EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Evansville swimming and diving teams will host their first meet of the 2022-23 season at the Deaconess Aquatic Center on Saturday afternoon, as the Purple Aces will welcome Eastern Illinois and Illinois State to Evansville. The meet will begin at 1 p.m. and the meet is free and open to the public.
The UE men will compete against Eastern Illinois in a dual meet, while the UE women will compete against both EIU and Illinois State in a triangular meet. UE officially hosted the first-ever meet at the Deaconess Aquatic Center last November 6 by sweeping a meet against Arkansas-Little Rock and Saint Louis. The $30 million state-of-the-art facility opened to the Evansville public on October 4, 2021. It features a stretch 50-meter competitive pool, plus a separate diving well with one-meter and three-meter springboards. The Deaconess Aquatic Center features raised spectator seating for just under 1,000 people, with the ability to accommodate over 1,000 bleacher seats on the pool deck. It is located at 1700 North Main Street in Evansville and is adjacent to historic Bosse Field.
"We are excited to be able to compete again at the Deaconess Aquatic Center," said UE head coach Stuart Wilson. "It is one of the best swimming facilities in the Midwest, and to have it right in our backyard and be able to utilize it for meets is huge for our program."
UE last competed two weeks ago, as the men battled Missouri State and Southern Illinois, while the women competed in the MVC Showcase in Carbondale, Illinois. On the men's side, junior Alon Baer (Gesher, HaZiv, Israel) remained undefeated in the breaststroke events on the season, as he won both the 100- and 200-Yard Breaststroke events in a triangular meet against Missouri State and SIU. On the women's side, senior Sarah Jahns (Lilburn, Ga./Parkview) continued her strong start to the 2022-23 season, placing second in the 200-Yard Backstroke (2:06.17), while also placing fourth in the 500 Free. Jahns won both the 500- and 1,000-Yard Freestyle events in UE's season-opening dual meet victory at Valparaiso.
"Both teams have really been going hard in training this week, so it will be fun to get out and race and compete on Saturday," said Wilson. "I am really looking forward to seeing what we can do in front of our home fans."
