This release is courtesy of Eastern Illionois/Rettberg:
Eastern Illinois men’s and women’s swimming opened the 2013-14 slate as the Panther women downed Butler, 154-108, while the EIU men took part in an intersquad matchup as the white squad defeated the blue team, 107-94.
“I was very pleased with our first meet of the year,” said EIU head coach Elliott McGill. “The women kicking off the year with a new pool record was awesome. It set the tone for the rest of the meet for sure. Plus I also really liked how the guys performed considering it was just an intersquad. This was overall our best first meet over the last few years.
“That being said, we do have some work to do still going forward,” he added. “We are still focusing on polishing up some technical issues and getting our legs under us. Once we get that going, I think we will be in a great spot.”
The Panther women were led by senior Olga Livshits three first place finishes in the 100-Back (1:01.08), 200-Back (2:15.10) and 200-IM (2:16.57), while Kaylee Morris also touched first in both her 50-Free (24.79) and 100-Free (53.32) events.
Other individual champions included Janis McGee in the 100-Breast (1:08.82), Paige Eavenson in the 200-Fly (2:18.05) and Kate Paige in the 100-Fly (59.27), while as a team, EIU also earned first place finishes in both the 200-Medley and 200-Free Relays.
The 200-Medley winning foursome of Livshits, McGee, Paige, and Morris finished with a new Padovan Pool time of 1:49.34.
“The relays really stood out for us today,” added McGill. “The ladies really showed how much deeper we are now. Janis McGee really stood out for us today as she had a great relay split in the medley, and then put up a very solid 100-Breast time.
“Olga Livshits had a very solid meet, winning three events for us, while Kaylee Morris had some excellent swims, especially in her 100-Free where she almost went fasert than last year’s conference time. Kate Paige also had a great 100-Fly.
“Our freshmen did a great job for us, too,” McGill continued. “Paige Eavenson came through with a very solid 200-Fly win in her first college meet, while the class as a whole highlighted our depth this year.”
The Panther men, meanwhile competed in a a 1-vs-1 shootout exhibition meet, with the winner of each event capturing all the points.
“Harris Thompson and Jake Roberts had really strong 500 swims for us,” McGill said. “Colin McGill and Shane Witzki both had great starts to their seasons in the 50-Free.
“In general, we were looking for both squads to establish a good baseline for the rest of the season in regards to technique and meet energy,” said McGill. “I really like where we are at early on.”
Both EIU units will hit the road next weekend, as the Panthers travel to Saint Louis for a 5:30 p.m. dual meet on Friday, Oct. 18.
Eastern Illinois , Butler results 2013 (courtesy of Eastern Illinois University)