Salukis stay perfect at home

It was a new opponent for the Salukis but the same result, as they stayed perfect at home.

The SIU swimming and diving team took first place in its dual home meet against Washington University Friday at the Edward J. Shea Natatorium in the Recreation Center.

SIU swimming and diving head coach Rick Walker said he was excited by the team’s performance so far this year.

“I could not be prouder of where we are right now,” Walker said. “In a couple of areas I think we could have swam faster times, but there are a lot of things that we are already doing well.”

SIU racked up 25 first-place finishes during the meet Friday.

The Saluki women won their meet by a score of 153-65, and the Saluki men also put up an impressive score of 140-90.

 The Saluki women started the meet with the 200-yard medley relay and the team of Samantha Dvorak, Kristin Geppert, Therese Mattsson and Tovah Gasparovich took first place with a time of 1 minute, 50.59 seconds. The team of Rachel Lardner, Jessica Anderson, Krystle Kutak and Susan Minkel finished a few seconds later with a time of 1:56.18 to take second place.

The Saluki men also took first and second place in their 200-yard medley. Tim Silkaitis, Jameson Kuper, Matt Parsons and El Badrawi (1:36.00) finished just less than a second before SIU’s second squad of Kyle Riekena, Christopher Gaffney, Matt Kruse and Jared Bradd (1:36.98).

Both the men and women Salukis showcased individual talent as well. In the 1000-yard freestyle, Kirsten Groome, Jennifer Kwok and Jill Weckbach were the top three finishers for the women and Badrawi and David Welker finished first and second for the men’s team.

In the women’s 200-yard freestyle, Therese Mattsson finished first with a time of 1:51.90 followed by Groome in a close second with a time of 1:51.92.

Groome, who swam three events in a row, said she was happy with her times.

“It is all about being tough,” Groome said. “Anybody can swim fast when they are rested, but not many people can swim fast while they are tired.”

Cesar Perez received top honors in the men’s 200-yard individual medley with a time of 1:55.49.

“This was my fastest time so far this season, and I was very happy to beat the second-place finisher from Washington University,” Perez said.

The Salukis also dominated the diving events. Emily Gable won the one-meter and the three-meter competitions for the women with scores of 278.62 and 271.20. Justin Ruszkowski followed suit winning the one-meter and three-meter for the men with scores of 291.37 and 306.23.

“It was a really good meet today overall,” Ruszkowski said. “There were a couple of dives that I would have changed, but the scores were pretty close to NCAA qualifying scores.

SIU’s assistant swimming coach Scott Olson said the team’s confidence in its ability to swim fast has been a big improvement.

“Now they are stepping up on the blocks and they are swimming with the confidence that they are going to swim fast,” Olson said. “It is nice to see that, and it puts a smile on my face.”

Ryan Simonin can be reached
 at 536-3311 ext. 282.