BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Indiana Hoosiers men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams will host Big Ten rival Wisconsin in a dual meet on Friday afternoon in a dual match at the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center in Bloomington, Ind. Admission to the meet is free.
The dual meet will get underway with a pair of diving events starting a 1 p.m. The long-course meter swim meet will begin at 2 p.m.Live results for the meet can be found at IUHoosiers.com.
Fans are encouraged to park in the Sunrise Lot off 10th Street, directly south of the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center. Parking in that lot is free. Spectators may also park in the pay lot directly east of the CBAC, but the normal parking charges will apply.
Scouting the Hoosiers
The Indiana Hoosiers are coming off a hard-fought dual meet at Auburn this past weekend. The meet was extremely competitive and fast, with the Tigers edging the Hoosiers on the day.
Entering the meet against Wisconsin on Friday, the IU men are ranked No. 10 in both the CSCAA Coaches poll and the CollegeSwimming.com rankings. On the women’s side, the Hoosiers are ranked No. 9 by the coaches and No. 8 by CollegeSwimming.com.
“The Hoosiers are looking forward to opening our Big Ten conference schedule this week,” IU head swimming coach Ray Looze said. “This meet is long course meters, which will help Indiana prepare to place multiple swimmers on the 2016 Olympic team. With 62 Olympic medals in our program’s history, it is always important for IU to build upon is extensive Olympic legacy.”
The Indiana divers will look to continue the great start to their 2015-16 season against the Badgers. So far this year, the IU divers have combined to win seven individual diving events.
“We look forward to going up against our first Big 10 opponent of the year,” Indiana head diving coach Drew Johansen remarked. “This string of meets has had some great highlights from each individual on the team. I am looking to see if we can put some complete performances together this week back in our home pool.”
Scouting the Badgers
Indiana will continue its difficult and challenging dual meet schedule with another highly-ranked team in Wisconsin.
The Badger men’s team is ranked 15th by the CSCAA and 16th by CollegeSwimming.com. The Wisconsin women’s team is ranked 18thby the coaches and 21st by CollegeSwimming.com.
Last year, the men’s team placed seventh at the Big Ten Championships and 33rd at NCAA’s. On the women’s side, the Badgers finished sixth at Big Ten’s and 13th at the NCAA Championships.
Khalafalla, Dalesandro and King Earn Weekley B1G Honors
Three Hoosier swimmers earned weekly Big Ten honors on November 11. Ali Khalafalla was named men’s co-Swimmer of the Week for the Hoosiers, while Gia Dalesandro was named women’s co-Swimmer of the Week and Lilly King was named Freshman of the Week. Dalesandro won three events at Auburn, while King touched first in a pair of races. Khalafalla won the 50 free against the Tigers to earn the conference honor.
Pieroni Earns Second B1G Swimmer of the Week Honors
Blake Pieroni was named co-Big Ten Swimmer of the Week on Nov. 4 for the second time this season. The Valparaiso, Ind. native continued his dominance in the 200 freestyle, topping his previous nation-best time with his mark of 1:35.91. Pieroni also won 100 freestyle (43.64) and the 200 individual medley (1:48.38), posting NCAA B cut times in all three events. His three wins at the quad meet push his season total to a team-leading eight.
Westphal Inducted into Linfield Athletics Hall of Fame
Indiana University associate head swimming coach Mike Westphal will be inducted into the Linfield College Athletics Hall of Fame on Saturday, Nov. 7. A 1996 graduate of Linfield, Westphal ws the 1995 NAIA national champion in the 400-yard IM. A four-time All-American and a 1996 Academic All-American, Westphal set records in two individual races and three relays events.
Pieroni, Tucker Earn Weekly Big Ten Swimming Honors
After stellar performances against Texas and Florida, IU swimmers Blake Pieroni and Miranda Tucker earned weekly honors from the Big Ten on Oct. 21. Pieroni was named Big Ten Swimmer of the Week, while Tucker was named the conference’s Co-Freshman of the Week.
Miller, Grothe Named to U.S. Team for Duel in the Pool
Former Indiana University swimming standout Cody Miller was named to the U.S. Duel in the Pool National Team last week. Miller will be joined on the U.S. team by Zane Grothe, a 12-time All-American and U.S. Olympic qualifier at Auburn who is training with the Indiana coaching staff in Bloomington.
Hoosiers on the National Team
When USA Swimming announced the members of the 2015-16 National Team in early September, there was a strong contingent of swimmers that had ties to Indiana University.
The current members of IU team that were named to the national team include Lilly King in the 100 breaststroke, and Blake Pieroni in the 200 freestyle. Former IU standouts that made the cut are Cody Miller in the 100 breaststroke and 200 breaststroke along with Lindsay Vrooman in the 400 freestyle and 800 freestyle.
Joining the U.S. National Team coaching staff are current Indiana head coach Ray Looze, associate head coach Mike Westphal and former IU swimmer Logan Schaefer.
Zane Grothe, a graduate of Auburn University, is currently training with the IU coaches and staff in Bloomington and he was named to the team in the 200 freestyle and 400 freestyle. Groth ranks ninth in the 400 free and 26th in the world in the 200 free.
Swimming news courtesy of Indiana Swimming & Diving.
