Saluki senior diver Nathan Day, of Grand Blanc, Mich., performs a two-and-a-half reverse dive Thursday during practice at the Recreation Center. SIU men’s swimming and diving faced the Miami University of Ohio and University of Evansville Saturday at the Edward J. Shea Natatorium and placed first in all swimming events.

The Salukis gave themselves something to smile about as they propelled into the regular season.

The SIU swimming and diving team competed in their first dual-conference meets of the season.  The women took the show on the road at Evansville, ind., Friday, while the men swam at home against both University of Evansville and Miami University of Ohio Saturday at the Edward J. Shea Natatorium.

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The women were 143-100, winning 10 of the 13 events. The men secured both wins with a considerable gap between them and their competition: 162-81 against Miami and 200-37 against Evansville.

Redshirt senior and captain Justin Wolfe said though the team expected to be the favorite for the meet, nothing is certain at the start of a new season.

“We weren’t expecting quite as steep of a result as we saw,” Wolfe said. “As long as I’ve been here, we’ve never won a meet like that before, so it was very encouraging for us.”

Senior swimmer and captain Jared Bradd, who suffered from mono during the summer, said his goal was to perform to the best of his ability rather than worry about finishing at specific times.

He said the main emphasis of the team’s training is to be able to swim quickly despite being tired.  The team has trained as they regularly would, without rest before meets, to build mental stamina and help overcome adversity later in the season. He said team  members were able to do that by placing the fatigue out of their minds and focus on the task at hand.

“Our philosophy is anyone can swim fast when they’re rested and they’re having a great day,” Bradd said. “We’re preparing for when conditions aren’t perfect, for when things aren’t going your way.”

The women were effective in all phases of the meet, with seven individual wins in events and victories in both the one- and three-meter dives.

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Head swimming and diving coach Rick Walker said the women did well but will become a stronger team as they continue to gain confidence. He said some athletes handled the meet better than others, but showed effort as a whole team.

“When you are as fatigued as we are, it’s very hard to hit all pistons firing — some are going to miss,” Walker said. “We had no dead pistons on this one. Everybody was doing a great job.”

The men were even more successful than the women, with a Saluki athlete placing first for every men’s swimming event. They also held their own in the diving events, undeterred by the presence of James Beres of Miami, a three-time MAC diving champion.

Senior Justin Ruszkowski finished second in the one-meter, and ahead of Beres in the three-meter dive. Freshman diver Kegan Skelton showed promise in his college debut with a third and second place finish in the one- and three-meter events among SIU divers, respectively.

Despite the wins, Walker said times for the swimmers could have been improved.  He said the effort was there, and that’s what counts at this stage of the season.

“I’m encouraged by the effort because, on any given day, things may not be going right and if your effort isn’t there you might as well just stay home and watch TV,” Walker said. “Those who maybe felt a little bit off fought their way through … I didn’t see anybody just pack it up and go for the remote control. I was very pleased with that.”