Indiana University Athletics
No. 18 IU Snares Seven All-American Certificates
9/15/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming and Diving
March 17, 2005
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The No. 18 Indiana women's swimming and diving squad snared seven All-American certificates in the first night of action on March 17 at the 2005 NCAA Championships in the Boilermaker Aquatic Center in West Lafayette, Ind. Most notably, senior Erin Smith entered the 10-time All-American club for IU with her performance as the third-leg in the 200-yard freestyle relay consolation heat.
At the end of the evening, the Cream and Crimson sat one point outside of the top 10 with 38 total points for 11th place. Georgia built a solid lead with 211 points ahead of three-time defending national champion Auburn's haul of 137 points. Michigan is the highest Big Ten squad with 39 points in 10th place.
"I think we were a little bit nervous this morning and we were a little bit better tonight," Indiana head coach Dorsey Tierney said. "I feel they are a little bit smarter and a little more aggressive and every session starts anew."
In the only swimming event of the evening for the Hoosiers, the IU contingent of sophomore Annica Lofstedt, Smith, sophomore Leila Vaziri and junior Doherty Colgin improved its eighth-fastest effort in school history in the 200-yard freestyle relay with a 14th-place 1:32.59. The performance snared all four Indiana swimmers All-American recognition.
Remarkably, Smith reached the 10-time All-American echelon with the performance and joined the likes of former IU standout Jenn Cristy in the Cream and Crimson lore.
Georgia's quartet of sophomore Kara Lynn Joyce, senior Andrea Georoff, senior Paige Kearns and freshman Amanda Weir blistered the record books with an NCAA, American, U.S. Open and pool-record time of 1:28.10 to win the national title in the event.
In the one-meter springboard event, both freshman Christina Loukas and junior Lisa Silvestri picked up their first career All-America honors after finishing in seventh and eighth place, respectively. Loukas took seventh with a 296.80, while Silvestri notched a 291.05. Hawaii's Qiong Jie Huang won the event with a 327.00.
In earlier action, senior Cassandra Cardinell claimed her fifth-career All-American certificate with a ninth-place tally of 279.95.
"It wasn't bad and it was good to have three girls in the finals," Indiana head diving coach Dr. Jeff Huber said. "Tomorrow, we are going to have to be a little tougher and tomorrow is going to be more competitive. It is all about nailing the pressure down in the prelims. We are going to get up early and come to the pool early and get ready to rock."
Next up, the Cream and Crimson continue the 2005 NCAA Championships at 11 a.m. on Friday, March 18 at the Boilermaker Aquatic Center in West Lafayette, Ind., with preliminary heats.
2005 NCAA SWIMMING AND DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS at Boilermaker Aquatic Center (West Lafayette, Ind.)
Team Scores: 1 Georgia 211 2 Auburn 137 3 Arizona 120 4 Stanford 108 5 Florida 96 6 Texas 75 7 SMU 53 8 California 49 9 Texas A&M 41 10 Michigan 39 11 Indiana 38 12 Wisconsin 37
IU Point Scorers: 12 Christina Loukas (one-meter, 7th) 11 Lisa Silvestri (one-meter, 8th) 9 Cassandra Cardinell (one-meter, 9th)
IU Relay Point Scorers: 6 200-yard freestyle relay (14th) Annica Lofstedt, Leila Vaziri, Erin Smith, Doherty Colgin
IU All-Americans: Name 2005 Career Senior Cassandra Cardinell (1m) 1 5 Junior Doherty Colgin (200 free relay) 1 3 Sophomore Annica Lofstedt (200 free relay) 1 3 Freshman Christina Loukas 1 1 Junior Lisa Silvestri 1 1 Senior Erin Smith (200 free relay) 1 10 Sophomore Leila Vaziri (200 free relay) 1 6
