(O'FALLON, Ill., Jan. 24) – The McKendree University swimming and diving program completed a clean sweep of UMSL and Bellarmine on day one of a two day meet. Both men's and women's clinched victories over the visiting teams. Saturday's portion of the meet will begin at noon following the senior ceremony.
 
The women beat Bellarmine 94-65 and UMSL 113-44. The men came out on top 94-50 against Bellarmine and 58-33 against UMSL.
 
The men's 400 medley relay team of freshmen Davante Carey (Nassau, Bahamas/Queens College), John Heaphy (Eagle River, AK/Eagle River High School), sophomore Gregg Lichinsky (West Des Moines, IA/West Des Moines Valley High School), and junior Alexander Skinner (Namibia, Africa/Windhoek Afrikaans Private School) won with a time of 3:23.17.
 
Freshman Fabio Dalu (Cagliari, Italy/Liceo L.B. Alberti Cagliari) continued his dominance in distance freestyle, capturing a win in the 1000 freestyle with a time of 9:21.86.
 
In the 200 butterfly, junior Victoria Sananikone (Cedar Park, TX/Cedar Park High School) came out victorious with a time of 2:10.32.
 
Both senior Milica Sostarec (Subotica, Serbia/Medical High School) and Skinner took first in the 100 freestyle with a time of 52.82 and 44.81, respectively.
 
Sophomore Hallie Dixon (Jeffersonville, IN/Jeffersonville High School) won the 400 IM with a time 4:42.94.
 
In the 100 backstroke, Meredith Geyer (Germantown, TN/Germantown High School) placed first, touching the wall in 57.94.
 
The meet concluded with wins in the 200 freestyle relay. The women's team of Sostarec, senior Sydney Rey (Columbia, IL/Columbia High School), sophomore Haley Rey (Columbia, IL/Columbia High School), and Geyer won with a time of 1:38.20. The men's team of senior Matija Pucarevic (Belgrade, Serbia/Sixth Belgrade Grammar School), freshman Caleb Law (Anchorage, AK/Robert Service High School), Lichinsky, and Skinner completed the race with a time of 1:21.42.
 
In one meter diving, Lilia de Oliveira Pelaez (Ile Perrot, Quebec, Canada/Beaconsfield High School) scored 397.80, meeting NCAA qualifying standards. Junior Caitlyn Canadi (South Lyon, MI/South Lyon High School) scored 386.45, narrowly missing a qualifying score. Sophomore Ethan Larson (Anchorage, AK/Paideia High School) totaled 502.15 and sophomore Xavier Flores (Fresno, CA/Clovis West High School) scored 414.80.
 
Saturday's senior ceremony will honor the first four-year seniors in McKendree swimming and diving history. 11 seniors will compete in their last home meet of their careers: Zach Breeding (Midland, TX/Midland High School), Meredith Geyer (Germantown, TN/Germantown High School), Magdalena Knapp (Bolzano, Italy/Gymnasium Walther von der Vogelweide Bozen), Matthew Meals (McKinney, TX/McKinney Boyd High School), Cole Morgan (George Town, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands/Cayman International School), Gilson Nyirimana (Kigali, Kicukiro, Rwanda/Green Hills Academy), Matija Pucarevic (Belgrade, Serbia/Sixth Belgrade Grammar School), Sydney Rey (Columbia, IL/Columbia High School), Kyle Shahenian (Surprise, AZ/Dysart High School), Luca Simonetti (Sassari, Italy/Liceo Scientifico Gulielmo Marconi Sassari), and Milica Sostarec (Subotica, Serbia/Medical High School).