No. 15 IUSD Wins Five Medals on Final Night of Big Tens
 MADISON, Wis. – A night full of medals gave Indiana women’s swimming and diving its 16th straight top-three finish in the Big Ten Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships Saturday (Feb. 19) evening inside Soderholm Family Aquatic Center.
Hoosiers combined for five medals in the final night of the event as IU stretched its point total to 1100, good for a third-place finish. Sophomore diver Tarrin Gilliland and freshman swimmer Brearna Crawford each became Big Ten champions on Saturday.
“It was a great finish to the Big Ten Championships,†head diving coach Drew Johansen said. “Tarrin was fantastic, winning her first Big Ten title with a tremendous score. I was also proud of Kristen [Hayden] for making the A final coming back from yesterday. The entire team had a great week, and we are looking forward to [the NCAA Zone Diving Championships].â€
“I am pumped about how we finished the meet today,†IU head swimming coach Ray Looze said. “Huge kudos to Tarrin [Gilliland] and [Brearna Crawford] on becoming Big Ten Champions in the platform and the 200 Breaststroke. The girls dug deep to hold off Wisconsin and finish third in the conference. I’m proud of the way the girls conducted themselves. It wasn’t a perfect meet, but we finished strong, and hopefully, we’ll take a good team to the NCAA Championships.
Looze was especially proud of IU’s freshman class, led by Big Ten Freshman of the Year Anna Peplowski.
“Anna Peplowski deservedly won Big Ten Freshman of the Year,†Looze said. “They picked the right person, in my opinion. I’m super excited about this freshman class. We don’t lose anybody from this team, so hopefully, with the incoming freshmen we can be a real force.”
TEAM SCORES
1. Ohio State – 1303
- Michigan – 1185
- Indiana – 1100
- Wisconsin – 1085
- Northwestern – 919.5
- Minnesota – 838.5
- Purdue – 479
- Rutgers – 449
- Nebraska – 423
- Penn State – 396
- Illinois – 199
- Iowa – 165
NOTABLES
- The Hoosiers have placed among the top three at the Big Ten Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships in 16 straight seasons and 21 of the last 22 seasons. IU has 11 championship or runner-up finishes during the 16-year stretch.
- Adding two more Saturdays, Indiana athletes have totaled 119 individual conference championships. The Hoosiers also have 58 individual swimming titles and a league-record 33 diving championships.
- Anna Peplowski was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year after leading her class in points during the championships. Peplowski totaled three medals, all silver, in her first Big Ten meet.
- Including Peplowski, eight Hoosiers were named All-Big Ten. Crawford and Gilliland earned first-team accolades, while Anna Peplowski, fellow freshman Dominika Kossakowska, seniors Noelle Peplowski, Mackenzie Looze and Kristen Hayden and sophomore Ella Ristic were all selected to the second team.
- Not counting relays, Indiana freshmen accounted for five medals and 11 top-10 finishes this week.
- Freshman Breana Crawford swam a 2:06.86 in the 200 Breaststroke to win Indiana’s sixth Breaststroke title in seven seasons. With senior Noelle Peplowski claiming second right behind her, IU went one-two in the race for the second consecutive season.
- Sophomore and reigning Platform National Champion Tarrin Gilliland tallied a career-high 382.80 to win gold in the Big Ten event. Four of Gilliland’s five dives earned more than 75 points, and she earned an 86.40 after executing a 6243D for her second dive.
• At 15:53.81, Freshman Ching Hwee Gan swam the fastest 1,650 Freestyle by a Hoosier since Haley Lips in the 2016 NCAA Championships (15:50.54) and the third-fastest mile race on the program’s performance list. Gan earned bronze for her effort. - Senior diver Kayla Luarde was named IU’s Big Ten Sportsmanship Award recipient this week.                            RESULTS
1,650 FREESTYLE
- Ching Hwee Gan – 15:53.81 (NCAA B Cut, Career Best)
- Mariah Denigan – 16:17.18 (NCAA B Cut)
- Maggie Wallace – 16:19.37 (NCAA B Cut)
200 BACKSTROKE
- Anna Peplowski – 1:53.30 (NCAA B Cut)
- Anna Freed – 1:54.77 (NCAA B Cut, Career Best)
- Elyse Heiser – 1:57.98
100 FREESTYLE
- Ashley Turak – 49.23 (NCAA B Cut)
- Dominika Kossakowska – 50.05
- Ella Ristic – 50.12
                          200 BREASTSTROKE
- Brearna Crawford – 2:06.86 (Big Ten Champion, NCAA B Cut, Career Best)
- Noelle Peplowski – 2:07.32 (NCAA B Cut)
- Mackenzie Looze – 2:09.26 (NCAA B Cut)
PLATFORM DIVE
- Tarrin Gilliland – 382.80 (Big Ten Champion, NCAA Zone Qualifier, Career Best)
- Kristen Hayden – 293.95 (NCAA B Cut)
400 FREESTYLE RELAY
- Anna Peplowski, Ashley Turak, Mackenzie Looze, Noelle Peplowski – 3:15.87 (NCAA B Cut)
- UP NEXT
Indiana women’s swimming and diving will cheer on the men’s team as they compete at Big Tens next week. Indiana women’s diving returns to action March 7-9 to compete in the NCAA Zone Championships, and the combined swim and dive squads will compete March 16-19 in the NCAA Championships.