BLOOMINGTON, Ill. -The Illinois Wesleyan University women's and men's swimming and diving teams sent their five seniors off with a dual meet against Franklin College Saturday, Jan. 29, inside Fort Natatorium. Senior Ellen Gilbert (Northbrook, Ill.-Glenbrook North) set the pool record in the 100 butterfly, while seniors Jackson Rapala (Roselle, Ill.-Lake Park) and Mason McCauley (Deerfield, Ill.-Deerfield) also notched victories as IWU won a total of 10 events on the day.

The Titans recognized and celebrated the careers of Gilbert, Rapala, McCauley, Megan Wong (Gurnee, Ill.-Warren Township), and Amanda Smith (Chaska, Minn.-Chaska) prior to the meet with FC. IWU came up short on the women's side by a score of 169 to 125, while the men dropped the dual 213-82.

Fittingly, Gilbert broke a pool record that was set in her first collegiate meet with a season-best swim in her final home competition. Clocking in with a time of 57.91, Gilbert took down the previous record set of 58.99 by NCAA Division II Lewis' Ebony McCray Oct. 26, 2018.  

Gilbert added a win in the 200 freestyle, where she clocked in at 1:56.56. She teamed up with sophomore Natalie Wajda (Park Ridge, Ill.-Maine South) and freshmen Hadley Fudge (Stanford, Ill.-University) and Emily Marks (Cary, Ill.-Cary Grove Community) for a victory in the 200 medley relay. Together, the group combined for a time of 1:52.05, besting Franklin's top squad by more than four seconds.

Fudge went on to win the 100 breaststroke with a time of  1:08.66, while Wajda claimed first-place in the 100 backstroke (1:00.63) and the 500 freestyle (5:20.36). Junior Lauren Feddersen (Champaign, Ill.-Centennial) rounded out the first-place finishes on the women's side, taking the win in the 1000 freestyle at 11:18.29. 

On the men's side, Rapala bested the field in the 1000 freestyle with a time of 10:37.29 and McCauley picked up a win in the 500 freestyle. McCauley touched in with a time of 4:47.80 to finish nearly 20 seconds ahead of the runner-up. 

IWu's other victory came courtesy of sophomore Ethan Lowder (Bloomington, Ill.-Normal Community). Finishing with a time of 55.50, Lowder won the 100 backstroke.

Illinois Wesleyan will host the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Diving Championship Feb. 12, before traveling to Pleasant Prairie, Wis. for the CCIW Swimming Championships Feb. 17-19.