Hoosier Swimming and Diving Wraps Up Big Ten Team Title

A complete team effort from top to bottom paid off in spades for the Indiana women’s swimming and diving team won the 2009 Big Ten Women’s Swimming and Diving championship Saturday night at Canham Natatorium in Ann Arbor Mich.

Indiana ran away with the crown in the end, totaling 823 points. Minnesota was second with 665 points, followed by Penn State in third (429). Michigan (414) and Wisconsin (405) rounded out the top five. It is the fourth Big Ten title for the Hoosiers and their second in the last three seasons. Indiana also won titles in 1981, 2003 and 2007.

It was Indiana’s depth that netted it the title as IU came home with just four individual titles and one relay crown. The team racked up points with multiple swimmers competing in both the consolation and championship finals. Indiana was also buoyed by its diving team which contributed 174 points to the final total.

“I couldn’t wish for a better ending,” said senior Sarah Stockwell. “We’ve been talking about it all season and it is a dream come true. We’ve gone through so much this season and it is a great way to finish it off for all of us.”

“It was an interesting meet,” said head coach Ray Looze. “(The coaches) were secretly really thrilled about the first preliminary session and how that turned out. We were mentally prepared to be down by 50 or 60 points the first day and then on the second day try to fight our way back into it. So, on the second day to be up was a pleasant surprise.

“Regardless of whether we were behind or it was real close or we moved ahead, the team was real loose. They embraced having a good time and not scoreboard watching. I am so proud of their demeanor and level of professionalism, how they handled pressure and adversity.”

Kate Zubkova won her second Big Ten title of the championships and her fourth individual crown overall with a pool, Big Ten and Big Ten meet record of 1:51.45. That was almost four seconds faster than the second-place finisher. Teammate Ashley Jones was fifth, touching the wall in 1:56.75.

Kim Tracey placed 19th overall with a time of 1:59.61 in the bonus final. Amy Harriman was 22nd (2:01.42) followed by Caitlin Heyman (2:01.44).

It was the second time today Zubkova broke the Big Ten, Big Ten meet and pool record after a prelim swim of 1:52.63. That was an NCAA automatic qualifying time and was almost three seconds faster than the No. 2 qualifier. Jones made her way into the championship final with a career time of 1:56.36, while Harriman made the bonus final with a time of 1:59.70.

Tracey and Heyman went 1-2 in the third heat with Tracey breaking two minutes for the first time in her career at 1:59.96. Heyman also posted a career mark, touching the wall in 2:00.10.

The evening session opened with the final heat of the 1,650 free and Indiana went 2-3-4 with Amanda Smith setting a new school record of 16:00.02. Nikki White was third in 16:03.38, followed by Allison Kay in fourth at 16:06.99. All three times were under the previous school mark of 16:07.39 set earlier this year by White. Cassie Luhrsen took the fifth spot with a time of 16:12.53.

Wrapping up her first Big Ten meet, freshman Margaux Farrell placed fourth in the 100 free championship final with a career-best time of 49.54. That is the fourth-fastest time in school history. Donna Smailis took second in the consolation final (50.03), with Brittany Strumbel third (50.04). Courey Schaefer competed in the bonus final where she touched the wall in a career best 50.68.

Three of four Indiana swimmers posted then-career marks in the morning heats. Farrell was fifth fastest overall with a time of 49.69. Smailis took fourth in her morning heat with a season-best time of 49.98. Strumbel was third in her heat with a time of 50.06, while Schaefer knocked two seconds off her career best to win the sixth heat with a time of 50.78.

The 200-yard breaststroke school record traded hands three times today with Sarah Stockwell taking it last in a time of 2:09.84 in the championship final to finish third. Abby Cooper placed fourth with a mark of 2:10.42.

“I was hoping to swim fast,” Stockwell said. “I didn’t quite expect to swim that fast. It shows that our training has been working and the coaches know what they are doing.”

In the consolation final, Amilee Smith was fifth in 2:15.60, while Katelyn Ishee bettered her career time with a 2:16.02 to finish sixth. Kristy Winck finished third in the bonus final with a time of 2:18.06.

Stockwell picked up her A cut in the morning swim with a school-record time of 2:10.23, good for first in her heat. The record did not stand for long as a few minutes later Cooper earned her A cut with a new record of 2:10.01. Those were the second and third fastest times of the morning. Ishee was sixth in the same heat with a time of 2:16.50 . Also in that heat, Winck set a new personal best of 2:16.84 to earn her spot in the bonus final. Amilee Smith went a career best 2:13.74 to finish fourth in her heat and earn a spot in the consolation final, while Katie Johnson was seventh in her heat with a time of 2:21.84.

Indiana placed three in the championship heat of the 200 butterfly, led by Brittany Barwegen in 1:57.50. Kay was sixth (1:57.81), and Amanda Smith took eighth in 1:58.80.

All three of IU’s butterfliers in the final prelim heat earned a spot in the evening final. Amanda Smith had the fastest time of the morning with a career best of 1:56.69. That is also the second-fastest time in school history. Kay qualified third with a lifetime best of 1:57.00, with Barwegen rounding out the group as fifth-fastest on the morning with a time of 1:57.51.

Cassie Luhrsen took 18 seconds off her career best to win her heat with an NCAA B cut of 16:12.53 and finish fifth overall. Amilee Smith took four seconds off her personal best and finished 14th in a time of 16:33.67. Ashley Kranz chopped almost 16 seconds off her career best with a time of 17:03.99 to finish 25th

Indiana capped off its dominating performance in the diving well with four of the eight finalists in the platform competition. Loukas led the way with a fourth-place showing (269.00), followed by Christina Kouklakis in fifth (264.35), Gabby Agostino in sixth (231.90) and Brittney Feldman seventh (228.35)

“Going out like this is just incredible.” Loukas said. “I really wanted this for the team. We’ve all been working really hard and it is a great end to a hard season. I am really excited.”

Amy Korthauer won the consolation round with the high score of the day, posting a 315.35. Nicole Brehm came in at 16th (202.15).

“It is so nice to be around a group of people that have so much passion and heart,” Looze said. “I know I speak on behalf of the staff when I say we give the kids the credit for trusting us and doing everything we ask, because it can be a huge sacrifice.”

The meet ended with the 400 free relay as Smailis, Strumbel, Kay and Zubkova took sixth in 3:20.40, the fourth fastest time in school history and an NCAA B cut.
   
“We are learning how to be successful, and we really want to win a national title here,” Looze said. “It is going to take a lot of support from the IU community to allow us to do that. To get to that level we are going to have to make another push, not just in the pool but everywhere and I look forward to that opportunity.”

WANLAND WINS TITLE TO CAP BADGERS' RUN AT BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS
It was an opportunity four days in the making, but Ashley Wanland earned the chance to stand alone on the top step of the medal stand Saturday.
 
Wanland became the second freshman from the Wisconsin women’s swimming and diving team to score an individual conference championship this week, dominating the 200-yard breaststroke on the final day of the Big Ten Swimming & Diving Championships.
 
She began the day by shattering the Big Ten record in the 200 breast during the morning preliminaries session, and Wanland capped an extremely successful conference meet by lowering that mark even further to take the title in 2:08.14.
 
The performance solidified the Big Ten Freshman of the Year award for Wanland and highlighted a day that saw the Badgers rack up seven more NCAA qualifying times and roll to school records in four of the five swimming events contested.
 
UW took fifth place in the team race with 405 points, as Indiana (823 points) claimed the Big Ten title ahead of Minnesota (665), Penn State (429) and Michigan (414).
 
Wanland, sophomore Maggie Meyer, freshman Beckie Thompson and senior Christine Zwiegers all earned first-team All-Big Ten honors. Sophomores Kelsey Gergen and Karlyn Hougan both were second-team All-Big Ten selections.
 
“I’m extremely proud of what we were able to accomplish this week,” UW head coach Eric Hansen said. “We wanted to use this meet to expand our roster for the NCAA championships, and we did a tremendous job of putting ourselves in that position.”
 
Wanland also was part of the Badgers’ conference title – and Big Ten record – in the 200 medley relay and is automatically qualified for next month’s NCAA championships in both those events and the 100 breaststroke. She became the third UW swimmer to be named the league’s top freshman in the past eight seasons.
 
“They way Ashley performed throughout the meet was incredible,” Hansen said. “As far as I’m concerned she and Beckie Thompson could have been co-freshmen of the year because of the way they both performed in winning Big Ten championships and setting conference records.”
 
Also in her first-ever conference meet, Wanland finished second in the 100 breaststroke and was part of the Badgers’ third-place effort in the 400 medley relay. She set school records in both events.
 
“Ashley’s performance speaks volumes about who she is and what she’s capable of,” Hansen said. “She’s proven herself to be one of the top breaststrokers in the nation.”
 
Also scoring an individual title in her first Big Ten meet was Thompson, who won the 50 freestyle in a conference-record time on Thursday.
 
Thompson also scored a pair of All-Big Ten honors on the final day of the championships, as she scored a runner-up finish in the 100 freestyle in 48.90 after setting a school record of 48.89 in the morning prelims. She also contributed to UW’s second-place finish in the 400 freestyle relay.
 
Thompson had the lead leg for the Badgers’ relay entry and combined with junior Rosie Morahan, Meyer and Hougan to clock a school-record time of 3:17.36 on the way to a runner-up finish.
 
“I’m really pleased with our effort in the relay,” Hansen said. “To set a school record and finish second in an extremely competitive field is impressive.”
 
Meyer, who finished as the Badgers’ leading point-scorer for the meet, also took a fourth-place finish in the 200 backstroke in 1:55.66. Earlier in the day, Meyer recorded a school-record swim of 1:55.30 during the prelims.
 
“Maggie had a great meet, from start to finish,” Hansen said. “She was a factor in every race she swam and helped rewrite our school record book.”
 
Also in the 200 back, junior Candice Peak recorded the third-fastest time in UW history, as she clocked a time of 1:56.29 to secure an NCAA ‘B’ qualifying mark and ninth-place finish. Junior Sara Goff also scored for the Badgers in the race with a 14th-place finish.
 
Behind Wanland’s conference title in the 200 breaststroke, junior Libby Brooks scored a seventh-place finish in the event after moving into third on the Badgers’ all-time list in the event during the morning prelms.
 
Along with her performance as part of the Badgers’ 400 freestyle relay entry, Morahan scored valuable team points by claiming eighth place in the 100 freestyle in 49.80. She moved into third in UW history in the event with her prelims time of 49.55.
 
Senior captain Jen Illescas just missed a school record in the 200 butterfly on her way to an NCAA ‘B’ mark and 12th-place finish in 1:59.06, while junior Gabby Maddalena added an eighth-place finish in the 1,650 freestyle, clocking in with a season-best time of 16:21.67.
 
Junior Jenny Hawkins scored, as well, taking 13th in the platform diving competition with a score of 218.20.
 
“We had an outstanding meet and were able accomplish a number of things,” Hansen said. “This really puts us in good position as we prepare for the NCAA championships.”

HAWKEYES REWRITE RECORD BOOKS AT BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS
More University of Iowa swimming and diving school records fell Saturday as the Hawkeyes concluded competition at the 2009 Big Ten Championships in Ann Arbor, MI. Hawkeye junior Christine Kuczek broke her own record in the 100 free, while the 400 free relay of freshman Daniela Cubelic, Kuczek, sophomore Katarina Tour and senior Alison Gschwend posted a school record and NCAA B cut performance of 3:21.27 in the meet's final event. After four days of competition, Iowa set seven school records, posted three NCAA B cut performances and recorded 34 collegiate bests. Junior diver Deidre Freeman earned Iowa's Highest Point Award for scoring the most individual points at the meet.

"We had some outstanding swims and dives at the meet, and ended up rewriting our record books," said Hawkeye Head Coach Marc Long.

Iowa placed ninth in the team standings with 137 points. Indiana won its third Big Ten team title in school history with 823. A portion of the four-day event will air March 1 at 11 a.m. (CT) on the Big Ten Network.

Kuczek was Iowa's highest individual placewinner of the day, placing 19th in the 100 free with her school-record mark of 50.21. She set the previous record of 50.55 last season. The 400 free relay placed eighth in 3:21.27, smashing the previous best of 3:22.52 set by Kuczek, junior Julie deBruin, Tour and Gschwend last season.

Cubelic placed 21st in the 200 back (2:01.00), swimming a collegiate-best 2:00.67 in the prelims. Freshman Danielle Carty also swam a collegiate-best 2:02.96 in that race. Those times rank second and ninth, respectively, on Iowa's all-time best performers list. Junior Julie Feingold was Iowa's other placewinner in the final session, finishing 24th in the 200 breast in 2:22.14.

The Hawkeye men's team will take their shot at the Big Ten Championships next week. Events will be held Thursday-Saturday at the Boilermaker Aquatic Center at West Lafayette, IN. Event prelims are scheduled to start at 10 a.m. (CT) each day, while event finals are set to start at 6 p.m. (CT) each evening. Live results will be available on the Purdue University website - www.purduesports.com. A portion of the three-day event will air March 7 at 11 a.m. (CT) on the Big Ten Network.
 
FINAL BIG TEN WOMEN'S SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS TEAM STANDINGS
Place     Team-Points
1.            Indiana - 823
2.            Minnesota - 665
3.            Penn State - 429
4.            Michigan - 414
5.            Wisconsin - 405
6.            Purdue - 290
7.            Northwestern - 253
8.            Ohio State - 236
9.            Iowa - 137
10.          Michigan State - 111
11.          Illinois - 93