Illini swimming and diving finish 2-1 in Oakland University tri-meet

With many universities holding their homecomings around this time of year, returning to one's alma mater is usually a time to relax and reacquaint oneself with the school. However, this past weekend Illinois swimming and diving head coach Sue Novitsky was back at her old school for another reason.

The Illini came away with a split in their first tri-meet of the season Saturday against the Toledo Rockets and Novitsky's former school, the Oakland Grizzlies, in Rochester, Mich. This came a day after the team won at Michigan State University.

"Whoever we compete against we want to win, but it's always nice to go back," Novitsky said. "I wanted to beat them, but there were no extra incentives or divided loyalties."

A week after winning their season opener at Nebraska, the Illini turned in another successful weekend, beating Michigan State, 163-137, and Oakland, 178-122.

The lone loss came against Toledo, 182-114, and left the Illini with an overall record of 3-1.

Throughout the weekend, Novitsky said the Illini were given an extra push from solid performances by junior Meghan Mason, sophomore Kristen Manias, freshman Erin Rodriguez, and seniors Amy Johnson and Anna Johnson.

Mason, Manias, Anna Johnson and Erin Lamb finished first in the 400 free relay with a time of 3:30.68.

Novitsky said having to participate in back-to-back meets this weekend was a testament to the team's drive and determination.

"This was a really big test for us," Novitsky said. "Overall, in terms of times and places, some people were a little faster than Friday while others were a little flat."

Novitsky thought having a meet against Nebraska last week helped prepare the Illini and gave them extra practice to fine-tune some of their mechanics.

"We were definitely a little bit sharper with details and race strategy (this weekend). We had more confidence," Novitsky said. "Having the first competition was a big plus for us."

Regardless of the opponent, the Illini's training and preparation for each meet does not change.

"We don't really adjust (how we train) for anybody," Novitsky said. "We're just teaching them how to compete and respond to different situations."

In her first collegiate meet at Nebraska, diver Lauren Wismer broke a record and was named Big Ten Diver of the Week. However, this weekend's meets were not as successful for the freshman.

"She hurt her knee," said Novitsky of Wismer. "She dove against Michigan State and completed both of her attempts but had to sit out on Saturday."