Swimming and Diving Set for Season Opener at Lewis

Titans will compete in a tri-meet against Division II opponents Lewis and Missouri-St.Louis

10/21/2021 3:30:00 PM

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University men's and women's swimming and diving teams open their season at Lewis University for a tri-meet Friday, Oct. 22. The Titans will compete against host Lewis and the University of Missouri-St Louis with the first event scheduled for a 5 p.m. start.

Head Coach Teresa Fish enters her 26th year at the helm for the Green and White with Assistant Coach Tommy Gilbert entering his fifth official year. Fish returns a total of seven Titans on the men's side and 15 for the women. In addition, IWU welcomes a total of nine newcomers to the IWU swimming and diving squads.

On the men's side sophomore transfer Lane Wagner (Danville, Ill.-Danville) is joined by sophomore Donald Tichy (Chicago, Ill.-Chicago HS for Agricultural Science), and freshmen Alex Kula (Pekin, Ill.-Pekin Community), and Colin Mckibben (Green Oaks, Ill.-Libertyville) in their first year. For the women, five freshmen joined the pack, including Hadley Fudge (Stanford, Ill.-University), Jade Kaminska (Jablonna, Mazovia, Poland-Maria Knopnicka), Emily Marks (Cary, Ill.-Cary-Grove Community), Amanda Schwarz (Hudson, Ill.-Riverside Brookfield), and Alexa Starkey (Normal. Ill.-Normal Community West).

Returning for the Titans is last year's College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Women's Swimming & Diving Co-Rookie of the year Hannah Murray (West Chicago, Ill.-St. Charles East). Murray is just the third Titan to earn this distinction. The West Chicago native led the CCIW in the 100 freestyle and 200 freestyle with times of 53.67 and 1:55.94, respectively. Murray also ranked fourth in the conference for her 24.57 time in the 50 free.

The Titans welcome back two All-Americans on the women's side in junior Lauren Feddersen (Champaign, Ill.-Centennial) and senior Ellen Gilbert (Northbrook, Ill.-Glenbrook North). The College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association based their selections over the duos performances during the 2020-21 season due to the NCAA Division III National Championships being cancelled last year.

Feddersen earned her first honor last season due to her eighth-ranked time, out of all Division III schools, in the 200 breaststroke touching in at 2:20.54. Gilbert was recognized for the second time in her career, credited to her impressive times in the 100 butterfly and 200 butterfly. Both of Gilbert's times were ranked among all Division III schools in the nation, as her 100 fly time was ranked fifth at 56.33 and her 200 fly time was second-best in the nation with a time of 2:04.27.

Despite the unconventional 2020-21 season, Gilbert also was named to the Academic All-American First Team due to her 4.0 GPA in psychology. This was the Northbrook, Ill. natives second time as an All-America selection after being named to the Third Team in 2020. She is the first female Titan to be a two-time at-large Academic All-American in Illinois Wesleyan history.

Entering his second year, sophomore Ethan Lowder (Bloomington, Ill.-Normal Community) left a lasting first impression last season. Lowder left a mark in the conference as he swam the top time in the 50 free (20.84) during the CCIW Cup Series, Feb. 27.

Mason McCauley (Deerfield, Ill.-Deerfield) and Jackson Rapala (Roselle, Ill.-Lake Park) will represent the Green and White as the lone seniors this season on the men's side. McCauley held the conference's best times in the 500 free, 200 fly, and 1650 free last season. Rapala also held a conference-best time in the 1000 free touching in at 10:34.54.

Looking ahead to a more normal year, the last time the Titans were in the NCAA Championships was in the 2018-19 season. At the end of day four, Mar. 20, Gilbert placed 32nd in the event with a time of 17:38.42. Gilbert also competed in the 400 relay along with fellow senior Megan Wong (Gurnee, Ill.-Warren Township). The group placed 20th clocking in a time of 3:29.69.

IWU will open its season in the tri-meet, while Lewis has already started its season and hold a 1-2 record on the men's side and a 0-3 record on the women's side. Against Lewis the Titans are 0-4 dating back to the 2016 season on the men's and women's side. Similarly, both the men and women will face off against Missouri-St.Louis for the first time in program history. The Tritons have already started their season as they come off a tri-meet with Maryville and William Jewel, Oct. 15-16.

Results from the competition will be posted to iwusports.com following the completion of the events.

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