IU's Two Medals Highlight First Night at B1G Championships

Wednesday, February 17

Ann Arbor, MI

6:30 PM

Indiana University

Big Ten Championships- Finals

IU's Two Medals Highlight First Night at B1G Championships

2/17/2016 9:16:00 PM | Women's Swimming and Diving

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The No. 13-ranked Indiana women's swimming and diving team got off to a great start at the 2016 Big Ten Women's Swimming and Diving Championships on Wednesday night in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

The Hoosiers earned medals in both championship finals, winning gold in the 200 medley relay and taking home the silver in the 800 freestyle relay.

After the first night of the Big Ten Championships, Indiana leads with a score of 120. Michigan sits in second with 116, while Ohio State and Penn State are tied for third place with 100. Wisconsin rounds out the top-five with 98 points.

Indiana started the 2016 Big Ten Championships on a high note, as the 200 medley relay team of Marie Chamberlain, Lilly King, Gia Dalesandro and Grace Vertigans took home the gold, winning with a school-record and NCAA A cut time of 1:35.73.

With their tremendous performance, the Hoosiers broke the previous school record by over a second and also surpassed the Big Ten meet record. Indiana's time was also a Canham Natatorium record, eclipsing the previous mark set by Wisconsin (1:36.29) set in 2009.

The win in the 200 medley relay was the fourth in program history for the Hoosiers and the second in the last three seasons. IU also won the gold in the 200 medley relay in 1985, 2008 and 2014.

In the 800 free relay, the IU team of Haley Lips, Kennedy Goss, Grace Vertigans and Delaney Barnard touched the wall in a NCAA A cut time of 7:00.83 to earn the silver medal. The mark ranks fourth all-time in program history. Haley Lips' leadoff time of 1:44.14 ranks as the fifth-fastest 200 free swim in IU history.

The 2016 Big Ten Women's Swimming and Diving Championships will continue on Thursday morning inside Canham Natatorium in Ann Arbor. The prelims for the 500 freestyle, 200 IM, 50 freestyle and 1-meter dive will begin at 11 a.m. The consolation final of the 1-meter dive will begin at 1 p.m.

Be sure to keep up with all the latest news on the Indiana women's swimming and diving teams on social media – Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

200 Medley Relay
1. Chamberlain, King, Dalesandro, Vertigans – 1:35.73 (School Record, NCAA A Cut)

800 Freestyle Relay
2. Lips, Goss, Vertigans, Barnard – 7:00.83 (NCAA A Cut)