The Eastern men’s and women’s swim teams both found success Nov. 20 when they came out with victories over Saint Louis.

The meet was both teams’ first road meet of the season.

The men’s team downed the opposing Billikens 114-107 while the women managed to earn their first victory of the season, coming out on top 124-94.

The two wins put the men’s record at 2-1 for the year, while the women improved to 1-2 on the early season.

The meet was special for the Panther women as they were able to overcome their winless streak by taking control early on in the meet.

“The first win was awesome. Everyone was really pumped up for the meet, and we all swam really well,” senior freestyle specialist Lauren Zillmer said.

The Panther women had not beat SLU since their 2001 campaign and the win gave the squad an extra boost of confidence.

“We were just excited to go out there and race,” Zillmer said. “We haven’t beat SLU since 2001, so it was a great win.”

Zillmer gave the women a good start, claiming first place in the 200 free race, while sophomore freestyle specialist Tyler Crittenden took first in the 50 free sprint.

The Panther men, on the other hand, had a tighter battle to overcome despite a good start with freshman Ken Tiltges coming in first in the 200 free.

Going into the final two races, the men found themselves trailing the Billikens, and it took two huge last events including the breaststroke and 400 free relay to earn the win. Sophomore freestyle and breaststroke specialist Tyler Hsieh picked up a win in the 100 free and junior Matt Scaliatine helped the Panthers to earn a sweep of the top three places against SLU in the 200 breaststroke competition, solidifying an Eastern victory.

“The meet was a huge success. We hadn’t beat SLU in eight years and it really was a team victory,” junior freestyle swimmer Tim Mathieu said. “For us to go in there and walk away with a win has done a lot for our confidence.”

With both squads gaining momentum from the Saint Louis meet, the Panthers will head to Muncie, Ind., Friday for their next meet against Ball State.

Kevin Maras can be reached at 581-7944 or kjmaras@eiu.edu.