Indiana University Athletics
2005-06 Women's Swimming and Diving Outlook
9/13/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming and Diving
Sept. 13, 2005
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - With the women's swimming and diving season less than a month away, IUHOOSIERS.com takes a look at how the season might pan out for the Hoosiers.
2005-06 SEASON OUTLOOK
After the men's and women's programs merged over the summer on the heels of IU's best finish at the NCAA Women's Swimming and Diving Championships with a ninth-place effort, the Hoosiers look to continue on the path to new-found glory that they have tread the past few years.
Indiana head swimming coach Ray Looze is optimistic about the future of the newly-combined programs.
"I think we have a team that can finish in the top three or four in the conference," Looze said. "We are very reliant on incoming freshmen. That will determine a lot on how we finish. We lost a lot of valuable points with the NCAA and Big Ten Champion in Cassandra Cardinell leaving. I don't know if diving is going to be as strong. We are definitely going to have to improve on the swimming end. We have a freshman class that will enable us to do that. We are a young and enthusiastic team that will rely on the incoming class, but I think we can be top four in the Big Ten and top 15 at NCAAs."
Last season, the No. 18 Hoosiers surprised any critics as they finished in ninth place with 112 points at the NCAA Championships. That feat now stands as the best finish at the national meet in IU lore, besting the previous standard of a 10th-place tie in 2002. IU will be looking to have a comparable effort at the 2006 championship meet.
"Obviously, we need to have junior Leila Vaziri swim like she did last year and possibly better," Looze said. "I think our relays will be better, certainly with our freestyle relays. We will have a better breaststroker. I think our medley relays can be improved. Most of our points are going to come from Leila and relays along with whatever we can get from diving."
On top of 20 returners, the Hoosiers welcome a large incoming class. The 13 newcomers will look to make an immediate impact on Indiana.
"I think there are some kids that are similar to the men's side that really improved," Looze said. "Freshman Abby Cooper is a lot better than advertised. Her classmate Kristin Cihoski is far better than anyone thought she would be. She is extremely athletic and versatile, more so than what was initially thought. Another recruit, Allison Kay, ended up being able to do the IM and also the sprint. There is some versatility to the class that will help. The class is definitely going to improve the team."
FREESTYLE
The Hoosiers open the sprint free with junior Annica Lofstedt coming off the blocks. Last season, Lofstedt won 20 event titles and swam in seven event finals at the Big Ten Championships. Individually, she took eighth in the 50 free and 14th in both the 100 free and 100 fly. Meanwhile, Looze will look to Vaziri and a host of other Hoosiers for points in the 50 free.
"I think our top returning swimmer is Annica Lofstedt," Looze said. "She had a nice breakthrough in the 50 free last season. I expect her to add to her versatility. I think she can be a big finalist in three events at Big Tens. She might be that individual that can score at NCAAs beyond Leila. She is really comfortable with her environment now. If we train her accurately and do a good job, she probably has more potential than anybody to get through to the next level. We also have Leila, Cooper, Kay and junior Clarissa Wentworth. We are going to go four-to-five deep."
IU's top returning swimmer in the 100-yard freestyle is Vaziri. During the 2005 season, she was possibly IU's most dominant swimmer with 31 titles to her name. She also captured five All-American certificates at NCAAs.
"Our top returning swimmer in the 100 free would probably be Leila with Annica following," Looze said. "I think Annica can have a great 100 free. She went a lifetime best in the 100-meter free over the summer to place in the final at the Swedish Nationals. Senior Doherty Colgin and Wentworth should be able to contribute along with Kay and, potentially, Cooper. We have a choice of five-to-six swimmers that can help us in the 100 free. Leila, Annica and Clarissa, with her breakthrough summer, have a shot at getting into finals at Big Tens. Leila and Annica have a chance to qualify for NCAAs.
In the 200-yard freestyle, Colgin is Indiana's top returner. The Mountain Brook, Ala., product posted 12 wins last year and advanced to finals in every event she swam but one at Big Tens. She claimed fifth place in the 200 free at the conference meet and set the school standard with a 1:48.28 in the event.
"Doherty is our top returning swimmer in the 200 free." Looze said. "Clarissa also had a great summer in the event. Leila has always been a good 200 freestyle swimmer for us. She should be on the relay. The real big question is who will be the fourth person. Will it be seniors Kristin Bradley or Sarah Bugden?"
Heading into the distance freestyle events, Colgin and Wentworth along with senior Lauren Torpey and Bradley will be looked at to haul home points for IU in the 500-yard free. Last season, Torpey captured seven titles and finished in the top three 14 times. She also picked up 16th place in the 500 free at Big Tens.
"Doherty is probably the top returning person and then Clarissa could help us," Looze said. "Lauren Torpey and Kristin Bradley can both swim a very good 500 freestyle. Freshman Megan Lonergan is our top incoming distance freestyler. She has some potential to score at the conference level."
According to Looze, the mile could be one of the weaknesses of the team. With only Torpey back as a conference point-scorer, IU will look to some improving returners and incoming freshman to step up in the event. Last season, Torpey placed ninth in the 1,650-yard free at Big Tens.
"Lauren Torpey is the top returning distance specialist," Looze said. "This is probably our greatest weakness on the team. We are hoping to have two people score in this event at conference. Torpey scored last year in the top nine, but is the only point-scorer returning. Sophomore Christie Fuchs is coming off a really good summer and has some potential. Additionally, Lonergan's time is only three seconds from scoring. Meanwhile, junior Meghan Keefer also had a solid summer. She could drop her time and get close."
BACKSTROKE
The 100-yard backstroke features the defending Big Ten Champion in the event in Vaziri. Last season, Vaziri earned CollegeSwimming.com's National College Swimmer of the Week recognition based primarily on her backstroke performance the week of Jan. 24. Additionally, Vaziri took seventh in the 100 back at NCAAs.
"This is the Land of Leila," Looze said. "She is an NCAA finalist and is one of the finest backstrokers in the country. How she goes, goes the 100 back. Beyond her, we have junior Susanna Ernst, who scored at conference. Freshman Caitlyn Heyman is the top incoming freshman along with Cihoski. That should be a solid event with four deep based on what we have done."
Vaziri continues the impressive possibilities in the 200 backstroke. She placed sixth in the event at conference last season. Meanwhile, Ernst stands in sixth place on the 200 back school record chart. She finished 13th in the event at Big Tens and also swam the 200 back at the World University Games in Izmir, Turkey.
"The same cast of people as the 100 back will contribute to our team success in the 200 back," Looze said. "Additionally, Bugden will play a role for us in this event."
BUTTERFLY
The main group of people that will influence IU's ultimate success in the butterfly events are Lofstedt, senior Lauren Lubus, Kay, Bugden and Cihoski. Last season, Lubus finished in the top four on 12 occasions. She currently stands in the top 10 in four categories for IU, including both the 100 and 200 fly. Lubus owns Indiana's school record in the 200 fly. She also claimed points at Big Tens with a ninth-place effort in the event.
"The butterfly crew could be a strength of the team this year," Looze said. "The main people we have in the 100 fly are Lofstedt, Lubus, Kay, Bugden and Cihoski. Meanwhile, Lubus is our top returning 200 flyer. Bugden, Fuchs and sophomore Lauren Schrader will help us in the event. Heyman can also go in this event, while Lonergan also could be helpful."
BREASTSTROKE
Indiana should be much improved in the breaststroke department as the Hoosiers now have some legitimate swimmers in the event. Previously, IU had to field people out of their natural events in the breast.
"We have some options now," Looze said. "We had people swim in it last year that aren't breaststrokers. The top incoming people are freshmen Cooper, Sarah Stockwell, Kelly Morris, Abbey Mitchell and Kristy Winck. We can probably go pretty deep in this event now. We also are talking about a two-second improvement in the medley relays."
IU will be equally as improved in the 200 breast with a variety of possibilities to choose from compared to last year. Last season, Bradley won 20 event titles and claimed points at Big Tens in four events.
"I would look for Cooper to play a big role this year along with Bradley as our top returner," Looze said. "Then, the same group as in the 100 breast could all be potential scorers."
INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY
Another strength for the Hoosiers should be the individual medleys as Bradley also returns in the events. The Lindsay, Ontario, native owns the school record in the 200 IM and finished fifth in the event at Big Tens.
"We have Kristen Bradley as our top returner with Ernst also in the scoring realm," Looze said. "Cihoski should help us here as well. Kay also might swim it. We go four deep in this event."
Bradley is also the go-to swimmer in the 400 IM. The senior took second in the event at Big Tens to earn second team All-Big Ten.
"We have Kristen Bradley as one of the best 400 IMers in the country as our top returner," Looze said. "Lubus also scored for us at conference last year. Coming in will be Cihoski and Kay. Both are very good 400 IMers. Winck can also be developed at the conference level."
RELAYS
At the 2005 NCAA Championships, Indiana had four relays garner All-America honors. The 200-yard medley, 200-yard freestyle and 800-yard freestyle all took 14th place, while the 400-yard freestyle finished 15th. With the addition of a solid breaststroke crew, the Hoosiers should see great improvement in the medley relays.
"I think our medley relays will be improved because we will have competition at the breaststroke," Looze said. "Leila is going to be the backstroke, then we have any one of three breaststrokers that can challenge for that spot. The butterfly leg could be done by Kay or Lofstedt, and possibly even Cihoski. Then, the freestyle will probably be done by whoever doesn't do the fly like Colgin or Wentworth. The freestyle relays should be a bit improved due to depth. This year, we'll have sprinters sprint in the 200 relay. We have more depth and that will show up in the points."
Overall, Indiana will look to build on last season's incredible run in which the Hoosiers closed out the year with a school-standard ninth-place finish at the NCAA Championships.
"We are rebuilding a little bit this year," Looze said. "Ideally, we can stay in the top quarter of the conference from a team standpoint and stay in the top 15 in the country at NCAAs."
DIVING
After the most outstanding diving year in recent NCAA Division I history, the 2005-06 Indiana University women's diving program will look to repeat its incredible success at it returns some key performers and a solid amount of depth. The combination of veteran divers, with the improvement of some younger underclassmen, should help IU diving continue to own the diving well.
"We should be very competitive on all three levels this year," Indiana head diving coach Dr. Jeff Huber said. "Perhaps, we may be more competitive than we have ever been before, especially on the 10-meter."
The upcoming year's squad boasts six members with all of them owning collegiate diving experience. The crop includes one senior, two juniors and three sophomores.
Leading the way for the Hoosier will be returning Big Ten Diver of the Year and Diver of the Championships sophomore Christina Loukas. Last season, Loukas not only broke Sara Hildebrand's school dual-meet record in the three-meter against Penn State, she claimed seven event crowns. She also won the Big Ten one-meter title and claimed a trio of All-American certificates at NCAAs. Additionally, she placed sixth on the one-meter at the World Championships.
"Christina had a great summer, participating in the Canada Cup, World Championships, and World University Games," Huber said. "The things she learned from these meets will give her plenty of things to work on and improve during the school year. If she can make these changes, she can contend for an NCAA title on all three levels."
Also playing a key role for the Hoosiers will be senior Lisa Silvestri. The Huntingdon Valley, Pa., native earned All-American honors with eighth place on the one-meter and 12th place on the three-meter at NCAAs. She also captured points for IU on all three events at Big Tens. She finished fourth on the three-meter, eighth on the one-meter and ninth on the platform at the league meet. Meanwhile, Silvestri participated in the USA Diving International Team Selection Camp in Indianapolis.
"Although Lisa did not train for most of the summer, she resumed training in late July and this will help her start where she left off at the end of last season," Huber said. "She can be among the best in the country on one-meter and three-meter if she commits early in the season to doing the things she needs to do and maintains good self-discipline. Last year, she was All-American but she is capable of winning an event this season."
Juniors Heather Chapman and Lindsay Weigle will also lend guidance to the underclassmen in the group.
Chapman posted a zone-qualifying mark against Northwestern to take second place last season. She also placed in the top four six times and took eighth on the tower at Big Tens to secure points for IU. She topped off the season by competing at the NCAA Zone C Diving Championships.
"Because of an internship, Heather did not train this summer and will spend part of the early season getting back to where she was last season," Huber said. "She should final on all three levels at Big Tens and make All-American this year, possibly on platform."
Fellow classmate Weigle will look to return to the NCAA Championships after earning All-American honors as a freshman. Last season, she etched a new IU dual-meet record to win the tower against Northwestern. Meanwhile, Weigle won four event titles throughout the season. Additionally, she dove in all three finals at Big Tens and placed third on the tower, fifth on the one-meter and eighth on the three-meter. She closed out the year by competing at the NCAA Zone C Championships.
"Lindsay had a good summer of training and is developing a consistent list of dives on all three levels that will allow her to compete for Big Ten and NCAA titles this season," Huber said. "I believe this will be her best season to date and I look for her to provide leadership for the team."
Sophomores Ashley Green and Jade Summerlin will provide the incredible depth that typically swings the point-balance in IU's favor in any diving event.
Green posted a zone-qualifying effort against Penn State on the one-meter and notched a pair of personal bests against the Nittany Lions. Additionally, she took fifth place on the three-meter against Northwestern and competed at both Big Tens and the NCAA Zone C Diving Championships.
"Ashley had a good summer of training and did some great things with her diving," Huber said. "She really just needs to learn to line up better on her entries into the water. If she does that, she can score on one-meter and three-meter and begin learning more dives on tower."
Summerlin rounds out the diving crew. Last season, she earned points for IU at the Big Ten Championships with a seventh-place effort on the tower and a 15th-place performance on the one-meter. She also dove at the NCAA Zone C Diving Championships with her top finish being 13th on the platform.
"Jade did not train this summer, so she will take part of the season to get back into diving shape and work on her fundamentals," Huber said. "If she can make some needed changes in her diving, she should final in all three events at Big Tens and make All-American this year."
