days.
• Joy made it a double-first place weekend in the 200 free and the 100 free.  Shalabi did likewise in the 100 breast and 200 breast.
• Misha Neal led the Flames in the 50 free with a second place showing.
• Eyssen joined the free relay team again for the meet-closing 400 meter relay.  The Flames took second place but had still accumulated enough points to hold off Cleveland State.

 Individual Highlights – Men (Day 1)

• Hunter Crook won the 1000 free in 9:39.03.
• Tanner Alms placed third in the 200 free and the 500 free.
• Danny Sivak won the 100 back and Michale Tegeler was not far behind in third.  Tegeler finished in second, one spot ahead of Sivak, in the 200 back.
• Sivak splashed to a win in the 200 IM, breaking the 1:55 barrier by .14 seconds.
• Nathan Bosse swam to a second place finish in the 50 free and the 100 free.
• The Flames' top relay team was edged in the 200 free relay and settled for second place.

 Individual Highlights – Men (Day 2)

• Sean Scarry placed third on the 3-meter springboard for the second straight day.  He was the Flames' top diver on that board for the first two times this season.
• Crook settled for third in a competitive field in the 1000 free.  Alms was right behind him in fourth.  Crook also took third in the 500 free.
• Tegeler was UIC's top finisher in the 200 free, where he took second.  Nathan Bosse was right behind him, and Jacob Cunningham also had a top-10 finish.
• Sivak took second in the 100 back, just a quarter of a second behind Cleveland State's first place finisher.
• Luke Hutchinson touched the wall second in the 200 fly.
• Tegeler and Sivak each improved by one spot in the 200 back, where Tegeler won the event and Sivak finished second.

Up Next

• The Flames will return to Flames Natatorium for the first time since Nov. 4 next weekend.
• The annual Flames Invitational will take place Friday and Saturday.
• The invitational began last year and is becoming an annual tradition late in the season.