Eastern Illinois opened the 2026-27 season at the IU Indy invite. For the men, EIU beat Xavier (144-117); versus Bellarmine, Panthers win (133.50-125.50); versus IU Indy, the Panthers fell to (244.00-49.00). For the women, EIU beat Bellarmine (146 .00 - 114.00); versus Bowling Green State, EIU fell (235.00 - 58.00); versus IU Indy, the Panthers dropped the dual (226.00 - 67.00); versus Butler, Eastern Illinois lost (174.00 - 87.00). 

Men's Swimming 
The Panthers men's 200-yard medley relay (Elijah Nevins, Simonas Rimskis, Luke Helm, Shane Gabel) earned a third-place finish with a time of 1:32.94.  

Poyraz San Askins broke the EIU 1000-yard freestyle record by over 10 seconds with a second-place finish, earning a new record time of 9:29.00. Askins also placed third in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:41.05.  

RJ Higgins placed fourth in the 100-yard backstroke with a final time of 51.72.  

Simonas Rimskis placed second in the 100-yard breastroke with a time of 57.66, which ranks tenth fastest in program history. 

Jameson Cooke placed fourth in the 200-yard butterfly with a final time of 1:57.19.  

The 200-yard medley relay team (RJ Higgins, Nolan Wallace, Gabe Green, and Jack Hannon) finished sixth with a time of 1:33.92.  

Women's Swimming 
Macy Ahrens earned a sixth-place finish in the 1000-yard freestyle with a time of 11:04.16. Ahrens also placed fifth in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:08.07.  

Jenna Patridge swam the 100-yard backstroke in a time of 58.96, earning a fifth-place finish. Patridge also swam the 200-yard backstroke in a time of 2:07.54, earning a third-place finish. Patridge's 100-yard backstroke is the tenth fastest time in school history, almost beating her personal best from last season, which ranks eight in school history. Her 200-yard backstroke ranks eighth fastest in EIU history, only a second off from her personal best.  

Maja Przybylska earned a top ten finish in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 54.56.  

Sophia Buswell earned a top ten finish in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 2:15.97. Buswell also placed ninth in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 1:00.39.  


Up Next: The Panthers host Olivet Nazarene for their home opener on October 9th.