EVANSVILLE, Ind. – On Friday, the University of Evansville swimming and diving teams are set to officially reopen Wyttenbach Pool as the Purple Aces will take on Southern Illinois.
The meet will be divided into two days with the diving portion set for Friday at 4 p.m. before the swimming meet will take place on Saturday beginning at 11 a.m. It will be the first home meet for the Aces since November of 2013.
SIU and UE meet twice during the season prior to the conference championships. The teams will meet up once again in the final regular-season meet on February 7, 2015 in Carbondale, Ill.
"I am very excited to be home this weekend. It will be the first home meet in the renovated pool. There not too many first times in your life and as you get older there are fewer and fewer," head coach Rickey Perkins said. "That fact alone will make this meet exciting. Our goal as a team for the meet is to compete to the best of our ability. SIU is very good team that is well coached. We look at the meet as a great opportunity to test ourselves against one of the top team teams in the conference."
Last weekend, Evansville began the season with a trip to the Butler Quad Meet in Fishers, Ind. Evansville's women had a perfect 5-0 day on Sunday. Their top score of 185.00 came against Western Illinois, who tallied a 48. They topped Butler by a 172.00-56.00 final while the other scores of the day were a 168.00-57.00 victory over Valparaiso, a 137.00-101.00 triumph against Saint Louis and a 135.00-93.00 victory over Xavier.
The men were also impressive, going an even 2-2 on the day. They defeated Valparaiso, 144.00-75.00 and took down Western Illinois, 120.00-109.00. Their defeats were to Saint Louis (179.00-54.00) and Xavier (115.00-104.00).
Highlighting the day were several victories by the Aces. A foursome of Micheala Kent, Mackenzie Powell, Danielle Freeman and Abby Smith were victorious in the 200 medley Relay. Freeman, who is coming off of a stellar freshman campaign, was also victorious in the 50 and 100 freestyle races.
Michelle Tipton earned a pair of victories for UE. She topped the competition in the 200 and 500 Freestyle events. Tipton contributed to a team win in the 400 free relay. She teamed with Samantha Montgomery, Abby Smith and Mackenzie Harris. On the diving side, Courtney Coverdale earned the win in the 1 meter and 3 meter dives.
Evansville's men also had a successful day, posting numerous top three efforts. In the 200 medley relay, Ethan O'Rourke, Troy Burger, Daniel O'Brien and Ashton Bishop combined to finish in second place. Burger also recorded a second place in the 200 breaststroke.
