Indiana University Athletics
Indiana University
Purdue
Women's Swimming and Diving Topples Purdue, 186-114
1/26/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming and Diving
Jan. 26, 2008
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - A dominating performance with 11 individual and relay victories propelled the Indiana women's swimming and diving team to a 186-114 win over in-state rival Purdue Saturday afternoon in West Lafayette, Ind. The dual meet marked the final regular season event for the Hoosiers.
"I am really proud of the girls," said head coach Ray Looze. "They did a fantastic job of taking care of business. We were short-handed again with Kristin (Cihoski) and Brittney (Feldman) both unable to compete due to illness. The team keeps stepping up and were fundamentally solid today. I give all the credit to the girls. It is always nice to beat your in-state rival and it is nice to get a victory in a tough place."
"I was also very pleased with the performance of our seniors, Brittany Epperson and Christie Fuchs. It was a good end to their dual meet career."
Indiana opened with the 400-yard medley relay and the team of Presley Bard, Sarah Stockwell, Kate Zubkova and Donna Smailis took first in a NCAA provisional time of 3:42.81. Amanda Smith, Cassie Luhrsen and Amilee Smith picked up a batch of points for IU in the 1,000-yard freestyle as Amanda Smith led the way with a second-place finish (10:02.40). Falling right behind were Luhrsen in third (10:12.66) and Amilee Smith fourth (10:21.53).
The Hoosiers took home the 200-yard freestyle crown with Smailis touching the wall in a season-best 1:50.54. Kelsey Atchison was third (1:52.19) and Presley Bard fourth (1:53.03). Bard was the top IU finisher in the 50 freestyle with a time of 24.00, followed by Brittany Epperson in third (24.03). Smailis' second victory of the afternoon came in the 100 freestyle with a season-best time of 51.55.
Zubkova scored the first of three individual victories with an NCAA automatic qualifying time of 54.02 in the 100-yard backstroke. Caitlin Heyman's fifth-place time of 59.48 was a season best. Zubkova also placed first in the 100-yard butterfly (55.54) and 200-yard individual medley where she posted an NCAA provisional time of 2:03.31.
It was an Indiana sweep in the 100-yard breaststroke as Stockwell, Abby Cooper and Amilee Smith combined to go 1-2-3 in the event. Stockwell's winning time of 1:03.08 is a season best and NCAA provisional mark. Cooper (1:03.94) and Smith (1:04.42) also recorded their top times of the season.
Allison Kay found her way to the winner's podium in the 200-yard butterfly, coming in at 2:01.19. Teammate Christie Fuchs posted an NCAA "B" cut with a season-best mark of 2:01.61 to finish second. Ashley Kranz also had a lifetime best of 2:05.07, placing fourth.
Amilee Smith added to the Indiana victories by getting her NCAA "B" cut in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:18.09. Stockwell was right on her heels at 2:19.03, followed by freshman Jessica Hill coming up with a career best 2:19.68 for third place.
The 500-yard freestyle ended with Amanda Smith touching the wall in first place (4:51.51) and Kay taking third (4:53.28). Kranz took nearly five seconds off her previous season best with a time of 4:59.41, good for fourth.
The meet ended with the 400-yard freestyle relay and the Hoosiers wrapped things up the way it began with a victorious tome of 3:29.21. Atchison, Cooper, Epperson and Kay combined for the win.
In diving, Jade Summerlin was the top finisher on the platform with a score of 243.15 for a fourth-place showing and also added a third-place finish on the 3-meter springboard. Her score of 283.13 was a season best and is an NCAA Zone qualifier. Teammate Ashley Greene took second in the 3-meter with a mark of 290.93, also a season high. Amy Korthauer was fifth on the platform (206.10), followed by Christina Kouklakis (175.50) and Heidi Mahnken (172.05). Rounding out the 3-meter competitors were Korthauer (fifth- 245.40) and Kouklakis (seventh- 223.88).
The Hoosiers will continue to train in preparation for the 2008 Big Ten Championships, Feb. 21-23 in Columbus, Ohio.
Players Mentioned
