BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Indiana University men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams will travel south to Austin, Texas to participate in a tri-meet with Texas and Florida.
The two-day meet gets underway on Friday at 5:00 p.m. ET and will conclude on Saturday starting at 11:00 a.m. ET. The double-dual meet will be conducted in a long-course format (50-meter pool) on Friday and the traditional short-course format (25-yard pool) on Saturday.
Since the meet will be scored as a double-dual meet, the Hoosiers will have head-to-head scores against both Texas and Florida.
Scouting the Hoosiers
The Indiana Hoosiers got the 2015-16 season off to a great start on Oct. 1, with both the men’s and women’s team earning victories over Cincinnati. The men won, 157-135, with the women beating the Bearcats, 186-105.
Looking ahead to this weekend’s meet, head swimming coach Ray Looze is looking forward to the challenge. Entering the weekend, the men’s team is ranked No. 18 in the country, while the women’s squad is ranked No. 16.
“This tri-meet will represent the signature NCAA swimming and diving event of the 2015 fall semester,” Looze said. “Three top-10 teams squaring off in a unique Friday long course/Saturday short course format. Our swimmers and divers look forward to a great challenge and the high expectations that go along with such a competition. This is the kind of meet we live for at IU and one that will help prepare us for Olympic trials, Rio and beyond.”
The Indiana divers were terrific against the Bearcats on Oct. 1, with the Hoosiers going 1-2 in all four events. Lacey Houser and Joshua Arndt won both the 1-meter and 3-meter for IU, as both totaled NCAA qualifying scored in both events.
As the team heads to Austin, head diving coach Drew Johansen is eager to see how the Hoosiers stand early in the season.
“We are looking forward to an early match up with Texas and Florida,” Johansen remarked. “This will be a good test early in the season to see how we match up with two other top-10 teams.”
Scouting Texas
On the men’s side, the Hoosiers will face the 2015 NCAA National Champion Texas Longhorns, who along with winning the team title last year, also had seven individual national champions in 2015.
On the women’s side, Texas placed seventh last year at the NCAA Championships – the team’s best finish since 2011. The seventh place finish also marked the fifth-straight year that Texas placed in the top-10 at the NCAA’s.
Scouting Florida
The Florida men’s team comes in to this weekend as the No. 1 team in the nation in CollegeSwimming.com’s Top-50 Team Rankings. Last year, the Gators placed fifth at the NCAA Championships.
For the women, Florida enters the weekend ranked No. 5 in CollegeSwimming.com’s rankings. Last season, the Gators placed ninth overall at the NCAA Championships.
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.