Hoosiers Win Four Titles on Final Night of Big Ten Championships
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Indiana University women’s swimming and diving team finished the 2017 Big Ten Championships on a high note, winning four conference titles at the Boilermaker Aquatic Center in West Lafayette, Ind.
The Hoosiers had a terrific final night, winning four gold medals. Over the course of the meet, IU won a total of nine medals – eight gold and one silver.
Indiana finished in second place at the Big Ten Championships with a total score of 1125 points. Michigan won the team title with a score of 1287, while Wisconsin placed third with a total of 1101.
IU has placed first or second at the Big Ten Championships in each of the last nine years, winning the title three-straight times from 2009 to 2011. The Hoosiers have finished second the last six seasons.
Lilly King was named Swimmer of the Championships after winning three individual Big Ten titles, as well as a gold medal with the 400 medley relay and a silver medal with the 200 medley relay. King is the fifth Hoosier to be named Swimmer of the Championships and the first since Allysa Varva in 2012.
Joining King on the All-Big Ten First-Team were Gia Dalesandro, Kennedy Goss, Ali Rockett, Holly Spears and Jessica Parratto.
Dalesandro ended her Big Ten career with another crown in the 200 butterfly, as the senior won the event for the fourth-straight year with a school, Big Ten and Big Ten meet record time of 1:53.67. The senior’s time is also a NCAA A cut mark.
The Naperville, Ill. native becomes just the 15th woman in Big Ten history to win an individual event four times and is the first Hoosier to accomplish the feat. Prior to Dalesandro, no other women’s swimmer in Big Ten history has ever won a 200 fly title more than two straight years.
In addition, Dalesandro became just the fifth woman in conference history to win both the 100 and 200 fly titles during the same year.
Also for the Hoosiers in the Championship Final of the 200 fly, Bailey Pressey took eighth place with a NCAA B cut time of 1:58.54. Reagan Cook placed 16th overall with a NCAA B cut mark of 1:59.80, while Olivia Barker placed 21st with a NCAA B cut time of 1:59.36.
In the 200 breaststroke Championship Final, King came through with a clutch swim, defending her NCAA and Big Ten title from a year ago with a NCAA A cut time of 2:04.03.
King broke the Big Ten meet and Boilermaker Aquatic Center pool record with her swim, which also ranks second all-time in the history of the event – second only to King’s NCAA winning time of 2:03.59 from last season.
With her victory in the event, King has won five individual Big Ten titles in just two seasons.
After taking an Olympic redshirt year in 2016, Jessica Parratto came back and reclaimed her 2015 Big Ten platform dive crown on Saturday night, winning with a NCAA qualifying score of 378.60.
Parratto had an incredible list, scoring over 70.00 points on four of her five dives. Parratto seized control of the event in the third round, posting an impressive score of 81.00. Parratto’s total of 378.60 is the fourth-best in Indiana diving history.
For the week, Parratto made the Championship Finals in all three diving events, finishing fifth in both the 1-meter and 3-meter dives.
Kennedy Goss earned her third career Big Ten title on Saturday night, winning the 200 backstroke with a Big Ten meet record and NCAA A cut time of 1:50.95. Goss’ time is the sixth-best in the history of IU swimming. The Toronto, Ontario native also won the Big Ten crowns in the 200 freestyle and 500 freestyle in 2015.
In the B Final, Rachel Matsumura placed fourth to take 12th overall with a NCAA B cut time of 1:55.72. Shelly Drozda won the C Final to place 17th overall with a personal-best and NCAA B cut time of 1:56.59. Her time ranks her as the 16th-best performer in the event in IU history. Also in the C Final, Ali Rockett touched fifth to place 21st overall with a NCAA B cut of 1:57.52.
Freshman Cassie Jernberg led the Hoosiers in the 1,650 freestyle, placing seventh overall with a personal-best and NCAA B cut time of 16:04.33. With her great mark, Jernberg now ranks as the sixth-best miler in IU history.
Stephanie Marchuk placed 12th overall with a NCAA B cut time of 16:11.40, while Hannah Sakaluk took 38th with a time of 17:25.63.
Freshman Maria Paula Heitmann capped her great week at the Big Ten Championships by leading the Hoosiers in the 100 freestyle, placing 11th with a personal-best and NCAA B cut time of 49.70. With her mark, Heitmann ranks as the 14th-best swimmer at IU in the event.
Holly Spears finished 13th in the 100 free with a NCAA B cut of 49.81, while Shelby Koontz placed 24th with a time of 50.27.
In the final event of the conference championships, the IU 400 freestyle relay team of Goss, Dalesandro, Heitmann and Spears placed fifth overall with a time of 3:17.69.
Over the course of the Big Ten Championships, the Hoosiers posted some impressive accolades. The Hoosiers broke four school records, four Big Ten records, six Big Ten meet records, six Boilermaker Aquatic Center pool records, one NCAA record and one American record. IU also amassed nine NCAA A cut times and had 42 personal-best swims.
Be sure to keep up with all the latest news on the Indiana men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams on social media – Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Big Ten Swimmer of the Championships
Lilly King
First-Team All-Big Ten
Gia Dalesandro
Kennedy Goss
Lilly King
Ali Rockett
Jessica Parratto
Holly Spears
1,650 Freestyle
7. Cassie Jernberg – 16:04.33 (Personal Best, NCAA B cut)
12. Stephanie Marchuk – 16:11.40 (NCAA B cut)
38. Hannah Sakaluk – 17:25.63
200 Backstroke
1. Kennedy Goss – 1:50.95 (Big Ten Meet record, NCAA A cut)
12. Rachel Matsumura – 1:55.72 (NCAA B cut)
17. Shelly Drozda – 1:56.59 (Personal Best, NCAA B cut)
21. Ali Rockett – 1:57.52 (NCAA B cut)
100 Freestyle
11. Maria Paula Heitmann – 49.70 (Personal Best, NCAA B cut)
13. Holly Spears – 49.81 (NCAA B cut)
24. Shelby Koontz – 50.27
200 Breaststroke
1. Lilly King – 2:04.03 (Big Ten Meet and Pool record, NCAA A cut)
8. Laura Morley – 2:11.72 (NCAA B cut)
200 Butterfly
1. Gia Dalesandro – 1:53.67 (School, Big Ten, Big Ten Meet and Pool record, NCAA A cut)
8. Bailey Pressey – 1:58.54 (NCAA B cut)
16. Reagan Cook – 1:59.80 (NCAA B cut)
21. Olivia Barker – 1:59.36 (NCAA B cut)
Platform Dive
1. Jessica Parratto – 378.60 (NCAA qualifying time)
400 Freestyle Relay
5. Kennedy Goss, Gia Dalesandro, Maria Paula Heitmann, Holly Spears – 3:17.69
