by Eric Willuweit
Chicago, Ill. – Day two at the Phoenix Fall Classic Saturday at the University of Chicago saw the Illinois Tech Swimming and Diving team achieve five more personal best times, two swimmers advance to the A finals in their respective events, and a first-year diver achieving a milestone.
Anna Slominski advanced to the A final in the women's 100-yeard breaststroke, placing fifth with a time of 1:05.16. Kristen Hampton advanced to the A final in the 400-yard IM, placing ninth with a time of 4:50.44, shaving her prelim time by more than a second.
Five personal-best times were recorded for Scarlet Hawk swimmers during day two of competition:
- Don Rose sets a new personal best time of 53.14 in the 100 Butterfly.
- Adrian Korwel sets a new personal best time of 1:00.19 in the 100 Breaststroke.
- Lea Gore sets a new personal best time of 1:15.84 in the 100 Butterfly.
- Tianqi Li sets a new personal best time of 2:23.11 in the 200 Freestyle.
- Kai Studt sets a new personal best time of 1:05.74 in the 100 Backstroke.
In addition, Maria Plencner completed her first 11-dive program with a final score of 225.55, placing 14th overall.
Team standings after Day 2:
- Women are in 8th place with 167 points.
- Men are in 11th place with 96 points.
Coach's Comments
Interim Head Swimming and Diving Coach Billy Bafia: "Another strong day for the women's team sending two back into the A finals for the 400 IM and 100 Breaststroke. Kristen Hampton and Anna Slominski each held their places in finals and had good swims against the competition."
Regarding the men's team, Coach Bafia stated: "The men's team came back much stronger today with impressive relay swims at this evening's finals session. Great bounce for the team back into the meet, so we are looking forward to an exciting final day for the team."
Coach Bafia also noted the progress of Plencner as a diver. "Huge finish for Maria Plencner in the Women's 1 Meter diving event today. Incredible progress in her abilities as a first-year diver and a tremendous achievement today completing all of her dives without fail. We are excited to continue working with Maria as a well-rounded athlete and leader on the team" Bafia concluded.