The No. 6/10-ranked Indiana University men’s swimming and diving teams earned three team victories in a double-dual meet against No. 2/3 Texas and No. 4/18 Florida at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center Natatorium in Gainesville, Fla.
On Saturday, the Hoosiers posted 10 individual wins and three relay victories. For the meet, IU totaled 19 individual wins and an impressive seven relay victories.
The No. 6 Indiana men defeated No. 2 Texas, 264-165, and took down No. 4 Florida, 242-187. With the two victories, the Hoosiers extend their dual-meet win streak to 15-straight.
“Two fantastic wins over the defending NCAA champion Texas Longhorns and third-place Florida Gators,†IU head swimming coach Ray Looze said. “Sweeping all the relays put a statement on the competition that we can be a force to be reckoned with come NCAA’s in March. I was really proud of our young Diving contingent for really stepping up in scoring some valuable points. They allowed us to leave Mike Hixon and James Conner at home to prepare for Winter Nationals later in the semester, which makes these wins even more impressive.”
The No. 10 Indiana women beat No. 18 Florida, 251-178, but fell to No. 3 Texas, 226.5-200.5.
“Our women’s team gave Texas a really good meet over the two days and the score was much closer than last year,†Looze remarked. “Winning three of the four relays was a huge step forward in our quest to win relay national titles this season. We made a commitment to improve the speed on our team and that is paying positive dividends thus far.”
Blake Pieroni again led the way for the Hoosiers on Saturday, winning the 100 and 200 freestyle events for the second-straight day. Pieroni posted NCAA B cuts in both events winning the 100 in a time of 43.53 and the 200 in a mark of 1:35.17. Both times are also the third-fastest in their respective events this year.
Lilly King and Kennedy Goss both had nice showings on Saturday for the Hoosiers. King won the 200 breaststroke in a NCAA B cut time of 2:12.51 and also placed fourth in the 400 IM with a NCAA B cut and personal-best time of 4:18.43. King’s mark ranks her as the 20th-best performer in school history.
Goss won the 200 freestyle for the second-straight day, touching the wall in a NCAA B cut time of 1:47.88. She also earned a NCAA B cut in the 200 backstroke, placing third in a mark of 1:58.17.
Mohamed Samy had a tremendous swim in the 400 IM to earn the victory, touching the wall with a personal-best and NCAA B cut time of 3:50.02. Samy’s time is the third-best in the nation and ranks him as the ninth-best swimmer in the event at IU.
Ian Finnerty, like King, completed a sweep of the breaststroke events with a win in the 200 on Saturday. Finnerty touched the wall with a NCAA B cut time of 1:59.50, which is the sixth-best mark this season.
Rounding out the individual winners for the Hoosier men, Adam Destrampe touched first in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:27.87.
For the IU women, Ali Rockett won the 50 freestyle with a time of 23.34, while Shelby Koontz touched the wall first in the 200 butterfly with a personal-best and NCAA B cut time of 1:59.05. With her mark, Koontz ranks as the 15th-best performer in the event at Indiana.
Rachel Matsumura earned a NCAA B cut in the 200 backstroke with a time of 1:59.00, placing fourth overall.
Ali Khalafalla had another nice race in the 50 freestyle on Saturday, finishing second to UF’s Caeleb Dressel with a NCAA B cut time of 20.05 that ranks as the fifth-best in the country. Also in the 50 free, freshman Bruno Blaskovic placed third with a NCAA B cut of 20.19.
Vini Lanza took second in the 200 butterfly, touching the wall in a NCAA B cut time of 1:46.22 that puts him No. 2 in the nation so far this season.
In the relays, the Hoosiers were again dominant. Over the course of the two days, the Hoosiers won seven of the eight relays.
In the 400 medley relay, the Hoosier team of Samy, Finnerty, Lanza and Pieroni won handily, touching the wall in a time of 3:11.19. The time is the fastest in the nation by over two seconds. The IU women also took first in the 400 medley relay, as Rockett, King, Christine Jensen and Grace Haskett touched in a time of 3:36.21. The mark is the fourth-fastest time in the country so far.
In the 200 free relay, the Hoosier team of Khalafalla, Blaskovic, Oliver Patrouch and Nikola Miljenic won with a time of 1:19.23, which ranks as the fastest time in the nation so far this season.
The No. 6/10-ranked Indiana Hoosiers men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams will be back in the pool on Friday, Oct. 27 when the team faces No. 18/14 Tennessee and No. RV/15 Kentucky in a double-dual meet in Knoxville, Tenn.
