Women Send 13 to NCAA Championships

Senior Margaux Farrell will be making her fourth NCAA Championships appearance.

3/13/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming and Diving

March 13, 2012

INDIANA AT NCAA SWIMMING AND DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS

March 15-17, 2012
James E. Martin Aquatics Center
Auburn, Ala.

SETTING THE SCENE
 The Hoosiers are looking for their fourth top-10 finish in the last five years as they send 11 swimmers and two divers to the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships, March 15-17 and the James. E. Martin Aquatics Center in Auburn, Ala.
 Free live streaming will be available for preliminaries all three days and finals on Thursday, March 15.
 ESPN will stream the finals session on Friday and Saturday at WatchESPN.com.
 Preliminary sessions begin at 12 p.m. ET each day, with finals starting at 8 p.m. ET each evening.

INDIANA'S NCAA SWIMMERS AND DIVERS
Amy Cozad: Diving
Allie Day: 100 Backstroke, 200 Backstroke
Margaux Farrell: 500 Freestyle, 200 Freestyle, 800 Freestyle Relay, 100 Freestyle
Lauren Jordan: 500 Freestyle, 200 Backstroke, 1,650 Freestyle
Brenna MacLean: 200 Butterfly, 200 IM, 100 Butterfly
Justine Ress: 100 Backstroke, 200 Backstroke
Laura Ryan: Diving
Ashley Specht: 100 Breaststroke, 200 Breaststroke
Brittany Strumbel: 500 Freestyle, 200 Freestyle, 800 Freestyle Relay, 100 Freestyle
Allysa Vavra: 200 Individual Medley, 400 Individual Medley, 200 Breaststroke
Lindsay Vrooman: 500 Freestyle, 200 Freestyle, 800 Freestyle Relay, 1,650 Freestyle
Nikki White: 500 Freestyle, 200 Freestyle, 800 Freestyle Relay, 1,650 Freestyle
Taylor Wohrley: 100 Backstroke, 200 Backstroke

NEWS AND NOTES
 Indiana is bringing three freshmen and three sophomores as part of its 13-person swimming and diving contingent.
 Margaux Farrell, Brittany Strumbel and Nikki White are making their fourth NCAA Championship appearance.
 Allie Day, Lauren Jordan, Justine Ress and Laura Ryan will make their first trip to the national meet.
 
HOOSIERS PLACE SECOND AT BIG TENS
 Indiana fought its way to a second-place finish at the 2012 Big Ten Championships held in Iowa City, Iowa.
 Competing without some of its top talent, Indiana finished just 29.5 points behind winner Minnesota, tallying a score of 651 points.
 Senior Allysa Vavra was named the Swimmer of the Championships after a record-setting meet.
 Vavra defended her Big Ten title in the 200 individual medley with a school and Big Ten meet record time of 1:55.44.
 She then topped her own Big Ten record in the 400 IM, winning her second-straight title in 4:01.41.
 Vavra also took third in the 200 breaststroke, breaking her own school mark at 2:08.79.
 Sophomore Lindsay Vrooman won her first Big Ten title, taking the 1,650 freestyle in 16:00.44. That is the third-fastest time in school history and the first Big Ten title for IU in the event since Jennifer Hooker in 1982.
 Vrooman also took second in the 500 free.
 Indiana's 800 free relay team of Brittany Strumbel, Lindsay Vrooman, Nikki White and Margaux Farrell broke their own Big Ten record with a winning time of 7:00.82.
 Sophomore Brenna MacLean set a new personal best of 1:56.77 in the 200 butterfly, finishing second to earn second-team All-Big Ten honors.
 She also took fifth in the 100 fly.
 Farrell was seventh in the 100 free and fourth in the 500 free and picked up first-team All-Big Ten honors for her role on the winning 800 free relay team.
 Strumbel took second in the 200 free, 10th in the 100 free and earned first-team All-Big Ten honors as part of the 800 free relay team.
 Freshman Lauren Jordan was a medalist in the 1,650 freestyle, finishing third in a personal best of 16:07.62. She also finished ninth in the 500 free.
 Freshman Justine Ress finished as runner-up in the 100 back in a time of 53.02. Her season best of 52.92 was set on the 400 medley relay at Big Tens.
 She also took third in the 200 back (1:54.51).
 Freshman Allie Day was fourth in the 200 back (1:55.22) and set her season best of 1:54.95 in prelims.
 Taylor Wohrley posted a top-five finish in the 100 back, taking fifth (53.34). She was also fourth in the 200 back (1:55.22).
 Junior Ashley Specht was fifth in the 100 breaststroke with her season-best time of 1:00.38.
 Sophomore Bronwyn Pasloski placed seventh in the 200 breaststroke (2:12.36), with a season-best time of 2:12.04 in prelims.
 Freshman Dorina Szekeres placed fifth in the 400 IM in 4:13.92 and set a career best of 4:13.26 in the prelims. She also placed 11th in the 200 back (1:57.76).
 The 200 freestyle relay team of Farrell, Strumbel, Stephanie Armstrong and Ress placed sixth (1:30.85), the third-fastest time in school history.
 The 400 free relay team of Strumbel, Farrell, Vavra and Courey Schaefer was sixth (3:19.50).
 Indiana's 200 medley relay team of Day, Specht, Kim Tracey and Armstrong took fifth in 1:38.74, the third-fastest time in school history.
 The 400 medley relay team of Ress, Specht, MacLean and Farrell finished fifth in 3:34.61, the fourth-fastest time in IU records.
 Gabby Agostino placed fourth in the 1-meter competition with a season-best score of 331.15. She also finished third on the 3-meter (355.70) and sixth on the platform (282.00).
 Kate Hillman took eight on the 1-meter (286.80) and was 13th on the 3-meter (299.45) and 21st on the platform (216.05).

INDIANA AT THE NCAA MEET
 The Hoosiers have produced four NCAA champions, two of whom have come in the last three NCAA meets.
 Kimiko Hirai was the first female NCAA Champion for IU, winning the 1-meter springboard at the 1996 NCAA Championships.
 Cassandra Cardinell won the NCAA platform title in 2005.
 Christina Loukas continued IU's strong diving tradition with an NCAA Championship title in the 3-meter springboard in 2009.
 In 2010, Kate Fesenko became the first NCAA Champion in a swimming event for IU, winning the 200 backstroke.
 The Hoosiers have posted three top-10 finishes in he last four years (2008, 09, 10) and four overall.
 Indiana best showing at the national meet came in 2008-09 when it posted 152 points.

FARRELL EARNS B1G POSTGRADUATE SCHOLARSHIP
 Indiana University women's swimmer Margaux Farrell and Penn State men's gymnast Miguel Pineda have been named the recipients of the 2012 Wayne Duke Postgraduate Award. The award is an annual scholarship recognizing one male and one female Big Ten senior student-athlete pursuing a postgraduate degree for achievements in academics, athletics, extracurricular activities and leadership. It is given out in conjunction with the Big Ten Men's and Women's Basketball Tournaments.
 In recognition of the Big Ten's leadership in fully integrating athletics into the academic mission of its member institutions, the Indianapolis Big Ten Community Partnership initiated the Wayne Duke Postgraduate Award in 2008. Each Big Ten institution was asked to nominate one male and one female student-athlete for 2012, with a $5,000 scholarship awarded to each winner.
 The Wayne Duke Postgraduate Award is named for the former Big Ten Conference commissioner who served from 1971-89. While leading the Big Ten, Duke spent much of his time working to improve academic standards and graduation rates for student-athletes. The award is made possible by donations from local corporations and individuals supporting collegiate student-athletes. The Indianapolis Big Ten Community Partnership is comprised of the State of Indiana, City of Indianapolis, Indiana Sports Corporation, Pacers Sports & Entertainment and the Indianapolis Convention & Visitors Association.
 Farrell is completing her journalism degree with a psychology minor at Indiana University and expects to graduate in May. With a 3.8 GPA, she has plans to continue her education in journalism in graduate school. A dual citizen of France and the United States, she has led Indiana's swimming and diving team to three Big Ten titles. She has also competed individually in many of the top international events.
 Farrell has been recognized with All-America honors every year at Indiana and has captained the Indiana women's swim team since her junior season. She has twice been named Academic All-Big Ten, and was named second team Capital One Academic All-District her junior season. She holds multiple Big Ten and Indiana swimming records. Farrell represented France at two Olympic Trials and is in position to swim for France at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. In the summer of 2011, Margaux represented Indiana University at the World University Games in China, where she set a school record of 55.69 in the 100-meter freestyle.
 In addition to a world-class swimming regimen, Farrell dedicates time to various organizations. She reads to children, advocates for breast cancer awareness and involves herself in many student organizations. She was chosen by Indiana faculty to serve on the Board of Aeons, a 12-member student research and advisory organization that works closely with the president of Indiana University. As a journalism major, she participated in an advanced advertising practicum that provided her with a real world experience to create campaigns and interact with clients on product launches.