Indiana and Texas took home victories in a massive tri-meet with Indiana, Texas and Florida in Bloomington.
Scores
Men
Indiana 149, Texas 132
Texas 185, Florida 96
Indiana 181, Florida, 100
Women
Texas 186, Florida 90
Texas 170, Indiana 106
Indiana 150, Florida 131
Texas Press Release
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Two-time defending national champion Texas won seven events and split its season-opening meets against host Indiana and Florida Friday afternoon at the Hoosiers’ Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatics Center.
Texas dealt Florida a 185-96 defeat while falling to Indiana by a 149-132 count. IU also dealt Florida a 181-100 defeat. The three teams are competing in the same format conducted in last year’s two-day meet in Austin, which was conducted in long course meters (50m pool) on the first day and the standard collegiate format, short course yards (25-yard pool), on the second day.
Indiana opened the meet by claiming the 200-meter medley relay before All-America senior and U.S. Olympian Clark Smith took second in the 800m freestyle at 8 minutes. 22.95 seconds. Sophomore Townley Haas, the U.S. national champion and fifth-place finisher in the 200m freestyle at the Rio Olympics, won the same event Friday afternoon in 1:51.29.
Indiana claimed the top-two spots in the 100m backstroke, where UT junior Jonathan Roberts placed third at 58.52. Junior Imri Ganiel logged the Horns’ top finish in the 100m breaststroke with his 1:05.26 for second place. Senior Jack Conger, a U.S. Olympian and American record holder in the 200-yard butterfly, held off Florida’s Jan Switkowski for the win in the 200m butterfly at 2:01.08.
All-America senior Mark Anderson paced the Horns in the one-meter diving event, the only diving event of the afternoon, with his second-place total of 381.35 points. IU’s Blake Pieroni, a U.S. Olympian in the 4x100m freestyle relay, held off Haas for the win in the 100m freestyle, as Haas took second at 50.79.
Texas’ Roberts, a finalist in the 200m freestyle last summer at the U.S. Olympic Trials, led a one-two Longhorns finish atop the 200m backstroke, as he claimed the victory in 2:04.72. UT freshman Josh Artmann ran down Florida’s Maxime Rooney for second at 2:05.86.
The 200m breaststroke featured an outstanding race with the top-three finishers finishing within less than half a second of one another. Indiana’s Cody Taylor held a slight lead over Texas’ Casey Melzer at 150 meters, but Melzer clipped Taylor for the win at the final wall in 2:24.12, just ahead of Taylor’s 2:24.17.
Smith held off Indiana’s Marwan Elkamash to claim the 400m freestyle at 3:55.99 while sophomore Jeff Newkirk took fourth at 4:05.95. Conger completed a sweep of the butterfly events with his mark of 53.43 at 100 meters.
Texas wrapped the meet by winning the 400m freestyle relay, as Smith, Haas, sophomore Tate Jackson and Conger finished in 3:22.84. Indiana led by over a second at 300 meters before Conger made up the deficit in the first 50 meters alone and put the Horns in the lead for good.
Texas, Indiana and Florida go head-to-head once more on Saturday in the traditional 25-yard (short course) format at 10 a.m. ET.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Texas claimed 13 of 15 events and put away convincing dual-meet victories over Florida and host Indiana Friday afternoon at the host Hoosiers’ Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatics Center.
Texas defeated the Gators by a 186-90 count and the Hoosiers by a 170-106 margin. Indiana defeated Florida, 150-131. The three teams swam the same format utilized in last year’s meet in Austin, which was conducted in long course meters (50m pool) on the first day and the standard collegiate format, short course yards (25-yard pool), on the second day.
“I thought we were pretty good today,” said fifth-year UT head coach Carol Capitani. “We had a young team last year, but the sophomores are figuring things out, and it was lot of fun watching them learn this past year. Now’s the time to find their opportunities to shine. And, I won’t ever take our senior leadership for granted. I appreciate all they’re doing across the board to be tough and gritty. We really had nice contributions from all four classes across the board.”
The Longhorns opened the meet by pulling away to victory in the 200m medley relay. Indiana led by one one-hundredth of a second at 150 meters, but UT All-America junior Rebecca Millard overpowered IU’s Gabi Rajic on the anchor leg and gave Texas the win in 1 minute, 54.88 seconds. All-Americans Tasija Karosas, Olivia Anderson and Remedy Rule joined Millard on the Texas relay.
UT sophomore Joanna Evans, who represented The Bahamas in three events at the Rio Olympics, gave Texas its second straight win in the 800m freestyle at 8:50.16. Versatile All-America senior Madisyn Cox gave the Horns their third win in as many events, as she secured the 200m freestyle at 2:00.41. Evans followed in second at 2:02.51.
Karosas delivered the Horns’ fourth consecutive win and led a one-two Texas finish in the 100m backstroke at 1:03.06. Freshman Claire Adams, a former world junior record holder in the event from nearby Carmel, Indiana, took second for Texas at 1:03.76.
It took an Olympic gold medalist in the 100m breaststroke to keep Texas from its fifth straight win. Lilly King won the event in 1:09.05, but UT yielded second, third and fourth-place finishes to stave off the Hoosiers’ point gain. UT sophomore Olivia Anderson, a semifinalist in the event at the U.S. Olympic Trials, took second at 1:09.67 while her UT classmate Brooke Hansen placed third at 1:13.68. All-America senior Jordan Surhoff took fourth for Texas at 1:14.68.
All-America sophomore Remedy Rule joined Texas freshman Lauren Case atop the 200m butterfly. Rule took the win in 2:13.52 while Case placed second at 2:16.54. Millard, fresh off of her strong anchor swim in the 200m medley relay, led a quintet of Longhorns atop the final 50m freestyle standings. Millard was victorious at 26.10 while sophomore Anelise Diener took second at 26.94. Senior Brynne Wong placed third at 27.05.
After a short break, Millard completed the sprint sweep and put away another win in the 100m freestyle at 57.09. Indiana claimed the 200m backstroke, but Cox added her second individual win of the day in the 200m breaststroke, where she led a one-two Longhorns finish in 2:31.23. Anderson took second at 2:35.03.
Evans ended a productive afternoon in the middle distance and distance events with her victory in the 400m freestyle at 4:19.55. Rule finished off a sweep of the butterfly events with her win at 100 meters in 1:01.50.
Sophomore Meghan O’Brien led all competitors and claimed the three-meter diving event with 341.25 points. Freshman Alison Gibson placed third with 324.45 points while sophomore Sofia Rauzi took fourth at 279.45.
With victories over the Hoosiers and Gators secured, Texas declined the points the rest of the way but maintained its winning ways. Cox, a U.S. Olympic Trials finalist in the 200m and 400m individual medleys, won at 200 meters in 2:16.59.
The Longhorns finished off a business-like afternoon with a convincing victory in the meet-ending 400m freestyle relay, where Karosas, Millard, sophomore Nora McCullagh and Cox took the win at 3:49.80. Notably, a second Texas relay took second ahead of the top relays from Indiana and Florida, as Rule, Evans, Diener and Adams finished in 3:51.83.
Texas, Indiana and Florida go head-to-head once more on Saturday in the traditional 25-yard (short course) format at 10 a.m. ET.
“I hope to see more of the same tomorrow,” Capitani added. “We can’t let our guard down at all. We’ll have to come out fighting and take nothing for granted. I expect to see the same professionalism to try to get the job done.”
Indiana Press Release
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Indiana University men's and women's swimming and diving teams got the 2016-17 season off to a great start on Friday, posting three wins in a long-course meters tri-meet with Texas and Florida at the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center in Bloomington, Ind.
The Hoosier men posted two wins on Friday, beating two-time defending NCAA Champion Texas, 149-132, and taking down Florida, who placed third at last season's NCAA Championships, 181-100. For the Indiana women, the Hoosiers beat Florida, 150-131, but fell to Texas, 170-106.
"I have to congratulate our men's swimming and diving team," IU head swimming coach Ray Looze remarked. "That's the first win we have ever gotten over Texas or Florida in over 40 years. Our guys definitely came to race and I am super proud of them. Nobody was at full strength, but that happens this time of year and who show up with is who you have to compete with and I thought our guys were real competitive. I'm really proud of our men.
"I thought our women started off the meet great but faded. A lot of that has to do with taking care of your body during a meet and keeping that competitive edge and not easing up. I thought we got a little bit complacent. Overall, to have three wins against this level of competition is good and we can be a lot better."
In the men's 200 medley relay, the Hoosier team of Bob Glover, Ian Finnerty, Vini Lanza and Ali Khalafalla won with a time of 1:41.58 – the fifth-best time in school history. On the women's side, the IU team of Brooklyn Snodgrass, Lilly King, Gia Dalesandro and Gabriela Rajic took second with a school-record mark of 1:55.72.
Freshman Cassie Jernberg had a nice debut for the Hoosiers in the 800 freestyle, leading the team by placing third with a time of 8:58.60. Stephanie Marchuk was fourth overall with a mark of 8:59.68.
For the Hoosier men, transfer and 2016 Olympian for Egypt Marwan Elkamash won the 800 freestyle with a time of 8:19.42, while teammate Adam Destrampe finished fifth overall with a mark of 8:28.78.
The Hoosier men had a great showing in the 200 freestyle, with 2016 Rio gold medalist Blake Pieroni leading the way, coming in second with a time of 1:51.44. Elkamash was third in a time of 1:52.23, while 2016 Team Slovenia Olympian Anze Tavcar touched fifth with a mark of 1:53.73. A 2016 bronze medalist for Team Canada in Rio, Kennedy Goss paced IU in the women's 200 freestyle, touching the wall third in a time of 2:03.65.
The Indiana men went 1-2 in the 100 backstroke, with Glover winning in a time of 57.36. Teammate Wilson Beckman was second overall with a mark of 58.40. On the women's side, Snodgrass placed third with a time of 1:04.91.
The Hoosiers swept the 100 breaststroke on Saturday, with King winning for the women and Finnerty touching first on the men's side. King, the 2016 Olympic champion in the event, won with a time of 1:09.05, while teammate Laura Morley placed fifth with a mark of 1:15.02. Finnerty won the men's 100 breast with a time of 1:05.11.
Reagan Cook led the IU women in the 200 butterfly, placing fourth with a time of 2:18.29, while Dalesandro came in fifth with a mark of 2:18.88. On the men's side, Lanza touched the wall fourth in a time of 2:07.10, while Max Irwin was fifth in 2:08.12.
Indiana swept the top-3 in the men's 50 freestyle, with Khalafalla winning with a time of 22.61. The 2016 Team Egypt Olympian was followed by Pieroni in second at 23.01 and Tavcar in third in 23.45.
In the men's 1m dive, 2016 Rio Summer Olympic silver medalist Michael Hixon made his return to Bloomington, winning the event with a NCAA qualifying score of 394.30. Fellow Olympian and teammate James Connor placed third
In the women's 3m dive, IU's Michal Bower placed second overall with a personal-best score of 335.15. With her NCAA qualifying mark, Bower now ranks as the 12th-best performer in the event in school history. Making her Hoosier debut, Taylor Pamplin placed sixth with a score of 271.30.
IU had another strong showing in the 100 freestyle, with Pieroni earning his second win of the day, touching first overall with a time of 50.14. Khalafalla was third in a time of 51.33, while Tavcar took fifth with a mark of 51.48.
In the 200 backstroke, Goss led the Hoosiers, winning with a time of 2:15.53, leading a trio of top-5 finishers. Shelly Drozda came in third with a mark of 2:18.71, while Rachel Matsumura took fifth in a time of 2:19.51. On the men's side, Beckman led the IU charge, placing fourth with a time of 2:07.79.
Cody Taylor led the IU men in the 200 breaststroke, placing second overall with a time of 2:24.17. Freshman Jack Kucharczyk was fifth overall in a mark of 2:25.18. On the women's side, King was third in a time of 2:36.38.
Elkamash continued his great debut for the Hoosiers, placing second in the men's 400 freestyle with a time of 3:56.35. Matt Anderson was third in 4:05.08, while Destrampe took fifth in a mark of 4:06.04. On the women's side, Marchuk led the way, placing third with a time of 4:23.00, while Jernberg took fifth in 4:26.61.
In the 100 butterfly, Lanza placed second for the IU men with a time of 54.71, while Dalesandro highlighted the Hoosier women's effort, taking third with a mark of 1:01.87.
Lanza placed third overall in the men's 200 IM with a time of 2:09.75, while Dalesandro led the IU women, taking fourth in the event with a time of 2:24.69. Sam Lisy was fifth with a time of 2:24.76.
The Hoosier women's 400 freestyle relay team of Ali Rockett, Snodgrass, Shelby Koontz and Goss took second place with a time of 3:59.24.
In the final event of the night, the Hoosier men trotted out four Olympians – Pieroni, Khalafalla, Tavcar and Elkamash – with the quartet placing second overall with a time of 3:23.84. The relay's time is the fourth-fastest in IU history.
The Indiana University men's and women's swimming and diving teams will be back in action on Saturday, October 22 when the team hosts Florida and Texas in a short-course yards tri-meet at the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center. The meet is scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m. ET.
Florida Press Release
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Florida suffered its first losses of the season today – the men fell to Indiana 181-100 and to Texas 185-96, while the women lost to Indiana 150-131 and to Texas 186-90.
This meet served as the season-opener for both Texas and Indiana. The Gators competed just last week against FSU.
The three teams' divers kicked off the day of competition with the men's 1-meter and women's 3-meter. The youthful Gators, up against a handful of Olympians, held their own. Both 1-meter fourth-placer Dylan Power (304.80) and fifth-placer Samuel Smith (303.90) registered NCAA-qualifying scores. Teya Syskakis, who finished fifth in the 3-meter with a 278.70 score, was less than two points away from the NCAA mark.
In the pool, freshman Kelly Fertel notched her first collegiate event win in the 200m IM at 2:20.94, with her teammates Kay Sargent and Savanna Faulconer following close behind in second and third.
Mark Szaranek clinched Florida's sweep in the event, touching first at 2:06.60.
Sherridon Dressel, Kelsey Dambacher, Mollie Pulte and Amelia Maughan – UF's A-team – rounded out the Gator wins for the day, finishing first in the 400m free relay at 3:56.26.
Georgia Darwent also swam a solid meet, finishing second in both the 400m free (4:21.80) and 800m free (8:52.39). On the men's side, Jan Switkowski placed second in the 200m fly (2:01.69), third in the 100m fly (55.02), fourth in the 100m free (51.40) and teamed up with Jack Blyzinskyj, Stanley Wu and Maxime Rooney to finish third in the 200m medley relay.
Today's competition was conducted at Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center's 50-meter long-course pool. Tomorrow's races will move to the 25-yard short-course pool and are scheduled for a 10 a.m. ET start.
TROY'S TAKE
"We raced well, but we weren't as good as what we need to be. We certainly have some things we have to work on. We had some people race really well, but we weren't in the same ballpark as two good teams today. They were just better than we were, so we'll see if we can't be a little bit better tomorrow. We got better as we went through the meet, but we have a ways to go.
"The freshman girls stood up, and they were in all the races – we just lost too many close races. On the men's side, Jan Switkowski and Mark Szaranek were both really good. We just didn't have enough good swims today."
GILLOOLY'S TAKE
"Today went very well. I'm very pleased and proud of everybody's performance. We're up against two teams that have some of the best divers not only in the NCAA, but in the world. It was a great experience for our young team to be in competition with those divers, and they held their own. The placing at this time of the year is not what's important. I think that everyone elevated their level and did very respectably in a very difficult competition."
