For the first time in 21 years, the Indiana men's swimming and diving program captured Big Ten Championship at the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatics Center on Feb. 25. After falling by a pain-staking three points in the 2005 championship to Minnesota, the Hoosiers blew past the Gophers, 760.5-652, to claim the program's 24th Big Ten team title in the 2006 edition.

When Ray Looze stepped on Indiana's campus as the head swimming coach, he wanted to return the program to its prestigious heights, and in four short years, the Hoosiers have done just that. IU claimed its first Big Ten Championship since the 1985 season. Under then-head coach and swimming hall of famer James 'Doc' Counsilman, Indiana won 20 consecutive conference titles from 1961-80 and added championships in 1983, 1984 and 1985.

Michigan took third with 525 points, followed by Northwestern with 421 in fourth. Ohio State finished fifth with 357.5, and Purdue notched 346 points for sixth. Wisconsin and Penn State took seventh and eighth with 214 and 186 points, respectively. Iowa finished in ninth with 127 points, and Michigan State rounded out the docket in 10th at 127.

Indiana also raked in the postseason awards following the event. Senior Kevin Swander earned Big Ten Swimmer of the Championships for the second time in his Hoosier career. He joined three other former Big Ten swimmers in earning two Swimmer of the Championships awards since its inception in 1991. Looze picked up his first Big Ten Swimming Coach of the Year accolade after leading IU to the conference title. Freshman Nick Walkotten became the first swimmer to earn Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors in IU school history. He joined former diver Tom Davidson, who earned the honor in 1997, to win the Freshman of the Year honor.

Peter Vanderkaay of Michigan and Matt Grevers of Northwestern shared the Big Ten Swimmer of the Year honors. With the award for Vanderkaay, it marked only the second time in Big Ten history that a swimmer had been named Big Ten Swimmer of the Year during three consecutive seasons.

By virtue of winning the 10-meter platform in spectacular fashion, junior Brian Mariano garnered Big Ten Diver of the Championships. It marked the seventh time since the inception of the award in 1991 that a Hoosier claimed or shared the award. He also received the co-Big Ten Diver of the Year with Purdue's Steven LoBue. Purdue head diving coach Adam Soldati was named Big Ten Diving Coach of the Year.

Indiana led the way with a total of eight first or second team All-Big Ten selections. The six first team honorees were the most since 1991 when IU also had six. Sophomore Ben Hesen, senior Thomas Clavier, sophomore Todd Patrick, Mariano, sophomore Taylor Roberts and Swander were first team honorees, while senior Sergiy Fesenko and Walkotten were second team choices. Michigan tied IU for the most first team honorees with six.

The Hoosiers opened the final day of the championships by placing three swimmers in the top-five and scored a total of five in the 1,650-yard freestyle. The point totals raised the Indiana lead to over 100 points for the first time in the meet. IU led with 553.5 followed by Minnesota's 452 points. Michigan and Northwestern rounded out the top four with 390 and 305 points, respectively.

Fesenko was the runner-up for the second time at the championships with the fourth-fastest time of 15:03.73 in school history in the 1650 free. He also garnered runnerup distinction in the 500-yard freestyle. His mark also was an NCAA automatic cut time. His 1,000-yard freestyle split of 8:57.80 eclipsed the school mark and became only the second sub-9:00 1,000 free in IU history.

Michigan senior Peter Vanderkaay won the 1,650 free for the third straight season with an NCAA automatic cut time of 14:44.48. Fesenko followed in second and Minnesota senior Travis Beckerle rounded out the top three with a time of 15:10.35.

Despite not swimming in the fastest heat of the evening, sophomore John Kevin Kohler moved up to place fourth in the event. His NCAA provisional cut time of 15:11.98 narrowly missed his personal best by less than half a second. Kohler improved his sixth-place 1,000 free time in school annals with a split of 9:12.31.

Sophomore Alex Brunfeldt took fifth overall with a time of 15:13.88. The time was an NCAA provisional cut time. Brunfeldt's 1,000-yard freestyle split of 9:15.11 moved up to eighth on the Hoosier all-time list. Junior Ryan McNeill placed 10th with a personal best and NCAA provisional cut time of 15:26.52. The time was 12th all-time in IU history. Freshman Steffan Troxel took 14th with a 15:34.01. Junior Paul Sigfusson rounded out the Hoosier contingent as he shaved off nearly 20 second from his seed time to finish 18th with a time of 15:41.41.

In the 200-yard backstroke, both Hesen and senior Mike Jones moved up a spot in the consolation final. Hesen improved to second in the consolation final and 10th overall with a personal best time of 1:46.49. The time made him the fifth fastest in school history and was an NCAA provisional cut time. Jones jumped to 13th as he scored in the 200 back for the fourth time in his Hoosier career. He raced to a time of 1:49.30.

Senior Chris DeJong of Michigan won the event with an NCAA automatic time of 1:42.94. Minnesota went 2-3 as senior Adam Mitchell took the former in a time of 1:43.26. Sophomore David Plummer followed his teammate at 1:44.18 to round out the top three. By virtue of Minnesota's strong showing, the IU gap cut to 70.5 points after the 200 back. Indiana remained in first at 564.5 points, while Minnesota sat in second with 494 points. Michigan rounded out the top three at 422 with Northwestern in fourth at 305 points.

Patrick became the second-fastest Hoosier in the 100-yard freestyle as he placed fourth with a personal-best time of 43.73. The time was an NCAA provisional cut time and the third fastest in IU lore. Junior Lee Houchin took sixth in his first individual Big Ten Championship final with a personal-best mark of 44.02. The time was the seventh fastest in school history and made him the sixth-fastest Hoosier of all-time in the event.

Northwestern claimed the top-two spots in the 100 free as Grievers won his third individual event of the championships with an NCAA automatic cut time of 43:07. Sophomore Kyle Bubolz followed his teammate in second with a mark of 43.44, while junior Igor Cerensek of Minnesota rounded out the top three at 43.56. The Gophers continued to cut into the deficit in the 100 free. With three athletes in the championship final, Minnesota closed the IU lead to 592.5-555. Michigan and Northwestern rounded out the top four with 425 and 342 points, respectively.

Senior Kevin Swander narrowly missed claiming his second individual title of the meet as he took third in the 200-yard breaststroke. The top-three swimmers in the event were separated by a mere .04. Swander's time of 1:55.25, eclipsed his own school record and made him the first IU breaststroker to top the 1:56-barrier in the event. It was also an NCAA automatic qualifying time. Junior Mike Aleandrov of Northwestern took the top spot at 1:55.19 followed by senior Giordan Pogioli of Purdue with at time of 1:55.23. Not only was the trio separated by a small margin, but they all bettered the pool and Big Ten Meet record.

Freshman Heath Tameris took fifth in the 200 breast with an NCAA provisional time of 1:59.27. It marked the first appearance in a championship final of Tameris' young IU career. Sophomore Ronald Hehn won the consolation final with a personal best and NCAA provisional cut time of 1:59.67 to take ninth overall. The mark made him the fourth-fastest Hoosier in the event in school history.

Freshman A.J. Miller took 10th at 2:00.84, followed by a 12th-place performance of senior Hank Baldwin with a time of 2:01.29. Miller's time was a personal best, an NCAA 'B' cut and made him the eighth fastest in the event in school annals. Sophomore Alec Haley swam to a 19th-place finish with a time of 2:03.93 in the bonus heat of the 200 breast.

With its group of five scoring in the 200 breast, IU extended its lead to 75.5 points. The Hoosiers were in the top spot at 643.5 points followed by Minnesota (568) in second, Michigan (434) in third and Northwestern (362) in fourth.

As the lone Hoosier in the championship final of the 200-yard butterfly, redshirt freshman Nick Walkotten swam to his second third-place showing of the meet with an NCAA automatic time of 1:44.32. He also was third in the 100-yard butterfly on Friday night. His time eclipsed the Hoosier school record of 1:44.81 set at the Big Ten Championships last season by Murph Halasz. Michigan claimed the top-two spots in the event as senior Davis Tarwater swam a pool-record 1:43.97 to win the event. Sophomore Alex Vanderkaay took second in an NCAA automatic cut time of 1:44.32.

Freshman Steven Murry and juniors Ryan McNeill and Matt Jensen rounded out the Hoosier swimmers in the bonus heat of the 200 fly. Murry took 21st followed by McNeill in 23rd and Jensen in 24th.

Following the 200 fly, Indiana still maintained a 68.5-point cushion. The Hoosiers led with 659.5 points followed by Minnesota at 591. Michigan was third at 486 points, and Northwestern in fourth with 371 points.

In perhaps one of the most exciting event finishes of the night, Mariano came from behind with an 86.70 on his final dive to claim the 10-meter platform title. The backward 2.5 somersaults with 1.5 twists in the pike position scored the highest total of the meet in the event. Going into his final dive, Mariano needed 80 points to tie for the top spot with Purdue's Josh Karshen, but more than overcame that margin. Mariano's 391.85-point total was the sixth-best six-dive platform performance in school history and a personal best. Despite failing to total 40 points on his third and fourth dives, Mariano used a trio of 80-point plus dives to win the event.

Sophomore Justin Montrie took fifth in the event at 314.05. Senior Jesse Rappaport and sophomore Taylor Roberts rounded out the Hoosier finals contingent with a sixth and eight-place totals of 296.90 and 280.55, respectively. Senior Ryan Fagan and sophomore David Legler placed ninth and 13th overall in the 10-meter platform by virtue of their scores in the preliminary round. With Fagan and Legler's placing, IU had six divers score in the platform event.

The 58-point total in the platform diving event pushed the Indiana lead to its largest of the championship at 118.5 points and secured the conference title. Indiana led following diving with 730.5 points, while Minnesota was second at 612 points. Michigan and Northwestern rounded at the top four with 493 and 387 points, respectively.

The IU quartet of Houchin, Patrick, Swander and Walkotten capped the meet for the Hoosiers with a fourth-place performance in the 400-yard freestyle relay. The Indiana foursome notched the fourth-fastest time in school history and an NCAA provisional cut time of 2:56.87. The Minnesota team of Cerensek, Michell, junior Delac Mario and sophomore Tyler Schmidt won the event in a pool record and NCAA automatic cut time of 2:52.90. The Northwestern quartet of Alexandrov, Bubolz, Grevers and freshman Eric Nilsson took second in a time of 2:53.11, followed by Michigan's Peter Vanderkaay, DeJong, freshman Bobby Savulich and Tarwater in third at 2:54.16. Both times were NCAA automatic cut times.