IU swimming and driving ends Big Ten meet in 2nd

At the end of the 2013 Big Ten Championships in Minneapolis, the IU women’s swimming and diving team lost to Minnesota by 160 points.

With Minnesota ending the meet with 831.5 points and IU coming out of the competition with 671.5, Penn State followed in third (498.5), Ohio State, fourth (384) and Purdue, fifth (363).

Despite the loss, the team came back to Bloomington with two Big Ten Individual Honors and six Hoosiers on the 2013 All-Big Ten First Team.

Freshman swimmer Brooklynn Snodgrass was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year and junior Lindsay Vrooman was named Big Ten Swimmer of the Championships.

IU senior diver Amy Cozad, freshman Haley Lips, sophomore Cynthia Pammett, Snodgrass, sophomore Dorina Szekeres and Vrooman all made the All-Big Ten First Team.

In the 200-yard backstroke, Snodgrass touched the wall in a personal best time of 1:51.77. By completing the event with the fourth-fastest time in IU history, Snodgrass secured her spot at the NCAA Championships.

Pammett finished in second place with a time of 1:53.58. She was followed by sophomore Allie Day in fifth (1:55.47), Szekeres, sixth (1:55.61) and sophomore Justine Ress, seventh (1:55.83).

Vrooman had huge success at the Big Ten Championships after leading IU in scoring with 56 points and breaking the school record in the 1,650-yard freestyle.

Vrooman hit the wall at 15:51.20, good enough to win her second consecutive Big Ten title in the event and break a Big Ten meet record. She beat the previous IU record set by Allison Kay in 2009 (15:56.50) by more than five seconds. Vrooman’s win is the third time the Hoosiers have gained a victory in the event.

“During the race I told myself that I didn’t want to leave that pool without touching the wall first,” Vrooman said.

“Allison Kay was an amazing distance freestyler at IU, and it’s crazy to think that my name will be up there from now on. It’s something I’ve always wanted and to finally achieve it is just unbelievable.”

Freshman Taylor O’Brien came in fourth place, 19.08 seconds behind Vrooman with a career best time and NCAA B Cut of 16:10.28.

In the 200-yard breaststroke, senior Ashley Specht earned a career-best time of 2:09.42 and a third-place finish. Junior Bronwyn Pasloski came in fifth with a personal record of 2:11.06, while freshman Siri Kristiansen came in seventh with a time of 2:14.24. Rounding out the field for the Hoosiers was freshman Madeline Maher in ninth with a personal record of 2:12.46.

All of the swimmers in the 200-yard breaststroke earned NCAA B Cuts.

In the 200-yard butterfly, Lips finished first for the Hoosiers after coming in third overall with a personal record of 1:57.11. Junior Brenna MacLean hit the wall at 1:58.12, earning seventh place and an NCAA B Cut time.

After achieving a score of 334.60 points in the preliminary round of the 10-meter platform diving event, Cozad earned first place and a new Big Ten record with a score of 390.05 points.

“Before last night, whenever I would win prelims I would always screw up in the finals,” Cozad said on Sunday. “To come back and win finals, I couldn’t ask for anything more.”

Junior Kate Hillman finished eighth in the event with a score of 288.90, while senior Cassidy Kahn finished 16th with a score of 257.35. In the preliminary round, Kahn received 270.30 points on the platform, a career best score.

A team of Pammett, Snodgrass, Vrooman and junior Stephanie Armstrong combined to earn sixth place in the 400-yard freestyle relay with a NCAA B Cut and fifth-fastest time in school history of 3:18.76.

“I’ve never been a part of such a great team, and each and every one of my teammates put their heart into each of their races,” Vrooman said. “It’s kind of cliché to say, but I definitely left Minnesota feeling like we won.”

The Hoosier divers will compete in the NCAA Zone Diving Championships in West Lafayette, Ind. beginning March 14 and commencing March 16. The IU women’s team will also compete in the NCAA Championships in Indianapolis March 21-23.