<b>NCAA Preview (03-14-05)</b> - Indiana University Athletics

NCAA Preview (03-14-05)

3/14/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming and Diving

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The No. 18 Indiana women's swimming and diving squad heads to West Lafayette, Ind., to contend for the 2005 NCAA Championship title March 17-19.

NCAA QUALIFIERS
Indiana claimed 15 swims in the preliminary sessions of NCAAs. Additionally, IU advanced three divers to the show.

Relays
Event 7, 200 medley relay (15th seed)
Event 21, 400 freestyle relay (14th seed)

Kristen Bradley
Event 3, 200 IM (18th seed)
Event 8, 400 IM (35th seed)

Cassandra Cardinell
One-meter springboard
Three-meter springboard
Platform

Doherty Colgin
Event 2, 500 freestyle (54th seed)
Event 10, 200 freestyle (29th seed)

Annica Lofstedt
Event 4, 50 freestyle (31st seed)
Event 9, 100 butterfly (53rd seed)
Event 17, 100 freestyle (64th seed)

Christina Loukas
One-meter springboard
Three-meter springboard
Platform

Lisa Silvestri
One-meter springboard
Three-meter springboard
Platform

Erin Smith
Event 4, 50 freestyle (63rd seed)
Event 9, 100 butterfly (31st seed)
Event 17, 100 freestyle (69th seed)

Leila Vaziri
Event 10, 200 freestyle (48th seed)
Event 12, 100 backstroke (4th seed)
Event 16, 200 backstroke (30th seed)

ZONE SUCCESS
Indiana claimed three of the seven available transfer spots at the NCAA Zone C Diving Championship as senior Cassandra Cardinell, freshman Christina Loukas and junior Lisa Silvestri all punched their tickets to Purdue.

BIG TEN HONOREES
Freshman Christina Loukas was crowned Big Ten Diver of the Year and Diver of the Championships, while Indiana diving coach Dr. Jeff Huber, the lone unanimous award winner, claimed the Big Ten Diving Coach of the Year honor. Additionally, senior Cassandra Cardinell, Loukas and sophomore Leila Vaziri earned first team recognition, while junior Kristen Bradley garnered second team honors. Meanwhile, Cardinell was named the team's sportsmanship honoree.

TOWERING OVER THE COMPETITION
The Indiana diving corps combined to score 214 of the 497 team points at Big Tens. The total bested the Big Ten diving mark of 123 points, established in 2003.

THE BETTER HALF?
2004 Olympian Cassandra Cardinell shined with a Big Ten and pool record after an incredible 558.65 string of dives as the top qualifier for the platform finals. Her performance overtook former teammate Sara Reiling-Hildebrand's tally of 544.35 in 2003 for the conference record and one-time University of Tennessee diver Kylee Wells' collegiate pool mark of 470.10 set in 2000.

Remarkably, Cardinell's prelim platform performance also was better than the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center collegiate pool record for the men, even though they have one more dive in their tower competition than the women (528.40 (10 dives) Jason Coben, Michigan, 2002)

BOOK-BURNING
Indiana has posted nine school/pool records this season.

School Records
Event Result Hoosier
200 free 1:48.28 Doherty Colgin
200 medley 1:41.24 Vaziri, Bradley,
Smith, Lofstedt
1m 332.70 Christina Loukas
3m 354.00 Christina Loukas
10m (Dual) 343.65 Lindsay Weigle
10m 558.65 Cassie Cardinell

Pool Records
Event Result Hoosier
100 back 53.64 Leila Vaziri
1m 332.70 Christina Loukas
10m 558.65 Cassie Cardinell

BIG TEN TITLES
At the 2005 Big Ten Women's Swimming and Diving Championships in the Counsilman-Billingsley, Indiana claimed three individual titles.

Event Hoosier
100 back Leila Vaziri
1m Christina Loukas
10m Cassandra Cardinell

NCAA ZONE QUALIFIERS
Seven Indiana divers (senior Cassandra Cardinell, sophomore Heather Chapman, freshman Ashley Greene, freshman Christina Loukas, junior Lisa Silvestri, freshman Jade Summerlin and sophomore Lindsay Weigle) posted NCAA zone qualifying marks this season.

CARDINELL AND HUBER TABBED TO USA DIVING TEAM
Indiana head diving coach Dr. Jeff Huber and 2004 Olympian Cassandra Cardinell were both invited to the USA Diving International Team on Feb. 1. Both Hoosiers will participate in the 2005 China Open April 4-6, while Cardinell will compete at the 2005 USA/FINA Grand Prix May 12-15.

VAZIRI - BIG TEN SWIMMER OF THE WEEK
After claiming five event titles, including four NCAA provisional times, in a 211-158 loss to No. 14 Penn State Jan. 28-29, sophomore Leila Vaziri garnered Big Ten Swimmer of the Week recognition for the week of Feb. 1.

VAZIRI - NATIONAL SWIMMER OF THE WEEK
After leading then-No. 24 Indiana over in-state rival then-No. 19 Purdue, 157-141, on Jan. 22, sophomore Leila Vaziri garnered CollegeSwimming.com National Collegiate Swimmer of the Week recognition for the week of Jan. 24.

Vaziri claimed her first swimmer of the week accolade after capturing three event titles against the Boilermakers. The Coral Springs, Fla., native led off the first-place 200-yard medley relay, touched first in the 100-yard backstroke and dominated the 200-yard backstroke by more than a second.

USA DIVING INTERNATIONAL TEAM SELECTION CAMP
A group of six Indiana divers participated in the 2005 USA Diving International Team Selection Camp from Jan. 24-26 at the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis, Ind. Senior Marc Carlton and junior Brian Mariano competed from the men's squad while senior Cassandra Cardinell, freshman Christina Loukas, junior Lisa Silvestri and sophomore Lindsay Weigle represented IU on the women's side.

FALL SIGNEES
Indiana head coach Dorsey Tierney and the Indiana women's swimming and diving program announced the signing of 11 student-athletes for the 2005-06 academic year. Kristen Cihoski (Yorktown, Va./Tabb), Abby Cooper (Cincinnati, Ohio/Ursuline Academy), Caitlin Heyman (Nashville, Tenn./Harpeth Hall), Sarah Jones (Battle Creek, Mich./Battle Creek Central), Allison Kay (Strongsville, Ohio/Magnificat), Katie Mitsch (Yorktown, Ind./Yorktown), Kelly Morris (Metuchen, N.J./Metuchen), Alison Soelter (Wichita, Kan./Trinity Academy), Sarah Stockwell (Kent, Wash./Kentlake), Andrea Weintraub (Encino, Calif./Milken Community), and Kristy Winck (Newburgh, Ind./Castle) will join IU beginning with the 2005-06 campaign.

DIVING DOMINANCE
On the crowd-pleasing platform, sophomore Lindsay Weigle amazed the fans at the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center as she posted an IU dual-meet mark with a 343.65 to win the event against Northwestern on Nov. 5. Sophomore Heather Chapman took second with a 301.28, while freshman Christina Loukas finished in third in 291.38.

CIRCLING THE GLOBE
Indiana head coach Dorsey Tierney not only recruits nationally, but also globally as evidenced by four Hoosiers hailing from international destinations. Kristen Bradley and Angela Calvert both call Ontario, Canada home, while Susanna Ernst's hometown is Vienna, Austria. Annica Lofstedt (Orebo, Sweden) also comes from across the pond.

SEVEN STRONG, WILL WE SEE EIGHT?
Dr. Jeff Huber, Indiana men's and women's diving coach, was selected as U.S. Diving's National Coach of the Year for the United States Olympic Committee's Coach Recognition Program for an incredible seventh consecutive time.

The accolade closed out an amazing year for Huber as the Indiana diving program continued its dominance on the national scene by claiming the program's 11th consecutive U.S. Combined (men and women) National Championship. The men's and women's programs joined to outdistance second-place Auburn by over 100 points.

ATHENS PERFORMANCES
Four Hoosiers represented the U.S. in the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece. Current diver Cassandra Cardinell, former divers Sara Hildebrand and Kimiko Soldati and Indiana head diving coach Dr. Jeff Huber all ventured to the home of the Olympiad over the summer. Cardinell and Hildebrand took seventh in the synchro 10-meter, while Hildebrand took 10th in the 10-meter. Soldati claimed 21st place in the three-meter springboard.