Indiana University Athletics
Loukas, Cardinell Head to Second World Championship Selection Camp
1/21/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming and Diving
Jan. 21, 2007
World Championship Selection Camp II Notes (01-21-07) in PDF Format
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MEET DETAILS
Date: Jan. 21-25, 2007
Meet: World Championship Selection Camp II
Location: Indianapolis, Ind.
Facility: IU Natatorium
HOOSIER NOTES
Indiana junior Christina Loukas and 2005 graduate Cassandra Cardinell will participate in the World Championship Selection Camp II in Indianapolis from Jan. 21-25. Loukas and Cardinell will be vying for spots on the United States' FINA World Championship Team. The World Championships will be held in Melbourne, Australia, from March 18-25.
INDIANA IN THE CSCAA POLL
The Hoosiers are ranked 13th in the latest Collegiate Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Top 25 Poll. Indiana is off to a hot start, having beaten then-No. 23 Kentucky and then-No. 11 Texas. The Hoosiers also topped Arizona State, which was unranked at the time, but has since moved into the poll. IU's other win came against Northwestern, which is receiving votes in the latest poll.
LAST TIME OUT
Indiana seniors Leila Vaziri, Annica Lofstedt and Lindsay Weigle led the Hoosiers to a 166-121 Senior Day win over No. 24 Missouri on Saturday, Jan. 20, at the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center.
Vaziri won four events on the day, while Lofstedt took three and Weigle won two. The 13th-ranked Hoosiers claimed 15 of the 16 events on the day to finish the dual season with a 5-0 overall record, including a 1-0 mark in the Big Ten. The undefeated season is IU's first since going 3-0 in 1977-78, and just the third in school history.
Vaziri made the most of her final home dual meet, winning the 200-yard medley relay, the 200-yard freestyle, the 200-yard backstroke and the 800-yard freestyle relay. The Coral Springs, Fla., native teamed with Sarah Stockwell, Presley Bard and Lofstedt to post the third-fastest time in IU history in the 200 medley relay, 1:41.47. The mark was good for an NCAA provisional qualifying time.
In addition to helping win the 200 medley relay, Lofstedt posted victories in the 50-yard freestyle (23.52) and the 100-yard freestyle, picking up an NCAA "B" cut in the 100 free with a time of 50.93. The Orebo, Sweden, product was touched out at the wall in the 100-yard butterfly, turning in a time of 56.08 to finish second behind freshman Donna Smailis (55.96).
Weigle, the reigning Big Ten Diver of the Week, won the three-meter and the platform for the Hoosiers, taking the three-meter with a score of 331.80 and the platform with a score of 306.45. The Bloomington native's score in the platform was the fourth-best in school history, giving Weigle three of the top four spots.
Stockwell (100-yard breaststroke), Bard (800 free relay), Cassie Luhrsen (1,650-yard freestyle, 500-yard freestyle), Kristin Cihoski (100-yard backstroke), Brittany Barwegen (200-yard butterfly), Amilee Smith (200-yard breaststroke), Emma Berry (800 free relay) and Emily Lanteigne (800 free relay) also accounted for wins.
THREE IS A MAGIC NUMBER
Junior Christina Loukas has been named the Big Ten Diver of the Week three times already this season, taking the honor on Oct. 24, Oct. 31 and Nov. 21. The Riverwoods, Ill., native earned the award the first time following a week in which she swept both springboards and set a new school record in helping the Hoosiers top Kentucky. She then picked up another four wins against Northwestern and Arizona State on Oct. 27 and 28, respectively, taking both springboards both days. For her third award, she swept all three rounds of the one-meter at the IU Open Invitational, placed second on the platform behind the 2006 NCAA champion, and finished fourth on the three-meter behind a trio of All-Americans.
TWO CAN PLAY THAT GAME
Senior Leila Vaziri has earned a hat trick of her own, taking Big Ten Swimmer of the Week honors three times this season. She took the award for the first time on Oct. 31 after posting a total of five NCAA "B" cuts in helping IU to wins over Northwestern and Arizona State on Oct. 27 and 28, respectively. Vaziri made it two weeks in a row on Nov. 7, sharing the award with Purdue's Carlene Takaki after helping IU topple No. 11 Texas with a pair of wins and three more "B" cuts. Vaziri picked up her third honor on Jan. 16 after winning five events and posting six "B" cuts as the Hoosiers won the Michigan Invitational.
GETTING IN ON THE ACT
Senior Lindsay Weigle picked up Big Ten Diver of the Week honors on Jan. 16 after posting a pair of wins at the Michigan Invitational. Weigle won the three-meter and platform on the weekend, while taking third in the one-meter.
DIAPER DANDIES
Freshmen Presley Bard, Brittany Barwegen, Emma Berry, Brittney Feldman, Ashley Jones, Cassie Luhrsen, Emily Porteous, Donna Smailis and Amilee Smith have all entered Indiana's all-time top 20 lists in various events so far on the season.
BIG GUNS
Indiana returns all seven of its All-Americans from a successful 2006 campaign. Swimmers Annica Lofstedt, Clarissa Wentworth, Leila Vaziri and Allison Kay, as well as divers Christina Loukas, Lindsay Weigle and Heather Chapman all earned All-America distinction. Loukas narrowly missed a national championship, coming in second in the three-meter by less than two points. Loukas also finished fifth on the one-meter and sixth on the platform to earn three first-team certificates. Weigle earned first-team status on the platform with her third-place finish, and was honorable mention on both the one- and three-meter. Chapman earned honorable mention on the platform, while Lofstedt, Wentworth, Vaziri and Kay earned honorable mention in the 400-yard freestyle relay. Kay also took honorable mention in the 400-yard individual medley.
THE CHAMP IS HERE
Indiana senior Leila Vaziri won the national title in the 100-meter backstroke on Aug. 2 at the ConocoPhillips National Championships in Irvine, Calif. Vaziri posted a time of 1:01.69 for the win, which also qualified her for the Pan Pacific Championships in Victoria, B.C., later in August.
FROM CANADA TO AUSTRALIA
Vaziri turned in a solid showing at the Pan Pacs to earn a spot in the FINA World Championships in Australia in March 2007. Vaziri was the third American finisher in the prelims of the 100-meter back, which put her in the consolation finals and on the outside looking in for the World Championship team. But she blazed to a 1:01.53 to win her consolation final and post the second-best American time of the year - securing her berth in the World Championships.
UP NEXT
The Hoosiers will be in action again at the Big Ten Championships in Minneapolis, Minn., on Feb. 8-10.
