Women's swim team sinks Purdue at home

The IU women’s swimming and diving team defeated in-state Big Ten rival Purdue 154.5-135.5 during an emotional day in Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center.

Before the meet Saturday, seven seniors — five swimmers and two divers — were honored as part of senior day activities.

They proceeded to beat their third Big Ten opponent of the season, completing a 4-for-4 start to the 2014 season.

The Hoosiers won the first six events of the day, leaving IU Coach Ray Looze surprised at his team’s dominant performance.

“I think we won 12 of the 16 events, and I didn’t really expect that,” he said. “It’s not like we really lit it up time-wise or anything like that, but I was pleased.”

In the opening 200-yard medley relay event, sophomore Brooklynn Snodgrass, freshman Gia Dalesandro and seniors Bronwyn Paslowski and Kait Flederbach took first with a time of 1 minute 40.76 seconds.

Sophomore Haley Lips followed with a win in the 1650-yard freestyle.

Junior Dorina Szekeres placed second in her first-ever competitive swim in the event.
Senior Stephanie Armstrong said the team’s strong start was crucial to its performance all day.

“We did the same kind of routine where we wake up and do our wake up swim, then we come here and need to get going right off the bat,” she said. “I think we did a really good job of that right from that mile and that first relay — winning both of those just set the fire to get us going for the rest of the meet.”

The team continued its streak as senior Lindsay Vrooman took first in the 200-yard freestyle.

IU finished 1-2-3 in the 100-yard backstroke with Snodgrass in first place, junior Allie Day in second and junior Justine Ress in third.

Paslowski won the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1 minute 2.12 seconds, the first of her two individual wins.

Dalesandro and freshman Olivia Barker went 1-2 in the 200-yard butterfly,
respectively.

Senior Kait Flederbach placed second in the 50-yard freestyle event and helped the Hoosiers win in the 400-yard freestyle relay to cap off the meet.

She said the team’s energy and support for one another was the biggest part of their win.

“When you looked at our side of the pool, we always had swimmers cheering, and it was never dull. It was never quiet,” Flederbach said. “That really helped us all stay up and get excited for each race.”

In the diving well, senior Kate Hillman was second on the 10-meter platform and third on the one-meter springboard.

As a group, the seniors had a total of 13 top-three finishes on senior day.
Looze said the seniors have changed the culture of the IU swimming and diving  program during their four years as Hoosiers.

“They embody how to be a team, how to work together, how to support each other, how to bring a bunch of different individuals and personalities together to really function as one,” he said. “They’ve done so much for us, and I think it’s really set us up for years to come, too.”

Looze complimented the Purdue swimming and diving program for their
results.

He said the Hoosiers are taking it one meet at a time moving forward.

“They are a very well-coached group, and we’re fortunate to come out with a win,” Looze said. “Beyond that, we’re just focused on being good at the end of the season, being a championship-level team.”

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