Michigan State University Athletics
Women's Swim & Dive to Host Illinois
10/22/2015 12:00:00 AM | Swimming and Diving
Oct. 22, 2015 
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State women's swimming & diving program is set to host Illinois on Friday, Oct. 23, for a Big Ten dual meet. Action from the Charles McCaffree Pool is slated to begin at 4 p.m .
"We have to improve on what we did last week," said head coach Matt Gianiodis. "The biggest thing in this meet, which is always close, is that we need a full effort out of every single person. If we do that, we will be fine. Going into meets, some of our swimmers leave it to the top performers, but this will need to be a team effort."
Courtney Aycock has already impressed in her freshman campaign, just two meets into the season. Aycock leads the Spartans in the 100 and 200 free, while ranking top five on the team in the 50 free and 100 fly.
Chelsea Abbott has stepped up through the start of her senior season, pacing MSU in the distance events. Abbott clocked a 5:11.54 in the 500 free before tapping the wall in 10:31.21 in the 1,000 free at Iowa last week. She has shown her versatility in the pool by swimming the 200 IM and 200 free as well.
Senior Elizabeth Brown has continued her storied career as a Spartan by leading MSU in the 200 IM and 200 fly. Brown has also clocked a 58.41 in the 100 fly and 1:01.87 in the 100 IM to rank top five on the team in the disciplines.
"Our seniors are a good, tight knit group," Gianiodis said. "And the cool thing about the young kids is that they had some tough doubles and triples in the middle of the meet and never said a word. They took it in stride and competed hard."
Michigan State has a pair of freshmen divers that were key in the Spartans' sweep of the boards at Iowa. Julie Oppedisano took first in the 1 meter with a score of 267.05, which she followed up with a 215.20 in the 3 meter. Morgan Wellenzohn was the second-best Spartan in both heights, scoring a 239.50 and 232.85 in the 1 and 3-meter dives, respectively.
"I expected to see it somewhat," Gianiodis said about the divers' success. "They (Julie Oppedisano and Morgan Wellenzohn) were very talented out of high school, and we were fortunate to get them. They were recruited by a lot of different schools, and they are good. To have them perform that well so quickly is somewhat of a shock, but I know how good they are."
Results from Friday's meet will be available at MSUspartans.com following the conclusion of the contest.
| MSU vs. Illinois - Women Only | |
| Date | Friday, Oct. 23 // 4 P.M. |
| Location | Charles McCaffree Pool // East Lansing, Mich. |
| Opponents | Illinois |
| Results | MSUSpartans.com |
| Social Media | Twitter - @MSUSwimDive // Facebook - MSU Swimming & Diving |
| Top Times | Women's Top Times |
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State women's swimming & diving program is set to host Illinois on Friday, Oct. 23, for a Big Ten dual meet. Action from the Charles McCaffree Pool is slated to begin at 4 p.m .
"We have to improve on what we did last week," said head coach Matt Gianiodis. "The biggest thing in this meet, which is always close, is that we need a full effort out of every single person. If we do that, we will be fine. Going into meets, some of our swimmers leave it to the top performers, but this will need to be a team effort."
Courtney Aycock has already impressed in her freshman campaign, just two meets into the season. Aycock leads the Spartans in the 100 and 200 free, while ranking top five on the team in the 50 free and 100 fly.
Chelsea Abbott has stepped up through the start of her senior season, pacing MSU in the distance events. Abbott clocked a 5:11.54 in the 500 free before tapping the wall in 10:31.21 in the 1,000 free at Iowa last week. She has shown her versatility in the pool by swimming the 200 IM and 200 free as well.
Senior Elizabeth Brown has continued her storied career as a Spartan by leading MSU in the 200 IM and 200 fly. Brown has also clocked a 58.41 in the 100 fly and 1:01.87 in the 100 IM to rank top five on the team in the disciplines.
"Our seniors are a good, tight knit group," Gianiodis said. "And the cool thing about the young kids is that they had some tough doubles and triples in the middle of the meet and never said a word. They took it in stride and competed hard."
Michigan State has a pair of freshmen divers that were key in the Spartans' sweep of the boards at Iowa. Julie Oppedisano took first in the 1 meter with a score of 267.05, which she followed up with a 215.20 in the 3 meter. Morgan Wellenzohn was the second-best Spartan in both heights, scoring a 239.50 and 232.85 in the 1 and 3-meter dives, respectively.
"I expected to see it somewhat," Gianiodis said about the divers' success. "They (Julie Oppedisano and Morgan Wellenzohn) were very talented out of high school, and we were fortunate to get them. They were recruited by a lot of different schools, and they are good. To have them perform that well so quickly is somewhat of a shock, but I know how good they are."
Results from Friday's meet will be available at MSUspartans.com following the conclusion of the contest.
Players Mentioned
/ Swimming and Diving
Free/Fly
/ Swimming and Diving
Fly/IM
/ Swimming and Diving
Diving
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