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June 17
Illinois Wesleyan University senior swimmer Erin Bicek has been elected to the third team of the College Division Academic All-America women’s at-large squad. Her selection brings to 100 the total number of Academic All-America berths earned by IWU student-athletes since the program began in 1970, a total eclipsed by only six other schools, including Nebraska, Notre Dame, Penn State, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. To be considered for the Academic All-America squads, players must be of at least sophomore standing, have a cumulative grade-point average of 3.2 (of 4.0), and be a starter or first-line reserve.
May 27
Illinois Wesleyan swimmer Erin Bicek has been elected to the first team of the District Five College Division all-academic women’s at-large squad and will join representatives of seven other districts on the Academic All-America national ballot. A 10-time honorable mention All-American swimmer, Bicek graduated magna cum laude in May with a 3.84 grade-point average as a nursing major. She won four individual events and was chosen as the "Women's Most Valuable Swimmer" in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin swim championships, helping the IWU women's team finish second. At-large athletes are chosen from among the sports of swimming, golf, tennis, ice hockey and gymnastics.
March 14
Four Illinois Wesleyan swimmers teamed to finish in the top 15 in three relays in the national NCAA Division III swimming championships, held in St. Louis March 11-13. The team of Heather Lingenfelter (Peoria, Richwoods HS), Molly Hornbaker (Princeton HS), Jessica Hohl (Winfield, Wheaton North HS) and Robin Johnson (Peoria, Dunlap HS) finished 10th in the 200 free relay (1:37.97), 14th in the 400 free relay (3:35.57) and 15th in the 800 free relay (7:53.93) as IWU amassed 24 points in the national meet, good for 37th place.
Feb. 15
Illinois Wesleyan senior Erin Bicek (Downers Grove, North HS) won four individual events and was chosen as the "Women's Most Valuable Swimmer" while sophomore Caitlin Von Huben (Orland Park, Sandburg HS) was chosen as the "Women's Most Outstanding Participant" in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin swim championships, held Feb. 12-14 at Kenosha, Wis.
The IWU women's team finished second in the event and the Titan men's team placed fourth.
Bicek won the 200 and 400 individual medley and the 100 and 200 breaststroke events and swam legs on the winning 400 and 800 free relay teams.
Other IWU first place finishers were Heather Lingenfelter (Peoria, Richwoods HS) in the 50 free and Molly Hornbaker (Princeton HS) in the 100 free. Lingenfelter also got second in the 100 butterfly while Hornbaker and Jessica Hohl (Winfield, Wheaton North HS) got second and third in the 50 free and joined Lingenfelter and Robin Johnson (Peoria, Dunlap HS) for a first-place finish in the 200 free relay.
Top individual finishers for the IWU men included Jason Ozbolt (Lockport, East HS) finished second in the 1650 free and earned a fifth in the 500 free; Justin Gorson (Hawthorn Woods, Stevenson HS), who was fourth in the 100 butterfly and fifth in the 200 butterfly; and Marcus Meyer (Burr Ridge, Fenwick HS), who placed fourth in the 200 breaststroke. Byron Lubenkov (LaGrange, Lyons North HS) got fifth in the 200 backstroke.
Feb. 13
Illinois Wesleyan's Erin Bicek won the 100-yard breaststroke and swam a leg of the winning 800 free relay Friday to help the Titans into third place after the second day (Fri., Feb. 13) of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin swim championships in Kenosha, Wis. Bicek had a winning time of 4 minutes, 39.04 seconds in the breaststroke, then teamed with Heather Lingenfelter, Robin Johnson and Molly Hornbaker to win the distance relay in 7:52.34. The Titans (298.5 points) trail Wheaton (455) and Carthage (299). The IWU men (191) are in fourth place behind Wheaton (432), Carthage (375.5) and Millikin (195.5).
Feb. 12
Illinois Wesleyan's Heather Lingenfelter led a 1-2-3 sweep in the 50 freestyle and Erin Bicek won the 200 individual medley in day one (Thurs., Feb. 12) of the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin swim meet at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wis. Molly Hornbaker and Jessica Hohl got second and third in the 50 free and joined Lingenfelter and Robin Johnson for a first-place finish in the 200 free relay. Jason Ozbolt's fifth in the 500 free, a third in the 400 medley relay, and a fifth in the 200 free relay highlighted the IWU men's first-day efforts.
Jan. 31
The Illinois Wesleyan men's and women's swim teams split in a trianuglar meet on Sat., Jan. 31, at Wheaton. The Titan women defeated North Central, 81-41, and lost to Wheaton, 88-48, while the IWU men outpointed North Central, 76-39, but were downed by Wheaton, 92-29. Molly Hornbaker won the 50 free (25.48) and Jason Ozbolt won the 200 free (1:52.43) and 500 free (5:04.49), while Justin Gorson took the 200 butterfly (2:03.15) for the Titans' individual first place finishes.
Jan. 23
The Illinois Wesleyan women's swim team defeated Millikin, 140-58, in a dual meet at IWU's Fort Natatorium on Fri., Jan. 23. Molly Hornbaker won the 100 and 200 freestyle events and swam a leg on the victorious 200 medley relay team. Other IWU winners were Jeri Becker (200 back), Jessica Hohl (50 free), Lauren Paul (500 free) and Heather Lingenfelter (200 IM). The Titan men's team lost to Millikin, 108-93, despite first place finishes by Russ Blogg (200 free) and Byron Lubenkov (200 back).
Jan. 17
Illinois Wesleyan's Erin Bicek won the 200 individual medley and the 200 breaststroke as the IWU women's team downed DePauw, 135.5-86.5, in a dual meet on Sat., Jan. 17 at Greencastle, Ind. Lauren Paul (1,000 free), Jessica Hohl (200 free), Molly Hornbaker (50 free), Heather Lingenfelter (200 fly) and Dorothy Wawrzak (200 back) also claimed firsts for the Titans. The IWU men's team lost to DePauw, 126-96, despite first place finishes from Jason Ozbolt (500 and 1,000 free), Russell Blogg (50 free), Byron Lubenkov (200 back) and Gorson (200 fly).
Dec. 6
Illinois Wesleyan diver Ben Polite won both the 1-meter and 3-meter diving competitions at the Wabash College diving invitational, held Dec. 6 in Crawfordsville, Ind. Polite finished first on the 1-meter board with 358.55 points, followed by 377.80 points on the 3-meter board to take the top spot over five competitors. The IWU women's team finished fourth and the men's team placed sixth over the weekend of Dec. 5-6 at the DePauw Invitational in Greencastle, Ind.
Dec. 5
The Illinois Wesleyan 200 free relay team of Robin Johnson, Jessica Hohl, Lauren Paul and Heather Lingenfelter placed third with a time of 1:42.87 and led IWU on the first day of the DePauw Invitational on Fri., Dec. 5, in Greencastle, Ind. The Titan women are fourth in the team standings with 238 points. Washington U. leads with 420. Erin Bicek placed fourth in the 200 individual medley in 2:18.28 to lead IWU individual efforts. The Illinois Wesleyan men's team is sixth with 119 points trailing the leader, Washington U., with 434 points.
Nov. 23
Illinois Wesleyan freshman Erin Storck has been chosen as the female "Swimmer of the Week" in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin for Nov. 21-22. Storck had two career bests in a dual meet vs. Carthage (Nov. 21). In the 1000 free she dropped 27 seconds for a third-place time of 11:33.05. In the 500 free, she went a lifetime best of 5:38.68 for second place. At the IWU Invitational (Nov. 22), Storck finished within one second of her lifetime best in the 200 freestyle, and swam to a 5:39.97 third-place finish in the 500 free, a time second only to her Nov. 21 effort.
Nov. 22
The Illinois Wesleyan women's swim team won the eight-team IWU Invitational title on Sat., Nov. 22, finishing with 108 points, three better than second place Carthage. The Titans had just two individual winners, but piled up points with their depth. Erin Bicek won the 200 individual medley (2:18.68) and the 200 free relay team (Jessica Hohl, Lauren Paul, Jenifer Becker and Robin Johnson) placed first (1:43.69). IWU placed second (Hohl), third (Heather Lingenfelter), sixth (Johnson) and ninth (Erin Storck) in the 200 freestyle. The Titans' men's team finished sixth as Carthage won the invitational. IWU's Ben Polite won both the 1- and 3-meter diving events with 234.50 points in the 3-meter and 216.05 in the 1-meter.
Nov. 15
The Illinois Wesleyan University women's swim team lost a dual meet to Washington U.,153-84, and the men's team also fell to Washington U., 125-96, in St. Louis on Nov. 15. Erin Bicek won the 200 IM and Jessica Hohl won the 100 freestyle for the women's team, while Byron Lubenkov won the 100 backstroke and Marcus Meyer took the 100 breaststroke for the men. Ben Polite won both the 1 meter and 3 meter diving events for IWU.
Oct. 25
The Illinois Wesleyan women's swimming team finished first and the men's team finished fifth at the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin Fall Classic, held Sat., Oct. 25 in Rock Island. The women were led by three first place finishes from Erin Bicek, who won the 200-yard individual medley (2:18.93), the 100 breaststroke (1:12.57) and the 200 breaststroke (2:35.58). Heather Lingenfelter also won the 100 butterfly (1:02.83). The Titan women also had four winning relays. The IWU men garnered 45 points as Wheaton was the men's champion with 86 points.
