Indiana University Athletics
IU: 2003 BIG TEN CHAMPS!
2/22/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming and Diving
February 22, 2003
BIG TEN CHAMPS!!! HOOSIERS WIN BIG TEN WOMEN'S SWIMMING AND DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS BY 34 POINTS
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"I'd say I'm most proud of this group's fortitude," said Tierney, the 2001 and 2002 Big Ten Coach-of-the-Year, who is superbly aided by assistant coach Ron Turner. "This did not come easy and I'm sure that no championship does. Especially with the group that were here last year, and coming back this year, I have a group of eight seniors and that is so unusual to have girls go three or four years like that. The character they possess, especially as a group, is phenomenal."
That character was certainly tested. Indiana faced a 44-point deficit with only three events remaining but the strength of Indiana's effort in the 200-yard butterfly and platform diving sealed the championship. The Indiana divers were outstanding throughout the meet and Dr. Jeff Huber, the five-time U.S. National Coach-of-the-Year, was selected the Big Ten's Diving Coach-of-the-Year in recognition of his divers' efforts.
"I don't know where to start," said Huber. "I was really proud of Lori Matthys. I kind of jumped on her a little bit in prelims because she just wasn't diving up to her level. She responded and hung in there and then, tonight, she really dove well. She finished fifth in a very good contest and was much more competitive. Sara, missing her first dive on platform yet hanging in there showed a lot of maturity on her part. It wasn't clicking for Cassie this meet but sometimes that is good because we really want to do our best diving at NCAAs."
Facing a 506-462 deficit with only three events remaining heading into tonight's finals of the 200-yard butterfly, Indiana needed huge performances out of finalists Lubus, along with seniors Kristy Martin and Jenny Bechem. All three delivered with Lubus finishing second in a school-record time of 1:58.11, which was only .03 shy of fellow freshman Amberle Biedermann, who won the event in 1:58.08. Both times were automatic NCAA qualifying times. The performances by the three IU finalists, in addition to senior Tina Gretlund and Maggie Helmers, who finished 10th and 11th, respectively, provided IU with a 519-506 advantage with only platform diving and the 400-yard freestyle relay remaining.
"It was a great finale to the end of my first Big Ten season," said Lubus. "I knew that if I could stay next to that girl from Penn State and try to keep up with her that maybe I could go a 1:58 and make it to NCAAs. It was very exciting."
Following the 200-yard butterfly, Indiana extended its advantage to an insurmountable lead when senior Sara Hildebrand, junior Cassandra Cardinell, and senior Lori Matthys, finished first, third, and fifth on platform. For Hildebrand, who was named the diver-of-the-championships as well as the Big Ten Diver-of-the-Year, it capped an elusive triple as she won Big Ten titles on 1-Meter, 3-Meter, and platform at this year's meet for the first time in her career. Hildebrand, a 2000 Olympian on platform, won that same event this evening with a score of 506.10, while Ohio State's Natalie Diea finished second (504.70).
"After the first day (1-Meter win), I kind of had to pull myself back down," said Hildebrand. "After yesterday (3-Meter win) I said, I've got one more day and by no means is this mine yet, and it went right to the end. I almost didn't have it. Every minute counts and every dive counts."
The evening did not begin as well as Tierney would have liked. In the finals of the 1,650-yard freestyle, Indiana had four of the top eight seeded swimmers yet only junior Sarah Fiden and senior Jenny Bechem finished among the finalists. Wisconsin sophomore Carly Piper, who was named the swimmer-of-the-championships, won the event in 16:02.61. Fiden finished third in a time of 16:21.13, which is an automatic NCAA qualifying time. Bechem notched a sixth-place finish (16:36.23), while junior Erin Gorlesky finished 13th. With the results of that event, however, Indiana did extend its lead in the event from a 17-point margin to a 30-point lead, 433-403.
The lead did not last long as Wisconsin outscored the Hoosiers, 36-2, in the 200-yard backstroke. Senior Sarah McCauley won the event in a time of 1:58.06, while Indiana senior Colleen McCracken finished 15th in a time of 2:03.70.
The Badgers increased their lead to 483-449 after the finals of the 100-yard freestyle. Wisconsin senior Jennifer Lyman won the event in a time of 49.64, while teammate Sarah Hernandez, a freshman, finished second (50.15). IU junior Meghan Medendorp was fifth in a time of 50.32, which moved her into third place on IU's all-time top-10 list in the event.
With only three events remaining, Indiana faced a 506-462 deficit after being outscored by the Badgers, 23-13, in the 200-yard breastroke. Junior Brooke Taflinger finished sixth in a time of 2:15.53, which set a school record in the event. She was named first-team All-Big Ten for her efforts, which included a Big Ten record in the 400-yard individual medley on Friday.
"The girls that we have on this team, and the work ethic we have on this team are just tremendous," said Taflinger. "We felt that there was nothing that could stand in our way. The fact that it was such a full-team effort and that we all came together today, and the whole weekend, is most gratifying. It's just a relief that everyone came into this meet believing that we were actually going to do this and then we put it into action."
Final Team Standings
1. Indiana, 595
2. Wisconsin, 561
3. Penn State, 509
4. Michigan , 460
5. Purdue, 403
6. Minnesota, 400
7. Iowa, 265
8. Northwestern, 227
9. Ohio State, 172
10. Illinois, 146
11. Michigan State, 129
2003 All-Big Ten Honors
Swimming Coach of the Year - Eric Hansen, Wisconsin
Diving Coach of the Year - Jeff Huber, Indiana
Swimmer of the Year - Carly Piper, Wisconsin
Diver of the Year - Sara Hildebrand, Indiana
Freshman of the Year - Amberle Biedermann, Penn State
Swimmer of the Championship - Carly Piper, Wisconsin
Diver of the Championship - Sara Hildebrand, Indiana
Wednesday, August 12
Wednesday, August 12
Tuesday, August 11
Tuesday, August 11