 INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana University men’s and women’s swimming and diving wrapped up competition at the USA College Challenge presented by arena on Sunday afternoon at the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis. Team USA defeated the Big Ten, 349-247, in the two day short-course event.
It was an incredibly successful weekend for Hoosiers past and present, as Indiana swimmers won seven individual events over the course of the two days. Also after the weekend, current IU swimmers currently own the top times in the NCAA this season in seven events.
Lilly King dominated the women’s 100 breaststroke on Sunday, winning with a time of 57.30. King’s mark is the sixth-fastest time in the history of the event and the quickest this year in the NCAA. Her time is also the third-fastest time in school history.
In the men’s 100 breaststroke, IU alum Cody Miller placed second overall with a time of 52.04, while Ian Finnerty was the top Big Ten finisher, taking fourth with a mark of 53.85. Cody Taylor was seventh in a time of 56.18.
IU’s Blake Pieroni continued his impressive weekend, winning his second event of the meet, cruising to victory in the 200 freestyle with a NCAA-best time of 1:33.43 that ranks ninth all-time in Indiana history. Pieroni now owns the top-two times in the event in the country this year. IU postgrad Zane Grothe took second overall with a time of 1:34.83, while Anze Tavcar was fourth overall with a mark of 1:35.55.
In the men’s 50 freestyle, Ali Khalafalla had a great swim, winning with a time of 19.42 – the fastest time in the NCAA this season. Khalafalla’s time is tied for the eighth-best mark in IU history. Khalafalla now owns the top two times in the NCAA in the event this season.
In the men’s 1000 freestyle, Grothe placed first with a time of 8:46.22. The win was Grothe’s second of the competition, as he won the 500 freestyle on Saturday.
Vini Lanza had a tremendous showing in the men’s 200 butterfly, placing second as the top Big Ten swimmer with a time of 1:43.15 – the top time in the NCAA this year by almost a second. His mark is also the the sixth-fastest in IU history.
Gia Dalesandro was outstanding in the women’s 200 butterfly, finishing second as top Big Ten swimmer with a time of 1:55.77. Bailey Pressey was sixth overall with a mark of 1:58.14.
In the women’s 100 backstroke, Kennedy Goss was the top Big Ten finisher, taking fourth overall with a time of 52.89. Teammate Brooklyn Snodgrass was eighth in a time of 54.96. Bob Glover had a great swim in the men’s 100 backstroke, placing fourth with a time of 46.95 that is just 0.4 seconds off his personal-best mark.
In the women’s 200 IM, King was the second Big Ten finisher, taking sixth overall with a time of 1:59.28. On the men’s side, Miller placed fifth in the 200 IM with a time of 1:48.37.
In the women’s 400 freestyle relay, Dalesandro had a great leadoff leg for the Big Ten “B†relay, splitting a personal-best time of 49.63 that ranks her as the 11th-best performer in the 100 free in IU history. On the same relay, Goss anchored with a time of 50.15.
In the men’s 400 freestyle relay, Pieroni led off for the winning Big Ten “A†team, splitting a 42.57 that ranks sixth all-time in IU history. On the same team, Tavcar went second, posting a time of 43.79. On the Big Ten “B†relay that placed second, Khalafalla went second, posting an impressive time of 42.49.
On the USA “B†relay that placed fourth, Grothe swam third and recorded a time of 44.15. Finally, for the Big Ten “C†relay, Lanza led off and touched the wall with a split of 44.04.
Indiana’s 14 participants this weekend in the USA College Challenge are the most of any school. Michigan was second with 11, while both Ohio State and Wisconsin had six.
The Indiana University men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams will be back in action later this month. Some IU swimmers will be participating in the USA Swimming Winter Nationals from Nov. 30 to Dec. 3, while the majority of the swimmers and the IU divers will be participating in the Miami (OH) Invitational on Dec. 1-3.
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