Swimming and Diving Back in Action at Notre Dame

The Hoosiers will get a chance to compete against Big Ten foes Michigan and Illinois this weekend.

Swimming and Diving Back in Action at Notre Dame

1/10/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming and Diving

Jan. 10, 2008

Indiana at Notre Dame/vs. No. 13 Michigan, vs. Illinois
Records:
Indiana 1-4
Notre Dame 2-6
Illinois 3-4
Michigan 3-1
Rolfs Aquatic Center
4 p.m. ET (Friday)
9 a.m./5 p.m. ET (Saturday)

SETTING THE SCENE
 The Indiana women's swimming and diving team returns to action in a four-team championship meet at Notre Dame, Jan. 11-12.
 In addition to the Hoosiers and Fighting Irish, also participating in the meet are Big Ten members No. 13 Michigan and Illinois.
 The Hoosiers enter the meet at 1-4 overall, while Notre Dame is 2-6, Michigan is 3-1 and Illinois is 3-4.
 Michigan and Indiana have already met once this season, with the Wolverines posting a 207-163 win on Nov. 2 in Bloomington.

NEWS AND NOTES
 Indiana's last competition came on Nov. 30 at Kentucky.
 The Hoosiers came up short against the Wildcats, falling 164-134.
 Presley Bard led a 1-2 Indiana finish in the 100-yard backstroke, clocking in at 55.15, just ahead of teammate Kristin Cihoski (57.57).
 Bard also won the 200-yard backstroke (2:01.98) and took third in the 50-yard freestyle with a season-best time of 23.91.
 Donna Smailis' second-place times of 1:52.04 in the 200-yard free and 55.51 in the 100-yard butterfly were also season bests.
 She also posted a victory for the Hoosiers in the 200-yard individual medley (2:05.46).
 Freshman Amanda Smith was a double winner for IU, taking home the top spot in the in the 500 free (4:57.58) and 1,000-yard freestyle (10:07.72).
 Sarah Stockwell's time of 1:04.34 was good for first place in the 100-yard breaststroke, while IU scored a 1-2-3 sweep in the 200 breast with Amilee Smith (2:19.00-season best), Stockwell (2:20.16) and Jessica Hill (2:20.52).
 In the diving portion of the meet, Brittany Feldman took third in the 1-meter springboard with a score of 282.37, followed by Amy Korthauer (216.22). They switched spots in the 3-meter with Korthauer third (262.35) and Feldman fourth (236.78).
 It was not all fun and games for the Hoosiers over the holidays, however, as the team took a mid-December training trip to Puerto Rico.

PREVIEWING THE NOTRE DAME INVITATIONAL
 Indiana will face off against three of the top teams in the Midwest as it takes on Notre Dame, Michigan and Illinois in a four-team championship meet in South Bend, Ind.
 The Fighting Irish are coming off a successful training trip to Florida where they picked up a win over Miami on Jan. 5, winning nine of 11 events.
 Like the Hoosiers, Michigan has been dormant since early December when it wrapped up the fall with a first-place finish at the Eastern Michigan Invitational. They have won three-straight dual meets after opening the season with a loss at Florida.
 Illinois placed sixth at the Ohio State Swimming and Diving Invitational in early December and was a 178-128 winner over Illinois State in its last dual meet on Nov. 10.

COACH LOOZE ON THIS WEEKEND:
 These three teams will provide a good test. Illinois has some quality swimmers and Indiana and Notre Dame have had some heated dual meets in the past. This was a good meet when it was held last year at Michigan. Michigan (the third team) was down here in November and handed it to us. We would like to turn the tables."

BIG TENS AROUND THE CORNER
 This weekend's competition will give the Hoosiers a good idea of where they stand in the Big Ten with the conference meet just over a month away.
 After this weekend, Indiana has just two more dual meets (Jan. 18 at Tennessee, Jan. 26 at Purdue) before starting preparation for the league championship.
 The Hoosiers are the defending Big Ten champion.

NATIONAL RANKINGS
 After the loss to Kentucky, Indiana dropped out of the national rankings, released Dec. 17.
 They had previously held the No. 24 spot.
 There are currently four Big Ten teams in the top 25, with No. 8 Minnesota, No. 11 Penn State, No. 13 Michigan, and No. 20 Wisconsin.
 As for upcoming opponents, the Hoosiers will face No. 9 Tennessee (Jan. 18).

DIVERS MAKING PROGRESS
 While most IU students were home enjoying the holiday break, the IU diving squad held an intensive training camp Dec. 21-Jan. 5 on campus to prepare for the remainder of the season.
 "I could single out every single person on the team," said head coach Dr. Jeff Huber. "That is how much of an improvement we've had."
 "Even our two more experienced divers with Christina (Loukas) and Cassie (Cardinell), although she has graduated is still part of the program. They are always here and have helped other step up and look better as divers."
 "We talked to the team after we had a pretty intensive training camp from Dec. 21 all the way up to Jan. 5. We told them afterwards, they were dog-tired but they really stepped up and we are just a different team, the team we want to be. I don't care where we finish. I don't know where we will finish but I do that the two things are under our control that we are going to do is be tough and work hard."

JONES, BARWEGEN OUT FOR SEASON
 The injury bug has taken a bite out of IU's depth as sophomores Ashley Jones and Brittany Barwegen will seek a medical redshirt for 2007-08.  Jones suffered a knee injury which required surgery, while Barwegen was stricken with a severe case of mononucleosis, leaving her unable to train.