BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Indiana University men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams tallied three more wins on Saturday in a tri-meet with Texas and Florida at the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center in Bloomington, Ind.
The Hoosier men finished the weekend undefeated, beating the two-time NCAA Champion Texas Longhorns, 161.5-119.5, and the Florida Gators, 182-99. The IU women beat Florida, 183-98, but fell to Texas, 168-108.
“Kudos to the men’s team winning every meet they had this weekend,†IU head swimming coach Ray Looze said. “The guys really stepped up big time. I’m super proud of them and the good thing is there’s more left in the tank. The women did a nice job beating Florida yesterday and then really distancing themselves today. Overall it’s a solid beginning. We’ve got big goals and we want to keep the ball rolling.â€
In the first event of the day, the men’s team started off on a great note, as the IU relay of Bob Glover, Ian Finnerty, Vini Lanza and Ali Khalafalla won with a time of 1:27.48. For the Hoosier women, the IU team of Brooklyn Snodgrass, Lilly King, Gia Dalesandro and Gabriela Rajic touched second with a time of 1:40.51.
Marwan Elkamash had a great effort in the 1000 freestyle, placing second with a time of 9:13.63, ranking him as the 17th-best performer in the event in IU history. Jackson Miller was fourth in 9:18.01, while Adam Destrampe took fifth with a mark of 9:18.07.
Stephanie Marchuk led the charge for the IU women in the 1000 freestyle, placing second with a time of 10:00.20. Freshman Cassie Jernberg took fourth overall, touching in 10:02.98.
Pieroni was impressive in winning the men’s 200 freestyle, taking down NCAA Champion and USA Olympian from Texas Townley Haas with a time of 1:35.75 – a NCAA B cut. Anze Tavcar took fourth with a mark of 1:38.64. Kennedy Goss placed second for the IU women, touching in a time of 1:48.50.
Glover won the men’s 100 backstroke with a NCAA B cut time of 47.94, while Wilson Beckman took fourth with a mark of 50.03. Ali Rockett led the women in the event, placing third with a NCAA B cut time of 55.03. Snodgrass took fourth in 55.28, while Marie Chamberlain was fifth with a mark of 55.70.
In the women’s 100 breast, King – the Olympic and NCAA champion – took first place with a NCAA B cut time of 1:01.19. Teammate Laura Morley took fifth with a mark of 1:05.53. On the men’s side, Finnerty won the event with a time of 55.44, while Levi Brock took third in 56.43.
Lanza led Indiana in the 200 butterfly, placing second with a NCAA B cut time of 1:47.59. Max Irwin placed fifth, touching in a time of 1:49.14. For the Hoosier women in the 200 butterfly, Dalesandro was third with a time of 2:00.09, while Reagan Cook finished fifth in 2:01.92.
Khalafalla had a tremendous swim for Indiana in the 50 freestyle, winning with a NCAA B cut time of 19.44. Sam Lorentz placed third with a time of 20.31, while Tavcar was fourth in 20.41.
IU men’s diving capped a great weekend with another win, as two-time Olympian James Connor took first in the 3m dive with a score of 408.05. Rio 2016 silver medalist Michael Hixon took third with a mark of 388.55 and Cody Coldren finished fifth with a tally of 352.05. All three divers achieved NCAA qualifying scores.
In the women’s 1m dive, IU’s Michal Bower took second place overall with a score of 304.20 – just 0.10 off her personal-best score. Taylor Pamplin placed third with a score of 294.70. Both divers recorded NCAA qualifying scores in the event.
IU showed it’s sprinting strength in the men’s 100 freestyle, claiming the top three spots – all with NCAA B cut times. Pieroni won with a mark of 43.25, while Khalafalla placed second in 43.79. Tavcar took third with a time of 44.05. On the women’s side, Rockett placed third with a time of 51.79.
In the women’s 200 backstroke, Goss led the Hoosiers, touching the wall third in a time of 2:00.73. Snodgrass was fourth in 2:00.84, while Rachel Matsumura was fifth with a mark of 2:00.88. For the men, Glover took third with a mark of 1:48.06, while Beckman was fifth in1:48.97.
Cody Taylor had a great swim for Indiana in the men’s 200 breast, winning with a time of 2:03.06, while freshman Jack Kucharczyk tied for third with a mark of 2:04.71. For the IU women, King took second with a NCAA B cut time of 2:11.84.
In the 500 freestyle, Goss led the way for IU, placing second in the women’s event with a time of 4:50.61. Marchuk was right behind her in third place with a mark of 4:54.17. On the men’s side, Elkamash was third in 4:25.94, while Miller took fourth in a mark of 4:29.47.
In the women’s 100 butterfly, Dalesandro paced IU, taking second with a NCAA B cut time of 54.17, while Christine Jensen placed fifth with a mark of 55.66. For the men, Lanza took second with a NCAA B cut time of 47.69, while Irwin was fourth in 48.63.
In the 200 IM, Dalesandro highlighted the women’s effort, placing second with a time of 2:04.49, while Sam Lisy as fourth in 2:06.06. Matsumura was fifth in the event with a mark of 2:06.36. On the men’s side, Pieroni was fourth in 1:49.41, while Lanza placed fifth in a time of 1:50.18.
The Hoosier men put an exclamation point on their unbeaten weekend, winning the 400 freestyle with the team of Khalafalla, Tavcar, Lorentz and Pieroni with a time of 2:55.73.
For the women in the 400 freestyle relay, the team of Rockett, Goss, Shelby Koontz and Snodgrass took third with a time of 3:29.00.
The Indiana University men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams will be back in action on Friday, October 28 when the team travels to Lexington, Ky. to face Kentucky and Tennessee in a tri-meet. The action is scheduled to start at 11:00 a.m. ET.
