Indiana University Athletics
Collective Hoosier Effort Shaves Gap To Slimmest of Margins
2/25/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming and Diving
Live Results
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - The No. 13 Indiana men's swimming and diving squad shaved the gap in the way of the 2005 Big Ten Men's Swimming and Diving Championship to the slimmest of margins - a point - on Feb. 25 at the University Aquatic Center in Minneapolis, Minn. Overall, IU witnessed an astonishing effort by the diving corps as well as a blazing performance from the swimming squad. Senior Marc Carlton claimed his second conference title with a trio of records (Big Ten meet, conference and school), while sophomore Scott Tanner broke teammate senior Murph Halasz' 100-yard butterfly standard.
"We have a chance," Indiana head coach Ray Looze said. "Tomorrow morning is going to decide the championship."
At the completion of the second day of competition, Minnesota led Indiana by one point with 469 points against IU's 468. Northwestern finished in third with 327 points, while Michigan rounded out the top four with 282 points. Ohio State sat in fifth with 240 points, while Purdue was in sixth with 213 points. Meanwhile, Wisconsin placed seventh with 191 points, with Penn State in eighth with 184 points, Michigan State in ninth with 138 points and Iowa in 10th with 82 points.
In the opening event of the evening, the Indiana quartet of freshman Ben Hesen, junior Kevin Swander, senior Murph Halasz and sophomore Colin Russell posted the second-fastest 200-yard medley relay time in school history with a fourth-place 1:27.73. Northwestern's crew of sophomore Matt Grevers, sophomore Mike Alexandrov, freshman Kyle Bubolz and junior Ben Dexter won the event with a 1:26.49, while Minnesota's team of sophomore Dan Berve, freshman Jason Timmer, senior Neil Osten and sophomore Ales Volcansek took second in 1:27.04.
At the completion of the event, Minnesota stretched its lead to 17 points over IU's tally of 235. Northwestern sat in third with 194 points, while Ohio State picked up fourth with 129 points.
In the 400-yard IM, freshman Todd Patrick claimed the third-fastest time in school history with a 10th-place 3:51.00, while sophomore Matt Jensen finished in 12th in 3:55.13. Additionally, senior Richard Bryant took 14th with a 3:56.85. Meanwhile, Michigan junior Peter Vanderkaay out-touched Northwestern sophomore Mike Alexandrov (3:45.57) to the wall with a title-winning time of 3:44.55.
At the end of the swim, the Golden Gophers extended their lead to 40 points with a total of 290 against Indiana's 250. Northwestern inched closer to the top two with 227 points, while Michigan jumped back with a fourth-place 170.
In the 100-yard butterfly, Tanner broke teammate Halasz' school record with a 47.85 to finish in third place, while Halasz took fifth with a 48.22 and junior Thomas Clavier placed seventh in 48.70. Northwestern's Bubolz secured the league title with a conference-record time of 46.46, while Michigan junior Davis Tarwater placed second in 46.68. In the consolation heat, Hesen took 12th in 49.55.
At the conclusion of the event, Minnesota improved its lead to 50 points with a total of 327 points. The Hoosiers sat in second with a 297-point haul, while Northwestern remained in third with 254 points. Michigan rounded out the top four with a 187.
In the 200-yard freestyle, Russell placed second with a 1:35.78, behind Minnesota senior Terry Silkaitis' winning time of 1:34.24, which is also a pool record. Junior Sergiy Fesenko finished in eighth with a 1:39.34. In the consolation heat, sophomore Lee Houchin swam to 10th place with a 1:38.74, while freshman John Kevin Koehler took 15th place with a 1:39.40.
 Sophomore Scott Tanner breaks 100 fly record. 
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In the 100 breast, Swander touched second with a 53.67 to punch his ticket back to Minneapolis for NCAAs with an A-cut. Alexandrov won the event crown with a 53.33, while Michigan State junior Ian Clutten wound up third in 53.77. All three cleared the NCAA automatic threshold. Also of note, in the bonus consolation heat, freshman Ronnie Hehn (56.53) and junior Hank Baldwin (56.69) notched personal-best times for IU.
The team scores reflected no lead change as Minnesota maintained a 48-point lead with a tally of 399 points. The Cream and Crimson remained in second with 351 points, while Northwestern took third with 288 points. Michigan continued its stay in fourth with 221 points.
In the 100-yard backstroke, Hesen claimed sixth place with a B-cut time of 48.66, while Grevers notched a Big Ten record clocking of 45.92 for the win. Wisconsin senior Adam Mania took second with a 46.86, while Minnesota freshman David Plummer finished in third in 47.42. The top three times all eclipsed the A-cut standard.
Heading into the three-meter springboard competition, Minnesota bounced its lead to 71 points with a tally of 435 points. IU sat in second with 364 points, while Northwestern was in third with 308 points.
In the three-meter event, Carlton blew the roof off the University Aquatic Center after the audience erupted on his final dive to claim the three-meter crown with a Big Ten meet and conference as well as school record tally of 667.30. Not only did the effort secure the title for Carlton, but the rest of Indiana head diving coach Dr. Jeff Huber's charges helped IU take a three-point lead heading into the 800-yard freestyle relay. The Cream and Crimson owned 438 points against Minnesota's 435.
"I feel phenomenal," Carlton said. "My goal was to score 620 points and I already broke that during the prelim session. I came back and dove better and Mitch (Ohio State's Richeson) paced me. I just tried to stay with him."
Additionally, junior Ryan Fagan finished in third with 570.30 points, while senior Alex Burns placed fourth with 560.85 points. Junior Jesse Rappaport rounded out IU's scoring in the event with 559.05 points.
"It was unbelievable tonight," Huber said. "Everyone had it going tonight. Alex Burns set the pace with a good start and really ignited our team. He was critical to our success tonight. Marc (Carlton) did a terrific job. That is our best-ever three-meter performance and he is truly a champion. It was gratifying to see him finish out his career like Cassandra Cardinell did last week - with a title. Ryan Fagan also did well coming back from a rough performance in the one-meter. We are on track for a great day tomorrow."
Notably, IU diving's two-day haul is 150 points, just 33 points behind Indiana's conference meet record of 183 set in 2003.
In the 800-yard freestyle relay, the Cream and Crimson contingent of Fesenko, Patrick, Houchin and Russell garnered the second-fastest time in school history with a fourth-place 6:29.22. The Michigan squad of junior Peter Vanderkaay, Tarwater, junior Chris DeJong and senior Andrew Hurd tied the Big Ten record and set a new pool standard with a 6:21.77.
Next up, the Cream and Crimson continue the 2005 Big Ten Championships at noon on Saturday, Feb. 26 at the University Aquatic Center in Minneapolis, Minn., with preliminary swimming competition.
