EVANSVILLE, Ind.--The visiting University of Southern Illinois Salukis came out victorious in the 2007-2008 season opening meet against both the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams from the University of Evansville Saturday. 

Even in the face of recording a 188-73 loss on the women’s side and a 188-55 loss on the men’s, the Aces stayed in high spirits after the meet’s conclusion.

The lone victory of the day for the Aces came from the women’s 200 yard freestyle relay team of senior Taryn Brelage, sophomore Anna Lueke, freshman Christina Schmidgall and freshman Kristyn Benter.  The women’s relay team pulled out the win with a time of 1:41.65, winning by just 0.28 of a second over the Saluki team.  Competing in her first collegiate meet, freshman Christina Schmidgall finished second in both the 100 breaststroke and the 500 freestyle.  Other high finishes for the Aces were from freshman Diane Threlkeld, finishing second in the 100 backstroke, sophomore Ady Sekely, earning second in the 100 butterfly, and freshman Kaitlyn Sluka, finishing second in the 200 backstroke.

On the men’s side, senior Zach Brown began the year in a strong fashion, earning second place finishes in both the 50 and 100 freestyle, with times of 22.16 and 48.69 respectively.  Another strong finisher for the Aces was junior James Nash.  Nash took third in the 100 and 200 backstroke.

On the diving board, five divers competed for the Aces: seniors Melissa Claycomb and Geoffrey Keller, sophomores Joshua Fletcher and Jared Thompson, and freshman Jennifer Childers.

Up next for the Aces' swimming and diving team will be a home meet for the men only on Friday, October 12 against Miami, Ohio at 5:00 PM.  The next meet for both men’s and women’s teams will be against Butler, Valparaiso and St. Louis on Sunday, October 21 in Carmel, Indiana.