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Swimming and diving teams split

The Saluki swimming and diving teams split the Saturday meet against Drury College in Springfield, Mo.

On the rebound from two straight losses at the hands of Nebraska and Missouri, the SIU women doled out some punishment to Drury, winning with a score of 149-94.

Meanwhile, the Saluki men suffered their second loss in a row by a mere 10 points, 126.5-116.5.

The Drury Panthers secured their first victory in six years against the SIU men only after winning the last event of the meet, the 800-yard free relay.

SIU's Rick Walker, head coach of the swimming and diving teams, was expecting a bit of a role reversal from the first several meets.

The SIU women had been true underdogs against Big 12 forces Missouri and Nebraska, while the men had dominated Evansville and faced a comparable team in Missouri.

Walker thought the men would have a more difficult time against division I-AA Drury, a school that came in second in its national championship last season.

"They picked up some athletes after we beat them last season," Walker said. "They're a good team."

Despite losing the 800 free relay, the Salukis posted several individual wins against the Panthers.

Freshman Gareth McGee took the 200 back with a time of one minute and 48.61 seconds, breaking the Panthers' pool record previously set by senior teammate Marcelo Possato in 2002.

Antonio Santoro, also a Saluki freshman, won the 200 free (1:41.99) to claim his fifth individual title of the 2004-05 season.

Sophomore Ben Palacios also placed first in the one-meter dive, and junior Jason Sigler won the 500 free (4:36.34).

On the women's side, senior Nadine Shawah and sophomore Nora Bunford led the Salukis with two wins apiece.

Shawah won the one and three-meter dives, while Bunford took the 200 individual medley (2:09.56) and the 200 breaststroke (2.22.55).

Sophomore Gabriela Flores, senior Natalie Kenny and junior Kelsey Kinsella also clinched individual victories for SIU. Flores won the 200 butterfly with a season-best 2:09.60, and Kinsella took the 100 free in 53.53, also a season best. Kenny won the 200 free with a time of 1:55.71.

Kinsella said the victory against Drury gave the team a boost in the confidence department after falling to Nebraska and Missouri. She also said those teams played a role in preparing the Salukis for the Drury Panthers, who also finished second in their national championship last season.

"Anytime we're able to swim a large school and then swim a school more our size we aren't intimidated," Kinsella said. "It feels like we're swimming against slower swimmers after those competitions."