No. 2 Indiana Swimming & Diving Heads to NCAA Championships

Wednesday, March 27

Austin, TX

7:00 PM

Indiana University

NCAA Championships - Finals

No. 2 Indiana Swimming & Diving Heads to NCAA Championships

3/26/2019 10:01:00 AM | Men's Swimming and Diving

Championship Central Live Results (SWIM)Live Results (Dive)

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The No. 2-ranked Indiana University men's swimming and diving team heads to Austin, Texas to compete in the 2019 NCAA Championships, hosted by the University of Texas at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center.

The four-day meet gets underway on Wednesday night in Austin with the finals of the 800 freestyle relay at 7:00 p.m. ET. The next three days will feature prelims beginning at 11:00 a.m. ET, with finals each night starting at 7:00 p.m. ET. Diving prelims and consolation finals will begin following swimming prelims Thursday through Saturday.

Live results for the week can be found at IUHoosiers.com, while results for diving can be found at DiveMeets.com.

Streaming/TV Info
ESPN3.com will live stream finals sessions on Wednesday through Saturday. Preliminary sessions on Thursday through Saturday will be streamed live on www.texassports.com. Additionally, ESPNU will air a two-hour show at 7 p.m. Eastern time, Monday, April 8.

Qualified Hoosiers
A total of 16 Hoosiers will be making the trip to Austin this week to compete at the NCAA Championships. Along with the individual events, IU will also compete in all five relays.

Below is a list of the 16 Hoosier swimmers who qualified for individual events at the 2019 NCAA Championships, along with their seeding in each event, when applicable:

Zach Apple – 50 freestyle (10th), 100 freestyle (7th), 200 freestyle (8th)
Zane Backes – 100 breaststroke (7th), 200 breaststroke (25th)
Bruno Blaskovic – 50 freestyle (22nd), 100 freestyle (14th), 100 butterfly (10th)
Michael Brinegar – 1,650 freestyle (3rd)
Mikey Calvillo – 1,650 freestyle (14th)
Andrew Capobianco – 1-Meter, 3-Meter, Platform
James Connor – 1-Meter, 3-Meter
Gabriel Fantoni – 100 backstroke (6th), 200 backstroke (8th), 100 butterfly (24th)
Ian Finnerty – 100 breaststroke (1st), 200 breaststroke (2nd), 200 IM (6th)
Jack Franzman – Relay Alternate
Mory Gould – 1-Meter, 3-Meter
Brandon Hamblin – Relay Alternate
Gary Kostbade – Relay Alternate
Vini Lanza – 100 butterfly (2nd), 200 butterfly (1st), 200 IM (2nd)
Van Mathias – 100 butterfly (31st), 200 butterfly (29th)
Mohamed Samy – 200 freestyle (13th)

NCAA Championship History
The six-time NCAA Champion Hoosiers have finished in the top-10 at the NCAA Championships in six of the last seven seasons. For the third-straight season, Indiana finished as the top Big Ten team at the NCAA Championships in 2018 – the best stretch for IU since accomplishing the feat for 15-straight seasons from 1964-78.

In 2018, the Hoosiers finished third overall in the team standings with a total of 422 points. The 422 points scored are the most for the team in 49 years, when Indiana scored 427 in 1969.

The finish for the Hoosiers was the best for the program in 43 years, when IU took second in 1975. Indiana won a total of four NCAA titles over the week, the most for the team since winning six crowns in 1973. Ian Finnerty won the NCAA titles in both the 100 and 200 breaststrokes, while Michael Hixon took the crown in the 1-meter dive. Indiana also won the crown in the 400 medley relay.

Over the course of NCAA Championships, the Hoosiers had 12 individuals earn a total of 42 All-America honors – the most in program history in 44 years since the team tallied 50 in 1974.

Indiana swept the CSCAA Division I Coach of the Year awards, as Ray Looze was named Swimming Coach of the Year and Drew Johansen was named Diving Coach of the Year.

2019 Big Ten Championships
For the third-straight season, Indiana won the Big Ten Championship. IUs three-straight titles are a first for the program since also winning three-in-a-row from 1983-85. The team championship was the 27^th in program history.

For the week, IU won a total of 24 medals – 13 gold, six silver and five bronze. Indiana also won four of the five relays at the Big Ten Championships for a second-straight year – a program first.

Vini Lanza became the first man in Big Ten history to be named Swimmer of the Championships for three-straight years. Lanza won titles in the 200 IM, 200 butterfly, 200 freestyle relay, 800 freestyle relay and 400 medley relay this week, along with two silver medals.

For the second time in his career, James Connor was named the Diver of the Championships. Connor won Big Ten titles in both the 1-meter and 3-meter dives this week.

Joining Connor and Lanza on the All-Big Ten First-Team were Zach Apple, Bruno Blaskovic, Gabriel Fantoni, Ian Finnerty, Jack Franzman, Brandon Hamblin and Mohamed Samy. Andrew Capobianco was named Second-Team All-Big Ten.

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

#GoIU