The No. 1/7-ranked Indiana University men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams earned three wins in a double-dual meet against No. 15/12 Tennessee and No. –/15 Kentucky on Friday afternoon at the Jones Aquatic Center in Knoxville, Tenn.
The No. 1-ranked Hoosier men (4-0) extended the team’s dual-meet win-streak to 17-straight, beating No. 15 Tennessee, 165-135, and Kentucky, 223-84.
The No. 7-ranked Indiana women took down No. 15 Kentucky, 157-143, but were edged by No. 12 Tennessee, 159-141. The Hoosier women move to 2-2 on the dual meet season.
Overall, the men’s and women’s squads combined to win 14 events on the afternoon. The Hoosiers continued to swim fast early in the season, posting seven times in the top-10 across the country, including two best times in the nation.
Blake Pieroni and Vini Lanza led the way for the Hoosiers, with each notching three individual wins apiece. Pieroni won the 50 free (19.65), 100 free (43.07) and 200 free (1:36.75) with NCAA B cut times. His times in the 50 and 100 are the third-fastest times in the country this year.
Lanza touched first in the 100 fly (46.90), 200 fly (1:44.18) and 200 IM (1:47.18) for Indiana with NCAA B cut marks. Lanza posted the fourth-best times in the country with his time in the 200 fly.
Mohamed Samy swept the backstroke events for IU, winning the 100 (47.99) and 200 (1:45.65) with NCAA B cut times. Ian Finnerty had a great showing for the Hoosiers in the 100 breast, winning with the top-time in the nation – 53.19.
Lilly King touched first in both breaststroke events for the Indiana women’s team, winning the 100 breast (59.44) with the fastest-time in the nation. The Evansville, Ind. native then won the 200 breast with a NCAA B cut of 2:10.13 – the sixth-best time in the country.
Shelby Koontz notched the other swimming win for the IU women, touching the wall in the 200 fly with a time of 1:59.67.
Kennedy Goss posted a pair of NCAA B cut times, placing second in both the 200 free (1:47.69) and the 200 back (1:56.66). Christine Jensen also recorded a NCAA B cut, placing second in the 100 fly with a time of 54.30. For the IU men, Ali Khalafalla touched second in the 50 free with a NCAA B cut mark of 19.66 that ranks as the fourth-best time in the country this season.
In the diving well, Jessica Parratto continued her strong start to the season, notching a pair of NCAA Zones qualifying scores. Parratto won the 1-meter dive with a score of 302.35 and took second in the 3-meter with a total of 297.20.
Olympians Michael Hixon and James Connor made their season debuts for Indiana, posting NCAA Zones qualifying scores in both events.
Hixon won the 3-meter dive with a total of 404.00 and took second in the 1-meter dive with a score of 408.85. Connor placed third on both events, totaling a 390.30 in the 1-meter and a 387.50 in the 3-meter.
In the relay, the Hoosier women won the 200 medley relay, as the team of Ali Rockett, King, Jensen and Grace Haskett touched the wall with a time of 1:38.20. The men’s 400 freestyle relay of Khalafalla, Samy, Bruno Blaskovic and Pieroni won with a mark of 2:55.04.
The No. 1/7 Indiana Hoosiers men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams will be back in action on Thursday, Nov. 9 when IU hosts Cincinnati and No. 14/10 Notre Dame in a double-dual meet in Bloomington, Ind. at the Counsilman Billingsley Aquatic Center.
