Indiana University Athletics
Indiana Set for NCAA Championships
3/7/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming and Diving
March 7, 2007
NCAA Championships Notes in PDF Format (03-07-07)
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MEET DETAILS
Dates: March 8-10, 2007
Meet: NCAA Championships
Location: Minneapolis, Minn.
Facility: University Aquatic Center
HOOSIER NOTES
Indiana will send a contingent of 13 Hoosiers to the 2007 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships in Minneapolis from March 8-10. Swimmers Presley Bard, Kristin Cihoski, Ashley Jones, Allison Kay, Annica Lofstedt, Amilee Smith, Sarah Stockwell, Leila Vaziri and Clarissa Wentworth and divers Heather Chapman, Brittney Feldman, Christina Loukas and Lindsay Weigle will all represent IU at the championship meet.
2006 NCAAS IN REVIEW
Indiana posted a 14th-place finish at the NCAA Championships in Athens, Ga. Seven Hoosiers earned All-America distinction, led by Christina Loukas, who earned three first team certificates. Heather Chapman, Allison Kay, Annica Lofstedt, Leila Vaziri, Lindsay Weigle and Clarissa Wentworth also earned All-America status for their performances.
LAST TIME OUT
Heather Chapman, Brittney Feldman, Christina Loukas and Lindsay Weigle all qualified for the NCAA Championships with their performances at the Zone C Diving Championships in Ann Arbor, Mich., from March 2-4. Loukas won both the one- and three-meter titles, while Weigle won the platform. Feldman earned her spot at the NCAAs with a fourth-place finish in the one-meter, while Chapman qualified with a runner-up showing on the tower.
2007 BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS
Indiana won its first Big Ten title since 2003 on Feb. 8-10, compiling 715.5 team points to win the league championship. The Hoosiers got standout performances from all over the roster, winning seven event titles and setting 10 school records and two Big Ten records. The Hoosiers trailed the meet after the first day of competition, sitting in second place with 188.5 points. Michigan led the meet with 215 points. Indiana exploded for 265 second-day points, moving into first place with a two-day total of 453.5 points. IU nearly matched that effort on day three, picking up 262 more points to round out its total and win the meet by 153.5 points over second-place Michigan.
Junior Christina Loukas turned in one of the most dominant performances in Big Ten diving history, becoming just the fourth league diver to win all three diving events in the same championship meet. Loukas set a new school and Big Ten record in winning the platform and a new school record in taking the three-meter, earning Big Ten Diver of the Year and Diver of the Championships honors for the third straight year.
Senior Leila Vaziri won the 100-yard backstroke, setting a new Big Ten record in the process. Freshman Presley Bard set a new school record in the prelims of the 200-yard backstroke, and went on to win the finals for her first individual league title. Sophomore Allison Kay won the 200-yard butterfly, becoming the first female swimmer in school history to win the event.
Vaziri, sophomore Sarah Stockwell, Bard and senior Annica Lofstedt teamed to win the 400-yard medley relay on the first day of the meet, picking up IU's first win in the event since 1980.
Indiana broke 10 school records at the Big Ten meet, with Vaziri setting the 100 back record with her leadoff leg of the 400 medley relay, then again in the 100 back the next day. Stockwell lowered her own record in the 100-yard breaststroke twice, while freshman Amilee Smith set a new school standard in the 200-yard breast with a second-place finish in the event. Loukas erased the previous marks in the three-meter and platform.
Both medley relay units set new school standards, with Vaziri, Stockwell, Bard and Lofstedt doing the honors in both events.
Indiana Records Set at Big Tens
100 back: Leila Vaziri (53.06)
100 back: Leila Vaziri (52.85)
200 back: Presley Bard (1:55.61)
100 breast: Sarah Stockwell (1:02.52)
100 breast: Sarah Stockwell (1:02.45)
200 breast: Amilee Smith (2:14.14)
3-meter: Christina Loukas (387.95)
Platform: Christina Loukas (358.80)
200 medley relay: 1:39.60 (Vaziri, Stockwell, Bard, Lofstedt)
400 medley relay: 3:38.16 (Vaziri, Stockwell, Bard, Lofstedt)
THE HARDWARE
In addition to winning the league title, the Hoosiers came away from the conference meet with five of the seven postseason awards. Christina Loukas was named Big Ten Diver of the Year and Diver of the Championships for the third straight season, while Presley Bard was named Freshman of the Year, Ray Looze was named Swimming Coach of the Year and Dr. Jeff Huber was named Diving Coach of the Year for the fourth time on the women's side.
Indiana led all league schools with nine student-athletes named All-Big Ten. Bard, Loukas, Allison Kay, Annica Lofstedt, Sarah Stockwell and Leila Vaziri earned first team distinction, while Amilee Smith, Lindsay Weigle and Clarissa Wentworth garnered spots on the second team. Minnesota and Wisconsin had six all-league selections each.
Additionally, Christie Fuchs was named the Hoosiers' Big Ten Sportsmanship Award nominee.
EXPERIENCE RULES
Five of the Hoosiers' six seniors qualified for the NCAA Championships. Heather Chapman, Annica Lofstedt, Leila Vaziri, Lindsay Weigle and Clarissa Wentworth are all in their final seasons of eligibility for Indiana. Lofstedt and Vaziri will be making their fourth appearances in the NCAA Championships, while Weigle and Wentworth are both making their third.
INDIANA IN THE CSCAA POLL
The Hoosiers were ranked No. 8 in the final Collegiate Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Top 25 Poll of the season, released Feb. 26. Indiana was the highest-ranked Big Ten school, with Michigan (11), Penn State (16), Wisconsin (18) and Minnesota (21) also appearing in the final poll.
THREE IS A MAGIC NUMBER
Junior Christina Loukas was named the Big Ten Diver of the Week three times 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.
THREE IS A MAGIC NUMBER - PART II
Junior Christina Loukas was named the Big Ten Diver of the Year and Diver of the Championships for the third straight season. She became only the second diver in Big Ten history to earn Diver of the Year honors three times, joining Michigan State's Julie Farrell (1989-91), and the second to be named Diver of the Championships three times, joining Indiana's Sara Reiling-Hildebrand (2000, 2002-03). Loukas will have a chance for the unprecedented career sweep next season.
TWO CAN PLAY THAT GAME
Senior Leila Vaziri 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.
LATE-SEASON PUSH
Senior Lindsay Weigle picked up consecutive Big Ten Diver of the Week honors on Jan. 16 and Jan. 23. The Bloomington native won the three-meter and platform at the Michigan Invitational on Jan. 12-13, while taking third in the one-meter. She then took both the three-meter and platform against No. 24 Missouri on Jan. 20.
DIAPER DANDIES
Thirteen Indiana freshmen - Presley Bard, Brittany Barwegen, Emma Berry, Brittney Feldman, Ashley Jones, Amy Korthauer, Emily Lanteigne, Cassie Luhrsen, Emily Porteous, Alyssa Rosinko, Emily Schlatter, Donna Smailis and Amilee Smith - have entered Indiana's all-time top 20 lists in various events so far on the season. Two of them, Bard and Smith, have set school records. Bard did so in the 200-yard backstroke at the Big Ten Championships, while Smith set her record in the 200-yard breaststroke.
BIG GUNS
Indiana returns all seven of its All-Americans from the 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.
AUSTRALIA BOUND
Senior Leila Vaziri and junior Christina Loukas will represent the United States at the FINA World Championships in Melbourne, Australia, from March 18-April 1. Vaziri earned her spot by posting the second-fastest American time in the 100-meter backstroke at the Pan Pacs, winning her consolation final. Loukas earned her selection from USA Diving after a pair of selection camps. Loukas will compete in the one-meter after the sport's governing body chose her based on consistency, average scores, projected scores and degree of difficulty.
UP NEXT
The Hoosiers will send a small contingent to the Indiana Senior State Meet in Indianapolis on March 9-11. Senior Leila Vaziri and junior Christina Loukas will participate in the FINA World Championships in Melbourne, Australia, from March 18-April 1.
