BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The No. 4-ranked Indiana University men’s swimming and diving team will head to Indianapolis, Ind. for the 2017 NCAA Championships this week.
The four-day meet gets underway on Wednesday night at the IU Natatorium with the finals of the 800 freestyle relay. The next three days will feature prelims beginning at 10 a.m. ET, with finals following at 6 p.m. ET. Diving trials and consolation finals will begin following swimming prelims Thursday through Saturday.
ESPN3.com will stream the championship finals sessions live each Friday and Saturday. Thursday’s sessions along with the morning sessions on Friday and Saturday will be streamed live on NCAA.com and IndianaSportsCorp.org.
Tape delayed coverage of the championships will be broadcast on ESPNU at 7:00 p.m. ET on April 5 for the men’s championships.
Hoosiers at the 2017 NCAA Championships
Indiana will send 12 swimmers and three divers to the 2017 NCAA Championships in Indianapolis starting on Wednesday.
The Hoosiers have posted some tremendous times this season, earning 10 top-10 seed times in individual swimming events this week. IU is led by Blake Pieroni, who will be the No. 2 seed in the 100 freestyle and the No. 3 seed in the 200 freestyle.
Big Ten Swimmer of the Championships Vini Lanza is ranked highly in all three of his events – No. 5 seed in the 200 IM and the No. 7 seed in both the 100 and 200 butterfly. Ian Finnerty will be the No. 3 seed in the 100 breaststroke and the No. 6 seed in the 200 IM.
Redshirt senior Marwan Elkamash will be the No. 8 seed in the 500 freestyle and the No. 10 seed in the 200 freestyle, while Ali Khalafalla is the No. 5 seed in the 50 freestyle.
In addition to all the individual events, IU will also swim in all five relays at the NCAA Championships.
On the diving side, Michael Hixon and James Connor will both dive in the 1-meter and 3-meter dives for the Hoosiers, while Cody Coldren will participate in all three events – the 1-meter, 3-meter and platform.
Below is the list of the Hoosier student-athletes at the 2017 NCAA Championships and the individual events in which they will participate.
Levi Brock – Relays Only
Cody Coldren – 1-meter dive, 3-meter dive, platform dive
James Connor – 1-meter dive, 3-meter dive
Marwan Elkamash – 200 freestyle, 500 freestyle, 1,650 freestyle
Ian Finnerty – 100 breaststroke, 200 breaststroke, 200 IM
Bob Glover – 100 backstroke, 200 backstroke
Michael Hixon – 1-meter dive, 3-meter dive
Max Irwin – Relays Only
Ali Khalafalla – 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle
Vini Lanza – 100 butterfly, 200 butterfly, 200 IM
Sam Lorentz – Relays Only
Blake Pieroni – 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle, 200 freestyle
Josh Romany – Relays Only
Mohamed Samy – 100 freestyle, 200 freestyle, 200 IM
Anze Tavcar – 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle, 200 freestyle
Indiana at the 2016 NCAA Championships
IU placed ninth overall at the 2016 NCAA Championships with a score of 180.5 points. The top-10 finish for the Hoosiers at the NCAA Championships is the fourth in the last five years. IU’s 180.5 points are the most for the team since scoring 201 in 2013. IU finished ahead of Stanford (14th) for the first time since 1980 and Auburn (10th) for the first time since 1991.
With the ninth-place finish, the Hoosiers finished as the top Big Ten team at the NCAA Championships for the first time since 1978. In total, Indiana earned 28 All-America honors at the 2016 NCAA Championships – the most for the program since 2013.
IU Wins 2017 Big Ten Championship
The Hoosiers went wire-to-wire at the 20117 Big Ten Championships, taking home the league title. Indiana’s Big Ten championship is the 25th in program history and the first for the team since 2006. IU also won four more titles on Saturday, pushing the team’s total to 12 for the week. The dozen league crowns are the most for the team since winning 13 in 1976.
For the week, IU won a total of 19 medals – 12 gold, five silver and two bronze. Indiana also won four of the five relays at the Big Ten Championships, marking the first time in program history the team accomplished that impressive feat.
Vini Lanza was named Swimmer of the Championships after winning four gold medals and one silver over the course of the week. The sophomore won gold in the 200 IM, 200 butterfly, 200 medley relay and 400 medley relay. Lanza claimed silver in the 100 butterfly. Michael Hixon was named Diver of the Championships after the junior shattered the Big Ten Championships record in each of his diving victories, scoring a total of 488.65 in the one-meter and 520.40 points in the three-meter.
Hoosiers Post 11-0 Record in Dual-Meet Season
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.
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.
