                 Hoosiers Impressive on First Day of USA College Challenge
INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana University men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams had some impressive swims on the first day of the USA College Challenge presented by arena on Saturday night at the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis.
After the first of two days of the combined, short course yards meet, Team USA leads the Big Ten team, 185-111.
Lilly King continued her dominance in the 200 breaststroke, winning for the Big Ten with a time of 2:05.64 – the fastest time in the country and the third-fastest time in school history. Last year, King won the NCAA Championship and set the American record with her mark of 2:03.59.
In the 100 freestyle, junior Blake Pieroni won with a time of 42.40 – the fastest time in the country so far this season. Pieroni’s time is the fourth-fastest in school history. Teammate Anze Tavcar placed sixth overall with a mark of 43.82. IU postgrad swimmer Zane Grothe swam the anchor leg for Team USA’s winning relay, registering a split of 1:33.48.
Later in the men’s 800 freestyle relay, Pieroni posted the fastest 200 freestyle in the country leading off for the Big Ten “A†team with his split of 1:33.74. Tavcar also swam on that relay, reeling off a split of 1:36.69.
In the women’s 200 backstroke, Kennedy Goss was the top Big Ten finisher, coming in second place with a time of 1:52.54 – the fastest time in the NCAA so far this year. IU’s Brooklyn Snodgrass placed sixth in 1:56.95. For the men, IU’s Bob Glover placed fourth overall with a time of 1:43.82
Indiana’s Vini Lanza was the top Big Ten finisher in the men’s 100 butterfly, placing second overall with a time of 46.23. Lanza’s time is the second-fastest in the country this year and ranks as the fifth-fastest time in IU history.
Gia Dalesandro had a great swim in the women’s 100 butterfly, placing third overall with a time of 51.93. Dalesandro’s time is the third-fastest in school history and the third-fastest in the NCAA this year.
IU postgrad swimmer Zane Grothe was impressive in the men’s 500 freestyle, touching the wall first for Team USA with a time of 4:15.87.
In the men’s 100 breaststroke, IU alum Cody Miller placed second overall with a time of 1:54.12, while current Hoosier swimmer Cody Taylor took fifth with a mark of 1:58.21.
In the women’s 400 medley relay, IU’s Brooklyn Snodgrass (54.24 – backstroke) and Lilly King (56.85 – breaststroke) were apart of the Big Ten’s best team, placing third overall with a time of 3:29.65.
On the men’s side in the 400 medley relay, Ian Finnerty (52.92 – breaststroke) and Ali Khalafalla (42.60 – freestyle) were apart of the Big Ten’s best relay, finishing third in 3:07.93. IU alum Miller swam the breaststroke leg for the winning Team USA relay, splitting a 51.90.
Bailey Pressey represented IU in the 400 IM, placing fourth overall with a personal-best time of 4:10.16, which ranks her as the fifth-fastest performer in the event in school history.
In the women’s 800 freestyle relay, Goss swam for the Big Ten “A†team that placed second, splitting a 1:46.26. Snodgrass went 1:50.72 for the Big Ten “B†relay, while Dalesandro led off for the Big Ten “C†team with a mark of 1:47.08.
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 USA College Challenge, presented by arena will continue on Sunday at the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis, Ind. at 11:30 a.m. ET. The final session will be televised from 12:00-2:00 p.m. ET on the Big Ten Network. The session will also will stream live online at USASwimming.org and btn.com, as well as via the BTN2GO app.
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