Indiana University Athletics
Women's Swimming Hosts Indiana Invite
11/15/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming and Diving
November 15, 2000
Swim Teams Host Indiana Invite
Meet Data
This weekend marks the return of the Indiana Invitational. Last year the women placed second to Missouri. Tennessee took third. This year Indiana competes against Notre Dame, Miami (Fla.), Cincinnati, Illinois, Southern Illinois, Evansville, and Tennessee diving.
Inside the Notre Dame Series
Notre Dame and Indiana have not swum against each other in Tierney's career at IU. The Fighting Irish come to Bloomington with a 6-1 record. They took 1st place at the Notre Dame relays earlier this season.
Inside the Miami-Florida Series
The Hurricanes look to amend their loss to Notre Dame on October 27th (199-101) by traveling back to Indiana. Elaine Schwartz will hold out for top IM honors.
Inside the Tennessee Series
The Lady Vol divers will provide tough competition on the boards this weekend. Senior Lizzy Flynt captured All-American honors with a second place finish on the platform at NCAAs last season.
Inside the Cincinnati Series
The Bearcats opened the season with a win over Louisville but came up short against Ohio University to begin the season with a 1-1 record. Indiana beat Cincinnati 158-141 in a dual meet last season.
Fiden Adds New Event as the Hoosiers Beat Illinois, 180.5-118.5
Freshman Sarah Fiden added the 1000 freestyle to her resume against Illinois on October 28 helping the Hoosiers defeat the Fighting Illini.
Fiden's first stab at the 1000 free concluded in a victory over Illinois' Jen Peters by .22 seconds. Fiden swam the event in 10:09.73.
"Actually, I was really nervous. This is my second college meet and I'm swimming an event I've never swum before. I've swum the mile several times, and it's kind of the same strategy, so I figured I could handle it pretty well," said Fiden.
Fiden doubled up in the distance events by also competing in the 500 free. She finished second in 5:02.17.
"She's never swum the 1000 free before. She hung in tough. That's the kind of racer that Sarah is. That double is very challenging, the 1000 and the 500. She'll continue to do it and hopefully she'll continue to get better at it," said Tierney.
The women's squad won 10 events to defeat the Illini 180.5-118.5. The 200 fly featured Jenny Bechem taking first in 2:06.80, Kristy Martin finishing second in 2:07.33, and Maggie Helmers holding on to third in 2:07.69. In the 500 free, Fiden, Erin Rice, and Meredith Stettner showed solid improvement from the Evansville meet. Jenn Cristy competed in and won four events. She anchored the winning 400 medley and claimed victory in the 50, 100, and 200 free.
"Illinois is always good conference competition for us. Each week we're going to face tougher and tougher competition. It's always nice to get that first win against conference competition," said Tierney.
The final event showcased an Indiana 400 free relay win with IU's exhibition team following in second. Tierney will continue to adjust the relay line-ups through out the season looking for the perfect niche.
"It will probably be different each week. They all want to be on that relay team. We're going to put the four fastest people that we've got up there, and that can change at anytime."
Diving added its own excitement with Jennifer Sonneborn winning both the one-meter (282.52) and three-meter (313.27) boards and the Hoosiers consistently posting the top scores on both. Erin Quinn collected 307.20 points diving exhibition on the three-meter and 269.02 on the one-meter for third place.
"They did very well. The last thing I said to them was 'Go out there and be tough and compete' and I think they did that. It was really a nice improvement," said diving coach Dr. Jeff Huber.
Holding off the Purple Aces
The Hoosiers had the upper hand against the Purple Aces as they fended off Evansville, 186-108, to start the season. Between varsity and exhibition entries, Indiana won every event. They recorded the fastest three times in 10 of the 14 individual events. The team's depth was validated as eleven individuals claimed victory. Jenn Cristy, Susan Woessner, and Maggie Helmers turned in double wins.
The sprinters added to the cause by taking the top three in each event. Top returnee Jenn Cristy won the 100 and 200 freestyle. Swimming exhibition, Maggie Helmers finished first in the 100 butterfly in 1:00.11 and the 200 IM in 2:12.02. Sarah Fiden posted the fastest 500 free time in 5:03.91.
Head Swimming Coach Dorsey Tierney
Head Coach Dorsey Tierney begins her third year as head coach of the Indiana women's swim team. She is a gold medallist in 200-meter breaststroke in the 1987 Pan-American games and was a captain on the 1991 team. Tierney was also a finalist in the 1988 and 1992 Olympic Trials.
Quoting Tierney
"Notre Dame has a great team this year. They have a lot of depth and a real good freshman class. Miami Florida always has a good team. They have a real good IMer in Elaine Schwartz. I'm not sure if they have the type of depth that we have but they're top end is real solid.
"We'll have everybody swimming at least two events a day. I'd like to take the opportunity to swim them a lot. At this point in the season I feel we get a little better every time we get up and race. Plus, some new competition is always good to test out and try to compete with. This weekend should be pretty good. It's a good opportunity to swim prelims and finals in a lot of events. "
Head Diving Coach Dr. Jeff Huber
Head Coach Dr. Jeff Huber returns as a six-time Big Ten Diving Coach of the Year and two time U.S. National Diving Coach of the Year. He coached Indiana diver Sara Reiling to a 13th place finish in the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
Quoting Huber
"This is going to be good competition. We really haven't been doing a lot of meet preparation. We've just been tearing a lot of dives down, watching a lot of videos, and doing a lot of drills and skills. I don't know how good we'll look this weekend, but I hope we look real good at the end of the season."
"It's going to be a very good meet. People are going to see some great diving. There are going to be some excellent U.S. divers here.
Familiar Territory
Tierney knows Cincinnati coach Monty Hopkins from yesteryear. Hopkins coached the club team Tierney swam for in Louisville, Ky.
It was a Tierney showdown as Indiana's Tierney welcomed her brother, Northwestern head coach Jimmy Tierney in a dual meet November 4th. Jimmy Tierney is in his 13th year of involvement with Northwestern's women's swimming and diving program.
New Evansville Record
University of Evansville sophomore swimmer Kim Dodson set a new school record in a November 10th meet with Vincennes University. She swam the 50-yard freestyle with a time of :23.74 to automatically qualify for the United States Olympic Senior Nationals. Dodson is now the school record holder in six events (50- and 100-yard freestyle, 200 and 400 medley relay, and 200 and 400 freestyle relay).
"Kim had made it a priority to set a new school record and make the Senior National cut at this meet," said UE swim coach Clark Campbell. "And obviously, she was very successful in doing that. This now makes it very exciting to see what Kim will be able to do the rest of the year."
The Wildcats of Northwestern
The last time Head Coach Dorsey Tierney's brother went head to head with his kid sister, Jimmy Tierney went home with the winning team. Indiana's Tierney made sure that did not happen this time around.
The Hoosiers out swam the Wildcats 168.5-131.5 to take their second conference victory. The team was led by Jenn Cristy's 100 free win in 52.07, Sarah Fiden's 500 free win in 4:59.74 and Tina Gretlund's 200 fly win in 2:03.34. Indiana squads won both relays, the 400 free in 3:30.98 and the 200 medley in 1:45.93. Cristy finished second in the 50 and 200 free races to Northwestern's Maria Reeves and Erin Swenson.
"I was disappointed I lost the 200 and 50, but I came back for the 100, which shows a lot of maturity on my part I think," said Cristy. "I used to not do that, I used to let it get me down. I had Anne (Williams) come up and tell me 'you got to do this, this isn't like you, you got to do this.' So it has a lot to do with Anne, it has a lot to do with my training program. I'm not a clock person, I'm a racer. I didn't see her (Reeves) and I looked up and saw second I thought Anne had won and I was pumped. Then I saw that Anne had gotten third and it was kind of disappointing."
The 500 freestyle again stole the show. Following Fiden was Jenny Bechem finishing second in 5:03.45 and Erin Rice in 5:04.48 for third. Fiden pulled away half way through the race from Northwestern's 1000 winner Erica Rose. Bechem and Rice caught Rose in the last laps.
"We still need to get Jenn Cristy up to 100%. She's always such a tough racer. In the past she's had to carry this team. It's really nice now that she doesn't have to do that exclusively. She's got a great supporting cast. They actually motivate her more than anything right now, which is a great thing," said Tierney.
Indiana divers cleaned up on the boards in collecting first, second, and third places in the 1-meter and 3-meter. Jennifer Sonneborn won both events.
The Wildcats of Kentucky
Indiana women's swimming faced one of its toughest competitors November 3 in the Wildcats of Kentucky. The Hoosiers prevailed 149-94 in a meet that brought out the best in the entire team.
"We had some nice surprises tonight. We had some people step up that I hadn't seen step up. Megan Geers came back in the 200 breast, Susan Woessner came back in the 200 back, and Sarah Fiden came back from losing her cap in the 1000. Jenn Cristy came back after a very disappointing 50 to have the best 100 she's had all season," said Head Coach Dorsey Tierney.
Sarah Fiden's cap came off half-way into her 1000 free race. She fought for third place and came back to take the lead with 15 yards remaining. She won the 500 in 4:58.15.
"I have this feeling at the end that nobody's going to beat me. I have this urge that they don't have the right to beat me. I was pulling more towards getting points for the team. I was mad after my 1000 for my cap falling off, so I had to get recharged, go back and do it again," said Fiden.
Susan Woessner pulled out a first place finish in the 200 back. She finished in 2:03.25, .22 seconds ahead of Kentucky's Melissa Olson.
"We all got really up for the meet today," said Woessner. "The girl I was swimming next to had won two events already, I didn't want her to win again. I was just trying to take it out smooth and then come back hard on the last 50."
Tina Gretlund won the 200 fly in 2:03.02 and Jenn Cristy won the 100 free in a season best time of 51.12. The 400 medley team of Woessner, Geers, Gretlund, and Cristy took first in 3:50.71.
Erin Quinn led all divers by doubling wins in the 1-meter and 3-meter events. Jennifer Sonneborn and Cassandra Cardinell followed in second and third on the 1-meter board.
"Jennifer Sonneborn and Mamie Goodson were a little off, but for us, an off day is still a decent day. Cassandra Cardinell did an OK job. She missed a couple dives, but nailed her last dive on the 1-meter. And of course, Erin Quinn did well," said diving coach Jeff Huber.
Tell Us What You Really Think
In a pre-season poll of the College Swimming Coaches Association of America, Indiana was ranked 25th nationally. This is the first top-25 ranking for Tierney in her three years at IU.
Olympic Quality
Seniors Jenn Cristy and Amanda Noblet, juniors Sara Reiling and Susan Woessner, sophomore Anne Williams and freshman Sarah Fiden competed in the Olympic trials in Indianapolis in August.
Reiling qualified for the Olympic Games in the platform dive and finished 13th in Sydney. Cristy finished 20th in the 50 freestyle, 26th the 100 freestyle, and 56th in the 200 freestyle at the trials. Woessner finished 20th in the 100 backstroke while Noblet placed 22nd in the 200 backstroke. Williams finished 97th in the 100 freestyle. Fiden placed 60th in the 200 freestyle and 71st in the 400 freestyle. Reiling will not be competing this semester, but will return to the team in January.
Where the Record Stands
Seventeen of the 20 Indiana swimming and diving records are held by current athletes. Only one of these records, Jenn Cristy's 100 breast, was not set in 2000.
Cristy also holds the school record in the 50, 100, and 200 free and is a member of the record setting 200, 400, and 800 free relay. Susan Woessner holds the 100 back record and is a member of the 400 free relay and the 200 and 400 medley record setting relays. Tina Gretlund anchored the fastest 400 and 800 free relays as well as swimming on the 400 medley relay. She also holds the 200 fly and 400 IM record. Megan Geers holds three records. She appeared on the 200 and 400 medley relays, and she holds her own record in the 200 breast. Anne Williams is a member of the record setting 200, 400, and 800 free relays. The 200 back is held by Amanda Noblet. Sarah Bowman and Meghan Rice contributed to the 200 free relay, Erin Rice swam for the 800 free relay, and Colleen McCracken is a member of the record setting 200 medley relay.
Back for More
Senior Erin Quinn returns to competition after tearing a ligament in her elbow during the 1999 NCAA's and redshirting last season. She hopes to come back to All-American status on all three diving levels. In her first meet, she placed second in both the one meter and three meter boards.
"I think Erin did a super job for just being back. I forgot how good a diver she is," said diving coach Dr. Jeff Huber.
Diving Like No One Else
"Our freshman Cassandra Cardinell did a real nice job," said head diving coach Dr. Jeff Huber of her performance against Evansville." She was throwing a lot of new optional dives. The inward 2 1/2 pike, there are only a couple women divers in the country doing that and she threw that."
The Rest of Diving
Mamie Goodson, in a career best effort, won the 3-meter dive against Evansville. Her sophomore campaign will show improvement due to summer work and experience. Jennifer Sonneborn is again a threat on the one meter as she won the event in the team's opening meet. Sonneborn returns for her sophomore season as IU's most improved diver.
Cream Rises to the Top
The Indiana women's swimming team competed in an intrasquad scrimmage October 13th. The afternoon featured four 200 yard medley teams as the squad was divided into Cream and Crimson teams. The Cream took victory with 108 points to the Crimson's 58.
Susan Woessner won the 200 yard freestyle and the 200 back. She took the free in 1:55.98 and the back in 2:07.51.
Career Bests
Seven times or scores accounted for top three performances among Indiana swimmers and divers October 21st against Evansville. Mamie Goodson collected her best 3-meter dive score at a dual meet with 312.45 points. Erin Rice swam the 1000 yard freestyle in 10:18.01 to beat her top time from last season. This was her second best collegiate time. Others performing for their second collegiate best were Colleen McCracken (100 back - 59.75), Jennifer Sonneborn (1M dive in a dual meet - 263.32), Susan Woessner (50 free - 24.45), Jenny Bechem (200 fly - 2:06.90) and Sarah Bowman (100 free - 53.61).
Hoosiers Walk for Cancer Research
The Indiana men's and women's swimming and diving team participated in a walk to benefit cancer. The teams took a special interest in this year's walk because their former trainer, and IU 200 fly record-holder, Stephanie Jannsen (Porter) was diagnosed with breast cancer.
Head women's coach Dorsey Tierney said, "This is an important day for IU swimming. It is a great way to show support for something that affects so many women, but it is especially special today because of the battle Stephanie is undertaking."
Click here for the complete schedule
