The Maroon men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams are both coming off dual meet victories against Lake Forest College and the DePauw Tigers. The Maroons certainly hope they will find this same success Saturday at the Illinois-Chicago Diving Invite.
After a dominating sweep that included a cumulative 37 event titles for the Maroons, they are already looking ahead to the weeks to come where they will compete in the all-important University Athletic Association Championship. This weekend, only divers will compete, but swimmers will still make the trek to UIC to support their teammates. With the conference championships right around the corner, however, the team has to do all that it can to make sure they stay focused.
“In the last few weeks of training, it’s really important to stay on top of schoolwork and keep ourselves healthy,” said third-year Hannah Eastman. “Our team has had an awesome season, and I can’t wait to see what we can accomplish at UAAs in a couple of weeks. I know we can finish the season strong if we continue to support each other and train hard to the end.”
The meet is not to be taken lightly—as it is hosted by UIC, the Maroons will surely see some strong competition. UIC competes on a DI schedule and walked away with a close fought victory the first time they swam against the Maroons (M 155–140) (W 154–141). The local meet was a strong test for the Maroons as they also competed with Northwestern and Rutgers, two other DI programs that have found success this season. This time, the divers will take on the tough DI team while the swimmers cheer them on. While both the men and women came away in defeat last time, the close scores prove they can compete with UIC divers. A win this weekend is certainly a feasible goal.
Second-year Agnes Lo had an incredible performance this past weekend, where she broke the school record in the three-meter diving event with a score of 298.95 at Lake Forest. Lo’s diving victory was coupled with fourth-year captain Natalie DeMuro being named UAA Athlete of the Week for her own victories in the one-meter and three-meter dives against DI team UW–Milwaukee.
While every meet is important, the Maroons really hope to use this weekend as a springboard into the UAA Championship where they have every expectation of competing for hardware.
The Illinois-Chicago Diving Invite will take place at the University of Illinois at Chicago on Saturday at 11 a.m.
