• Results

The University of Evansville hosted its first dual meet Wednesday against the Southern Illinois Salukis. The Aces’ women came the closest to beating SIU as they have ever been, falling 123-120, as the men were defeated by the Salukis 165-77.

“There are two things that are going to come from this meet: work harder or throw in the towel,” said Evansville head coach Rickey Perkins. “I strongly believe that this group will work harder. I’m excited and disappointed just because we have never been this close to beating Southern Illinois.

“I’m amazed at the hard work that the girls put forth. They showed up to race. Our guys had bright spots and are a lot farther ahead than they were last year. We will just have to go back to the board and put pieces together. Everyone worked hard, and I’m really proud of them.”

The women had multiple top finishes throughout the meet. The team opened it with a win in the 200-yard medley with Diane Threlkeld, Jill Enge, Kassandra Beseau and Michea Reinitz. Enge would go on to finish first in the 200 IM while Reinitz placed first in the 100 fly and second in the 50 free. The team also closed the event in the top spot in the 200-free relay with Annie Shackelford, Anna Luecke, Valerie Jones and Hannah Quast. Alex Howard and Cassy Cude finished first and second, respectively, in the 100 back while Quast placed second in the 100 free. Merri Schmitt ranked second in the 100 breast, as Christina Schmidgall earned the same ranking in the 500 and 1000 free.

The women divers also saw top finishes, as Sadie Wells placed first in the three meter while Jennifer Childers finished second in the one-meter dive.

On the men’s side, Alex Seward recorded his first top time in the 100 fly while ranking second in the 50 free. Seward also helped the Aces to a second place finish in the 200-free relay with Dan Jackson, Jake Harrington and Kyle Tiemann. Harrington and Tiemann earned second place in the 100 back and 100 free, respectively.

The men divers also found success in their events. Andy Balczo finished first in the one-meter dive with Josh Fletcher following in second. Balczo and Fletcher then reversed their rankings in the three meter to close out their nights.

The Aces’ men quickly return to the pool on Friday when they take on Miami of Ohio in Evansville at 5:00 p.m. Both teams then travel to West Lafayette, Indiana, to take part in the Indiana Intercollegiate on Saturday.