Day one of the 2017-18 season for the Hoosiers was a success as part of a tri-meet with Florida and Texas in Gainesville, Florida.
IU claimed 13 wins out of the 26 events contested on Friday. IU had nine individual winners and won all of the relays on day one.
The No. 6 men’s team currently leads No. 2 Texas 134-109 and No. 6 Florida 138-105.
The women’s squad is in the lead against No. 18 Florida 144-99, but trails No. 2 Texas 138-105.
Senior Blake Pieroni was the star of the night with a couple of wins, as he claimed both the 200m freestyle with a time of 1:34.10 and the 100m freestyle by touching the wall with a time of 43.18.
Both of Pieroni’s times are the fastest in the country this season.
While Pieroni’s times were record setting, junior Lilly King also had a strong showing on opening night. She won a pair of events Friday, including 100m breaststroke with a mark of 59.46, the top time in the country so far this season. Her other victory came in the 200m individual medley, with a time of 2:00.00.
Two other Hoosier swimmers impressed and finished with the fastest times in the nation this season. Junior Vini Lanza had a time of 1:46.56 in the 200m individual medley and won the event.
Junior and Bloomington native Ian Finnerty claimed the 100m breaststroke when he touched the wall at 53.38.
When it came to the diving events, IU had four divers post six NCAA-qualifying scores in their first competition of the year.
Junior Jessica Parratto lead the pack with two NCAA qualifications Friday. She qualified with a score of 302.85 in the 1-meter dive, and a score of 332.85 in the 3-meter dive.
Freshman Andrew Capobianco impressed in his first collegiate meet as he qualified for the 1-meter and 3-meter dives. He placed second in the 1-meter and fifth in the 3-meter, with both scores qualifying for the final.
Friday's events occurred following the controversial visit of white nationalist Richard Spencer to the University of Florida campus Thursday evening. Spencer spoke at the Curtis M. Phillips Center for Performing Arts Thursday night, while the IU swimming and diving team practiced across campus.
An IUPD officer traveled with the team to help communicate with security personnel in Florida to ensure the team's safety.
The final day of the meet will be Saturday and will start at 10 a.m. in Gainesville with swimming events.
TC Malik
