Indiana University Athletics
DiPrimio: Tyler Among Many Reasons IU Favored for Big Ten Swimming and Diving Title
2/24/2025 10:32:00 AM | Men's Swimming and Diving
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Diver Carson Tyler wears a Big Ten swimming and diving meet bullseye well.
What else would you expect from an Olympian?
The Indiana senior is a big target as he goes for individual and Hoosier team success this week in Minneapolis. While he can't win the Hoosiers' fourth straight men's conference championship by himself, he can make a huge impact.
How huge?
As the defending champion in the 3-meter and platform diving events, as well as a returning 1-meter medalist, Tyler is a big reason, but not the only one, why the No. 2-ranked Hoosiers are positioned for a team championship in the four-day event.
"The Big Ten is the best diving conference in the country," coach Drew Johansen says. "We'll see the best the country has to offer. It will be a lot of fun to see them get after it."
Last year, Tyler won Big Ten and NCAA titles in the 3-meter and platform and also medaled in the 1-meter. His 56 points at the NCAA Championships were more than any other diving team.
He also made last summer's Paris Olympics in the 3-meter and platform.
This season, Tyler has IU's best scores in 1-meter and 3-meter. Senior Quinn Henninger isn't far off in 3-meter and has a Big Ten Diver of the Week award on his resume this season. Junior Max Weinrich leads the Hoosiers in platform diving, with Tyler behind him. Freshman Joshua Sollenberger and junior Dash Glasberg provide depth.
"In diving, we returned everybody and added to it," Johansen says. "Our men have had their best training season as a group. The expectation of performing similar to last year is what they're up against."
Johansen says returning to IU after the Olympics wasn't easy for Tyler.
"It's a challenge to go from the Olympic Games back to the bus rides and on-campus walking to class. Carson made history in a couple of ways last year. He was only the third man to represent the platform and 3-meter in the history of U.S. Olympics. He also won both events in the NCAA meet.
"He's been dealing with multiple targets on his back – the champion he was in the collegiate season and our top placing Olympian. It was a hard first semester, but he's coming around."
Winning the Big Ten team title isn't IU's No. 1 goal, swimming coach Ray Looze says. Winning the national championship is, something the Hoosiers have done six times, but not since 1973.
The result – they will continue to train hard through the Big Ten meet before tapering for the NCAA championships, set for March 26-29 in the state of Washington.
"We're training through the Big Ten except in a few instances," Looze says. "If you're already qualitied for NCAA meet, you'll do nothing special in terms of preparation for the Big Ten. That's different for us."
The difference comes with IU positioned to challenge No. 1 Texas, No. 3 California and No. 4 and defending national champion Arizona State for the NCAA title.
The Hoosiers' only loss this season was by a 97-89 score to Texas in early November. They won the SMU Classic and the Ohio State Invitational along with beating then No. 4 Florida, No. 13 Michigan and No. 11 Louisville.
"If you want to be the best in the NCAAs," Looze says, "you have to leave some bullets in the chamber (in the conference meet). The teams that win the national championship normally don't go all in on the conference meet. It's hard to rebound from that."
That doesn't mean IU will look past the Big Ten meet. The field includes No. 10 Michigan, No. 13 Ohio State, No. 16 USC and No. 24 Minnesota.
"We're not trying to take second," Looze says. "We're just going to go in tired. So be it."
The Hoosiers have five swimming Olympians in Tomer Frankel, Josh Matheny, Rafael Miroslaw, Kai van Westering and Caspar Corbeau, a mid-year enrollee who has earned Big Ten swimmer of the week honors. Owen McDonald has won four Big Ten Swimmer of the Week awards this season; Zalán Sárkány and Caspar Corbeau have each won one. Miroslav Knedia has a conference freshman-of-the-week award.
"We need to get a few more NCAA qualifiers," Looze says. "We want to do that. (The Big Ten meet) is one of our main qualifiers.
"We do have some people who are resting and tapering to get ready for Big Ten. We have 12 to 13 who are not. I'm working on practice plans as far as who to rest, who not to, and how to make that all work out."
Adds Johansen: "I view the Big Ten championships as an opportunity to bond more as a team. That's when the momentum builds to be that last piece of the team we're going to take to Washington. That's what we're building at the Big Ten Championships. Stoke that fire every day."
