The SIUC men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams entered Saturday’s meet expecting victory, and they left the Recreation Center knowing their premonition was right.

Even though they knew little about the University of Illinois at Chicago team, the men’s team claimed victory over the Flames 138-123, while the women’s team cruised to a 142-109 victory in the Salukis’ final home meet of the season.

The men posted first-place finishes in ten events, while the women finished first in all but one of the 13 events.

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The men took the top four spots in the 200-meter freestyle with sophomore Ryan Gallagher leading the way with a time of 1:43.72. The men did the same in the 200 individual medley with junior Jasson Velez taking first in 1:55.53.

We had fun, men’s coach Rick Walker said. I am absolutely satisfied and couldn’t be happier with out performances.

In their final home meet, seniors Jeff Clark, Nathan Stooke and Ben Culver finished on top. Clark claimed first-place finishes in the 50-meter freestyle (21.60) and the 100-meter freestyle (46.54), Stooke took first in the 1,000-meter freestyle (9:44.64) and Ben Culver did the same in the 200-meter butterfly (1:56.10).

Other seniors honored during their final home meet included Will Enoch, Steve Munz and Alex Wright. Walker said his seniors have been continuously improving their times ever since they came to SIUC.

It speaks volumes about our seniors who have continued to get better throughout their four years, Walker said.

With14 freshmen on the women’s swimming and diving team this year, coach Mark Kluemper depended heavily upon his seniors for their leadership. The Salukis honored their seniors by dedicating Saturday’s meet to them.

It was nice to honor our seniors, Kluemper said. They really meant a lot during the four years.

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Top senior performances included Karla Gerzema’s first-place finishes in the 1-meter and 3-meter springboard diving competitions. Gerzema scored 276.3 in the 1-meter, and a 305.70 in the 3-meter.

Senior Nicole Freda led with two first-place finishes in the 200-meter freestyle (1:56.01) and the 100-meter freestyle (54.14). Senior Diana Roberts took first in the 200-meter backstroke (2:08.75) followed by junior Kirsty Albertyn (2:14.69) and senior Stefanie Merritt (2:18.19) for second and third, respectively.

Other seniors honored were Katie Burns, who finished third in the 200 butterfly (2:14.69), and Kiki Sidiropoulou, who is out with a shoulder injury.

The victories Saturday improved the men’s dual meet record to 4-5, while the women improved to 3-6.

The Salukis are idle until the National Independent Championships February 26-28 in Cincinnati.