Chicago, Ill. - As the Illinois Tech swimming and diving team heads into the winter break, we'll take a look back at the first half of the season, and preview the second half.
The team competed in a total of six meets the first half of the season, culminating in their participation in the Phoenix Fall Classic Invite, hosted by the University of Chicago, November 22nd - 24th.
During the first half, the men's team came away with 40 personal bests and 11 individual finalists, while the women's team achieved 11 personal bests and 9 individual finalists.
On the women's side, senior
Claire van Biljon led the squad with 645.55 points in the first half, with sophomore
Taryn Oser second with 532.60 points, followed by first-year
Kayla Matsumoto with 515.05 points.
On the men's side, graduate student
Bjarne van Oord topped the team with 624.75 points, with follow graduate student
Alexandre Ducret second with 610.15 points. First-year
Giorgio Turchetti rounded out the top three performers on the men's side with 607.85 points.
In diving, first-year
Colin Schultz of the men's team had a good start to his NCAA career, achieving 295.95 points and earning 5th place in the 1 meter dives at the Phoenix Fall Classic to close out his first half. On the women's side, fellow first-year diver
Aislinn McManus recorded a 95.60 score in the 1 meter - 6 dives at the Valparaiso/Quincy/Illinois Tech double-dual on October 18th.
Head Coach
Kate Chronic likes where the team is at as they rest up and then begin training for the second half.
"We're extremely proud of how well our teams competed at the Phoenix Fall Classic," said Chronic "This was a mid-season snapshot of where we'll be for our conference championships(the Liberal Arts Conference). The fact that we touched on several long-standing school records is a clear indicator of how much dedication and work these athletes have put into the pool this fall. It's very exciting to see their hard work pay off! We know we have more work to do and we can't let up on our focus towards the end of the season, but this was a wonderful and much needed exciting team experience" Chronic said.
Up Next
The team will have some time off during the winter break, but will also get the opportunity to train for the second half when the squad heads out on their annual training trip in December. This year, the squad will head to Puerto Rico December 14th through the 21st.
"We're looking forward to the last of our heavy training during our training trip," said Chronic. " After that, we'll begin our more specific focus on individual events for the end of the season. Looking for a fast finish in February" Chronic said.
The Scarlet Hawks will return to competition on Saturday, January 11th, when they host North Central College and Manchester University in a double-dual at Ekco Pool at 1:00pm. They will also compete in a triangular at Illinois Wesleyan University (with Carthage College) on Saturday, January 18th, followed by the regular season finale at Ekco Pool on Saturday, February 1st, when they Hawks host Lake Forest in a double-dual. The Hawks will then shift their attention to the Liberal Arts Conference Championships running Feburary 12th through the 15th in Racine, Wisconsin. Illinois Tech will host the championships for the second consecutive season.
Illinois Tech Swimming & Diving Second Half Schedule - 2025
