by Eric Willuweit
Chicago, Ill. – The Illinois Tech Swimming and Diving team wrapped up their final meet before the conference championships, splitting with Lake Forest College on Senior Day Saturday afternoon at Ekco Pool.
The men's team defeated the Forester's men's squad 125-95, while the Lake Forest women's team defeated the Scarlet Hawks women's team 138-72.
On the men's side, the Scarlet Hawks secured wins in the 400 yard medley relay, the 200 yard freestyle, the 100 yard freestyle, the 500 yard freestyle, the 100 yard breaststroke, the 200 yard freestyle relay, and the 1 meter diving event.
For the women, wins were recorded in the 400 yard medley relay, the 1000 yard freestyle, the 100 yard freestyle, and the 100 yard breaststroke.
While the results served as a jumping off point as the team prepares for the Liberal Arts Conference Championships starting February 8, the high point of the day was honoring the five graduating seniors on this year's squad.
After the diving events were completed, the team honored seniors Samuel Kastan, Anna Slominski, Mitchell Lucky, Aditi Iyer and Samuel Kalenowski in a ceremony on the pool deck. The seniors were met by family members who walked with each senior as they were announced to the crowd. As is tradition, the five seniors each ascended a starting block and jumped into their lane to conclude the senior day festivities.
Coaching Staff Comments
Interim Head Swimming and Diving Coach Billy Bafia: "Always great to end the season with a meet against Lake Forest. This weekend came together better than our last as we started to settle into our taper. I'm happy that our team has been coming together stronger as we near our conference championship. Only a few minor tweaks left before we are race ready, so the excitement and energy is guiding the team well for these last few days! Still a lot of work for our divers, but lots of time to focus these next few days for solid execution at conference." said Bafia
Assistant Swimming and Diving Coach Mac Robertson: "This was an awesome set up meet for conference. We were able to visually pinpoint how each athlete's taper is progressing and set up a plan for the next week. The hype is building for a great end to this season," said Robertson.
Assistant Swimming and Diving Coach Julian Escasa: "Fantastic meet to close out the regular season! We had a lot of strong swims across the board to set us up for a great conference champs meet," said Escasa.
Volunteer Assistant Swimming and Diving Coach Seth Wissenbach: "You couldn't ask for better energy than we had today. This is exactly what we needed leading into the end of year conference meet. Fast swimming, team spirit, and success in the air," said Wissenbach.
Up Next
The Scarlet Hawks will train over the next several days as they prepare for the Liberal Arts Conference Championships February 8 through February 11 at Principia College in Elsah, Ill.