The Saluki women’s swimming and diving team won big against two major in-state schools, beating the University of Illinois 176-135 and the Illinois State Redbirds 194-106 Saturday in Bloomington-Normal.

Southern won seven of the 16 events during the meet.

Senior freestyler Bryn Handley continued her reign of dominance in the pool, taking home three events for SIU. In the 200-yard freestyle, she finished in 1:52.11 while claining a 4:54.86 in the 500-yard freestyle..

Handley’s longest event, the 1000-yard freestyle, saw her win in dominating fashion by finishing with a 10:13.24 time that was nearly 20 seconds ahead of the next swimmer.

Sophomore Juliana Carvalho saw a successful day for herself in the pool as well. She claimed wins in both the 100-yard and 200-yard backstroke, beating her personal best in the 100-yard event while finishing the 200-yard with a 2:06.41 time.

Sophomore Rita Naude also contributed to the winning cause, claiming the 100-yard butterfly event in 57.90.

In diving, the Saluki women fared well yet again. The 3-meter event saw sophomores Baobao Ji and Beibei Ji along with senior Rachel Williams place 2nd, 3rd and 4th respectively — each registering scores above 260.

In the 1-meter event, Baobao Ji won with a new personal-best 293.25, while Beibei Ji was 2nd with a score of 286.25

The Saluki men and women resume action next weekend in Carbondale for the Saluki Invite, as SIU plays host to Kentucky, Northwestern and Missouri. Events are set to begin Friday at 4 p.m.

Sports writer Ryan Demer can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @RyanDemer_DE 

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