The Salukis are not expected to win their next meet, but swimming and diving coach Rick Walker said his team is capable of accomplishing the unexpected.
The women’s swimming team will host the University of Illinois at 1 p.m. on Saturday at the Edward J. Shea Natatorium in the Recreation Center.
SIU swimming and diving coach Rick Walker said even though Illinois has a team with a bigger budget and great recruiting, it doesn’t mean the Salukis can’t swim with them.
“U of I is a better team than we are, but our thrill of the weekend is going to be giving U of I a run for their money, because we are not expected to,” Walker said.
While the two teams have not met recently, some Salukis are familiar with their competition.
Some of the Salukis swam with a few of the members on the Illinois team in high school and clubs.
“A lot of us are from Illinois and some of us have swam with members of U of I before and it is like we are re-competing all over again,” said sophomore Jill Weckbach.
Weckbach said the team has been talking about the University of Illinois meet all week and is ready to compete against a Big Ten school.
“It is going to be a good meet,” Weckbach said. “It’s going to be challenging, but we’re up for the challenge and we’re ready to get after it and hopefully make it to the top.”
Senior swimmer Keli Kramer said the meet will be tough, but confidence is high for SIU.
“It will be tough, but we have confidence in our team, and overall I think we have been coming together more as a team,” Kramer said. “This is a chance to show them that even though we’re not a Big Ten school we can still keep up with them.
Walker said the win against Vanderbilt’s great team was a big confidence boost and this weekend could be a repeat performance.
“Little old SIU is not so little anymore,” Walker said. “We want to come out and make our mark.”
