The No. 11 Indiana men's swimming and diving team claimed a 134-108 conquest of the No. 14 Purdue Boilermakers on Feb. 4 at the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatics Center in Bloomington, Ind. Overall, the Hoosiers captured nine event titles, while junior Lee Houchin and sophomore Nick Walkotten paced Indiana with three event titles each. With the win, IU improved to 7-3 on the season, and 4-2 in conference action.

"Purdue is a tough team," Indiana head coach Ray Looze said. "I am not satisfied with the win. It is just a small step to where we want to be. We have a lot to work on. We still need to finalize our relays and squad for Big Tens. There are going to be some tough decisions to be made. We still need to work on our depth, and get some of our guys that are on the bubble to score at Big Tens."

"We got beat by the better team," said Purdue coach Dan Ross. "I thought we competed well, but our times weren't that great. However, our divers did an excellent job."

"It was nice to get out and swim fast today," Houchin said. "It is a big rivalry with Purdue. Beating them was another goal of ours, and it is good to win in any meet."

"It was nice to win over Purdue again," Jones said. "We swam a good meet and had a lot of season bests that should help build our confidence going into Big Tens. Overall, I think we are getting into the mode of focusing on Big Tens. There is not much time left."

In the opening event of the morning, the Hoosier quartet of sophomore Ben Hesen, Swander, Walkotten and Houchin blazed to a first-place time of 3:15.82. Not only did the effort clear the NCAA provisional standard, it now stands as the eighth-fastest time in school history. Purdue's team of sophomore Joe Colley, senior Giordan Pogioli, freshman Chris Etherington and sophomore Romain Maire touched second in 3:19.35. Additionally, IU's contingent of freshman Jeff Wood, freshman Heath Tameris, Clavier and junior Paul Sigfusson placed third in 3:22.90. At the end of the event, the Hoosiers took a 13-4 lead.

The Hoosiers dropped the hammer in the 1,000-yard freestyle to jump out to a 28-8 lead. Sophomore John Kevin Koehler cruised to victory in 9:20.63, while classmate Alex Brunfeldt closed out the top-two sweep for IU with a second-place 9:28.79. Purdue senior Mark Wolfred took third in 9:30.14. Notably, sophomore Norman Ference shaved 17 seconds off his personal best with a 9:40.16 for sixth place. In the 200-yard freestyle, Indiana stretched its lead to 40-15 with a one-three effort. Senior Sergiy Fesenko touched first in 1:39.46, while Wood recorded a personal-best time of 1:41.25 for third place. Purdue freshman John Schmitt split the difference with a second-place 1:40.49.

After the 50-yard freestyle, the Hoosiers owned a 52-22 advantage. Houchin garnered his second title of the day with a 20.77, while Swander rolled in with a third-place 21.40. Meanwhile, Purdue junior Trey Smith finished runner-up with a 21.29. Notably, sophomore Ronald Hehn turned in a personal-best time of 21.81.

Indiana continued to grab meet titles with a one-two performance in the 200-yard IM. Sophomore Todd Patrick raced to first in a B-cut time of 1:49.58. Meanwhile, freshman A.J. Miller recorded a career-low time of 1:52.22 for second place. Purdue sophomore Jin-Soo Kim rounded out the top three with a 1:52.28. The Hoosiers pushed their lead to 65-28 at the end of the event.

In an exhibition heat, freshman Steffan Troxel recorded a B-cut time of 15:30.38 in the 1,650-yard freestyle. That time moved Troxel into 17th all-time in school history, and chipped nearly 20 seconds off his previous personal low.

Purdue ended Indiana's win streak when junior Steve LoBue won the platform event with a 314.40. Fagan placed second with a 311.17, while Rappaport closed out the top three with a 294.15. At the end of the event, the Boilermakers cut the gap to 73-39.

The Hoosiers countered in the 200-yard butterfly with a top-two sweep. Walkotten blew away the field for his second title in 1:49.02, while Fesenko finished runner-up with a 1:50.66. Purdue senior Blake Scholz took third in 1:51.28. Also of note, freshman Keith Dawley recorded a personal-best time of 1:53.61. With the strong performance, the Hoosiers increased their lead to 87-44.

In the 100-yard freestyle, Patrick snared his second crown with a first-place 45.22, while Purdue's Schmitt placed second in 46.37 and teammate Smith took third in 46.51. The Hoosiers owned a commanding 97-53 advantage after the event.

The Boilers responded in the 200-yard backstroke with a win to cut the Hoosier lead to 105-64. Maire touched first in 1:49.56, while IU grabbed second and third in the event. Hesen placed second in 1:49.85, while senior Mike Jones took third in 1:51.77. Notably, Miller posted a personal-best time of 1:55.08 for the Hoosiers.

The Hoosiers maintained their distance dominance with a top-three sweep in the 500-yard freestyle. Wood captured the crown in a personal-best time of 4:31.18, while Koehler placed second in 4:35.06 and Brunfeldt took third in 4:37.24. With the incredible effort, the Hoosiers jumped into a 121-67 lead.

LoBue completed the diving sweep in the three-meter event, as he posted a 342.38. Rappaport finished second for Indiana with a 335.25, while Fagan took third with a 334.80. The diving effort cut IU's lead to 129-78.

Purdue salvaged some of the meet with a one-two finish in the 200-yard breaststroke. Pogioli raced to a win in a B-cut time of 1:59.13, while Kim took second in 2:01.79. Meanwhile, Swander placed third in 2:01.83.

In the 400-yard freestyle relay, the Indiana squad of Fesenko, Houchin, Patrick and Walkotten touched first in 3:01.49. Meanwhile, Purdue's team of Maire, Smith, Etherington and Schmitt placed second in 3:03.48.

"Minnesota and Michigan are the clear favorites for the Big Ten title," Looze said. "We just need to go in an do our best. We are slated third going in, based on the body of Minnesota and Michigan's work. We just need to do our best and see what we can do. Until we beat one of those two in either a dual or championship meet, they will remain the favorites."

Next up, the Hoosiers play host to the 2006 Big Ten Men's Swimming and Diving Championships from Feb. 23-25. The event will be held at the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatics Center in Bloomington, Ind.