Spartans Host First Home Meets Of The Season

Oct. 17, 2019

Information for Saturday

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State Swimming and Diving hosts two meets this weekend at McCaffree Pool. Both the men's and women's team will race Pittsburgh on Friday, Oct. 18 at 4 p.m. On Saturday, the Spartan women will host Illinois as the celebrate 50 years of the women's swimming and diving program with an alumni reunion.

Pittsburgh opens up their dual meet season this weekend in East Lansing. Both teams are led by a solid senior presence with five for the men and eleven for the women. In his fourth year as head coach, John Hargis has sent 12 athletes to the NCAA Championships.

"John Hargis is a really good coach. Pittsburgh's a really good ACC school and I've known John since he was at Penn State and he does a good job," said head coach Matt Gianiodis. "Both their men's and women's team a pretty solid so we'll have our hands full."

The Illini finished the 2018-19 season with a strong overall record of 7-5. They are looking for their first win of the season after coming off a close loss to Indiana State. Entering her 19^th season with Illinois, head coach Sue Novitsky holds the most wins in program history with 97.

"Saturday should be an exciting day. I'm really excited about the opportunity we have to swim against a Big Ten team," said Gianiodis. "We've had some spirited dual meets against Illinois over the past eight or nine years. The crowds going to be incredible with everyone coming back for the reunion."

The Spartan alumni will gather to watch the meet against the Illini, and a post-meet reception will be held at IM West for the 50-year celebration.

Both Spartan teams split last weekend on the road with losses to Cincinnati and a win against Miami (Ohio).

Seniors Payton Woods and Michael Schwers, along with junior Erin Szara and sophomore Sam Villani all record first-place finishes in their respective events.

In diving, sophomore Ari Wolfson took first-place in the 3-meter, while junior Amanda Ling too first in the 1-meter.

Live stats from both meets can be on MeetMobile and fans can also follow along on Twitter, @MSUswim&dive. Results can be found at the conclusion of the meet at msuspartans.com.

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Players Mentioned

Amanda Ling

Michael Schwers

Erin Szara

Sam Villani

Ari Wolfson

Payton Woods