MACOMB, Ill. - The Fighting Leatherneck Swimming & Diving program will make its Brophy Hall debut on Saturday against Illinois-Chicago. The men and women are both coming off of fourth place finishes at the TYR/CollegeSwimming.com invite hosted by Carthage College in Kenosha, Wis.

"Swimming at home is always a plus. You have the ability to sleep in a familiar place and eat normal meals. As for the race themselves, we have some intimidating starting blocks and other teams will need to adjust. We train on those blocks and we are comfortable with how they feel," said head coach Greg Naumann.

Jeff Davis, Phil Kurz and Brandon Wilkinson have all been strong on the men's side. Alayna Colley and Shawn Fitzpatrick have been the leaders for the women.

"These are the swimmers that typically get up and race for the team. However, because of our size we do rely on everyone to perform at the peak of their ability on any given race. Some swimmers are in their major events but other times they are filling in gaps that we have in our lineup.

"I have really been impressed with our training in the pool. On any given day it has been faster than what we were a year ago. Some of the athletes have swam career bests this season, so we are moving in the right direction."

The Flames head into the dual after competing at the TYR Invitational hosted by Big Ten member Northwestern. Coach Naumann expects good things from his improving squad.

"I expect to see some fast swims from UIC, which will force our swimmers to push themselves. UIC has the team depth and are trying to rebuild their program back to the level they were at in the past."