 BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Indiana University men’s swimming and diving team will head to Columbus, Ohio this week looking to win the program’s 25th conference title at the 2017 Big Ten Championships.
The four-day meet will begin with on Wednesday night at 6:30 p.m. On Thursday through Saturday, the teams will swim a preliminary session in the morning at 11 a.m. with the championship session to follow at 6:30 p.m.
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Live results for the swimming events can be found at IUHoosiers.com. Live results for the diving events this week can be found atDiveMeets.com. For more information on the Men’s Big Ten Championship, including a schedule of events, fans can click HERE.
The Big Ten Championships will be streamed live via BTN Plus on BTN2Go. The Big Ten Network will also televise Saturday’s finals Sunday, Feb 26 at 10:30 a.m. ET. Complimentary access to BTN2Go is available to viewers connected to the internet network of a Big Ten university. Fans elsewhere can sign up for the pay-per-view webcasts.
Scouting the Hoosiers
Indiana enters this week’s Big Ten Championships as the top-ranked B1G school in the latest CSCAA/TYR Top 25 poll at No. 4 in the nation. Joining IU in the top-25 are Michigan (No. 9), Minnesota (No. 16), Ohio State (No. 17) and Wisconsin (RV).
During the dual-meet season, the Hoosiers posted a record of 11-0 – the undefeated year for the Hoosiers is the first for the men’s squad since 1981. Once again, IU swam against some of the best teams in the country, posting four wins over teams that expect to finish in the to-5 at the NCAA Championships and seven victories over squads expecting to place in the top-20.
“Our coaching staff is excited to begin the men’s swimming and diving Big Ten Championships,†IU head coach Ray Looze said. “We have a solid well-balanced team and are hopeful for a successful competition.â€
Indiana head diving coach will take a quartet of divers to the league championships – Joshua Arndt, Cody Coldren, James Connor and Michael Hixon. Connor, the 2015 Big Ten champion in the 3-meter and platform dive, and Hixon, the 2015 champion in the 1-meter at Big Ten’s, return to the conference championships after taking Olympic redshirt seasons in 2016.
“We are looking forward to Big Ten’s this week,†IU head diving coach Drew Johansen remarked. “We have four great divers competing in what might be one of the better Big Ten Championships of all-time. There are going to be multiple Olympians and multiple medalists from several teams. We are looking forward to a great week.â€
Big Ten Championship History
The Indiana men’s swimming and diving team has won 24 conference championships in program history. The Hoosiers 24 team titles are the second-most in in the Big Ten, ranking only behind Michigan’s 39. Indiana has finished in the top-3 at the Big Ten Championships for six-straight seasons and the second-place finish is the fourth for the Hoosiers in the last six years.
2016 Big Ten Championships
At the 2016 Big Ten Championships, the Hoosiers finished second overall with 1,306 points, with Michigan winning the conference title with a total of 1,475.5. Ian Finnerty was named Big Ten Rookie of the Year after winning gold in the 100 breaststroke and 400 freestyle relay for IU.
Joining Finnerty on the First-Team All-Big Ten Team was Bob Glover, Ali Khalafalla, Tanner Kurz, Vini Lanza, Blake Pieroni, Oliver Patrouch and Anze Tavcar. Max Irwin, Jackson Miller and Cody Taylor were named Second-Team All-Big Ten, while John Winck was Indiana’s Sportsmanship Award honoree.
IU won six gold, seven silver and four bronze medals in total last year. IU’s 17 medals were second only to Michigan’s 23 and were eight more than Ohio State, who had the third-most with nine.
Over the course of the conference championships, the Hoosiers racked up 14 school record swims, seven Boilermaker Aquatic Center records, 13 NCAA A cuts, 78 NCAA B cuts and 52 personal-best times.
IU Racks up Medals at FINA Short Course World Championships
Lilly King led a group of five IU swimmers that won medals at the 2016 FINA Short Course World Championships in Windsor, Ontario in December. Over the course of the six-day competition, current, former and postgrad Indiana swimmers combined for 12 medals – six gold, five silver and one bronze. King took home five medals, including four golds, while Blake Pieroni won two silver medals and one bronze. IU alum Cody Miller won a gold medal to go with a silver.
Also winning medals on the week were Kennedy Goss and IU postgrad Zane Grothe. Goss won gold with Team Canada in the 800 freestyle relay, while Zane Grothe won silver with Team USA in the 800 freestyle relay.
IU Sends 11 to Rio Olympics, Winning Seven Medals
The Indiana Swimming and Diving program sent 13 swimmers, divers and coaches to the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics – James Connor, alumna Amy Cozad, Marwan Elkamash, Kennedy Goss, Michael Hixon, Ali Khalafalla, Lilly King, alum Cody Miller, Jessica Parratto, Blake Pieroni and Anze Tavcar. Drew Johansen served as the head coach of USA diving, while Ray Looze was an assistant coach for USA Swimming.
At the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics, the IU swimmers and divers won a total of seven medals – four golds, one silver and two bronze. Lilly King headlined the group with two gold medals, while Cody Miller won gold and bronze. Blake Pieroni earned a gold medal as a member of Team USA’s 4×100 freestyle relay team, junior Kennedy Goss earned a bronze medal as a member of Team Canada’s 4×200 freestyle relay team and junior diver Michael Hixon won silver in the men’s 3m synchronized springboard.
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