EVANSVILLE, Ind. (Feb. 24, 2024) – The UIC women's swimming and diving program competed in a grueling four-day Missouri Valley Conference Championship meet this week, culminating with a seventh-place finish (753 points) on Saturday evening at the Deaconess Aquatic Center in Evansville, Ind.
 
Junior Ciara McCliment (Farmington Hills, Mich./Mercy) was UIC's lone event winner, claiming the MVC three-meter diving title for the second consecutive year. She finished Saturday's competition with 297.20 points to make the NCAA Zone cut in the event.

McCliment was later on selected as the MVC Diver of the Year alongside her coach Susan Bromberg being chosen as the MVC Women's Diving Coach of the Year. This is Bromberg's second MVC Women's Diving Coach of the Year award and her 11th Coach of the Year award in her career. 

 Junior Kendra Preski (Springfield, Ill./Glenview) placed second in Saturday's 200 butterfly, finishing in 2:01.23. Earlier in the day, Preski placed third in the 200 backstroke in 1:59.11, breaking the UIC record set by Clair Martin in 2011. Preski also had a third-place finish in the 200 freestyle (1:48.11) at the MVC Championships.
 
McCliment and Preski each earned All-MVC honors for their efforts in the pool. Senior Taira Juronis (Palos Hills, Ill./Alonzo Amos Stagg), and sophomores Madison Helmick (Bingham Farms, Mich./Birmingham Groves), Kerry-Leigh Morrison (Gauteng, South Africa) and Kathryn Kleczka (Franklin, Wis./Divine Savior Holy Angels) were all recognized as honorable mentions.
 
FINAL TEAM SCORES
Missouri State - 1463.5 points
Indiana State - 1294.5 points
Southern Illinois - 1126.5 points
Illinois State - 897.5 points
Little Rock - 772 points
UIC - 753 points
Evansville - 312 points
Valparaiso - 206 points
 
COMMENT FROM HEAD COACH ASHLEY DELL
This MVC Championship was filled with pure grit, determination, perseverance, and non-stop support for each other. This incredible group of women are truly inspiring, and I feel so lucky to have been on this journey with them. From start to finish it was the definition of a total team effort, and an absolute blast to be a part of."
 
COMMENT FROM ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH/DIVING COACH SUSAN BROMBERG
"I thought the divers did an excellent job this week, all four divers stepped up and dove very well all week long. I was so happy for Ciara who put two great lists in the finals this year and for her to be awarded Diver of the Year was fantastic. It was a true team effort from start to finish."
 
WEDNESDAY

• The team of junior Kalie Landrum (Keller, Texas/Keller), freshman Molly Kroeger (Easton, Md./Easton) Preski and Helmick set a school record in their fourth-place finish in the 800 freestyle relay with a time of 7:18.95, shaving more than four seconds off the prior school record set in 2018 (7:23.05).
• Juronis, Izabella Del Rosario (South Elgin, Ill./Saint Charles North), Jessica Phillips (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove North) and Preski placed sixth in the 200 medley relay, finishing in 1:43.20.

THURSDAY

• Helmick secured her first top-eight finish in the 500 freestyle with a sixth place showing in 4:55.91.
• Juronis finished fourth in the consolation heat of the 200 individual medley, finishing in 2:03.27.
• McCliment placed third in the one-meter diving competition with 265.75 points and Morrison finished seventh with 243.05 points. In the consolation round, junior Gabriella Richards (Saline, Mich./Saline) finished in second place, scoring a career-high 249.65 points.
• The quartet of Helmick, Preski, Phillips and Landrum finished day two for the Flames with a seventh-place finish in the 200 freestyle relay (1:34.32).

 
FRIDAY

• Del Rosario finished fourth in the consolation heat of the 100 butterfly with a time of 55.77 seconds.
• Juronis finished sixth in the consolation heat of the 100 breaststroke in 1:03.97.
• Sophomore Isabella Drake (Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead Union) placed third in the consolation heat of the 100 backstroke (56.33).
• Del Rosario, Stefanac, Juronis and Preski finished the night off for the Flames with a 3:46.77 time in the 400 medley relay to earn seventh-place honors.

 
SATURDAY

• McCliment was joined on the podium by both Morrison and Kleczka for the three-meter diving event. Morrison placed fifth in the event, scoring 258.15 points. Kleczka finished in eighth place, with 236.40 points.
• Helmick went the distance in the 1,650 freestyle to finish in 17:01.28 and place seventh.
• Juronis finished her last individual event with an eighth-place showing in the final heat of the 200 breaststroke (2:17.87).
• In the last event of the meet, the group of Landrum, Preski, Kroeger, and Helmick placed seventh in the 400 freestyle relay, finishing seventh in 3:24.73.

 
UP NEXT
The UIC men's swimming and diving team will travel to Carbondale, Ill., March 6-9 to compete in the 2024 Mid-American Conference Championships.
 
For more information, fans are encouraged to visit UICFlames.com, or follow the Flames on social media through X (@UIC_SwimDive and @UICFlames) and Instagram (@uic_swimdive and @uicflames).


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