EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Evansville swimming and diving teams will return to action on Thursday, as the Purple Aces will take part in the A3 Performance Invitational in Carbondale, Illinois.  The three-day meet will take place Thursday through Saturday at the SIU Recreation Center, and will begin with preliminary round action Thursday at 10 a.m.

The A3 Performance Invitational will serve as the mid-season championships for the UE swimming and diving teams, as, for a majority of the swimmers, it will be their final meet of the 2022 calendar year.  UE is coming off a strong showing on Saturday, when UE posted dual-meet victories on both the men's and women's side over Eastern Illinois at the Deaconess Aquatic Center.

"This meet is always a great gauge of where we are at this time of the season," said UE head swimming and diving coach Stuart Wilson.  "We have always done well at this meet since I've been here, and I am looking forward to seeing some great results from the team this year."

On the women's side, senior Maya Cunningham (Yakima, Wash./Eisenhower) has been one of the top swimmers in the Missouri Valley Conference this year in the Butterfly events, ranking in the league's top 12 so far with a season-best time of 2:06.18 in the 200 Fly.  Junior Iryna Tsesiul (Minsk, Belarus) has also ranked among the MVC's fastest swimmers in the 100-Yard Backstroke (58.12), while senior Sarah Jahns (Lilburn, Ga./Parkview) has excelled in the 200 Back and distance freestyle events. 

On the men's side, junior Alon Baer (Gesher HaZiv, Israel) and sophomore Daniel Santos Lopez (Madrid, Spain) have led the way, as Baer has been undefeated this year in both the 100- and 200-Yard Breaststroke events, while posting a top four time in the Mid-American Conference in both events this year.  Santos Lopez, meanwhile, has posted the third-fastest time in the MAC this year in the 100-Yard Butterfly (49.19), while also posting one of the fastest times this year in the 100 Back (51.89) as well.

Senior Riccardo Di Domenico (Johannesburg, South Africa) also ranks among the MAC's top five this year in the 200-Yard Freestyle, having posted a time of 1:40.97.  UE will also get the services of sophomore Patrik Vilbergsson (Kopavogur, Iceland) back this week, as Vilbergsson missed UE's home meet on Saturday while representing his native Iceland at the FINA World Championships in Indianapolis over the weekend.

Diving-wise, junior Madison Rollett (Evansville, Ind./Reitz) has picked up where she left off last season, as the honorable mention all-MVC diver has posted personal-best scores on both the one-meter and three-meter boards this fall for UE.  Freshman Levi McKinney (Boonville, Ind./Boonville) has also posted impressive scores in the first month of his collegiate career, having won two of the three diving competitions he has competed in so far.

The A3 Performance Invitational will feature competitors from six schools, including UE, Bellarmine, Eastern Illinois, Southern Illinois, Southern Indiana and Valparaiso.  Results can be found on the Meet Mobile app.