Meet to measure readiness

The men\'s swimming and diving squads travel to Iowa City, Iowa, tomorrow to take on Big Ten foes Iowa (1-2) and Minnesota (2-0). The Golden Gophers, ranked sixth in the nation and the reigning Big Ten champions, could be the Hoosiers' toughest competition. \n"I think we really need to get up to swim Minnesota because we'll swim them in Big Tens and they're the powerhouse," sophomore Matt Leach said. "They're the ones that won it last year and we're looking to take as many races as we can from them."\nIU, 1-2 overall and 0-2 in the conference, is coming off of a home dual meet loss to Ohio State Jan.12. But the Hoosiers did have a strong showing against the Buckeyes, posting season best times in six events and setting 14 personal best records in what amounted to only a 23 point loss, 133-110. \n"I was very pleased with the times put in by the guys at (the Ohio State) meet," Coach Kris Kirchner said. "The competition was really good, but we swam really well and just got beat in the final outcome. You've got to be disappointed by that, but happy with the performances. A lot of our people swam really well. But we just need to go up to Iowa, win as many events as possible and swim even better than we have been swimming." \nAgainst Ohio State, freshman Richard Bryant won the 1650-yard and 500-yard freestyle races, freshman Murph Halasz won the 200-yard butterfly and junior David Schulze won the 200-yard breaststroke. \n"Personally, I just want to have the same type of performance that I had against Ohio State," Schulze said. "I'd like to improve on some little things, hopefully go a little bit faster and just race the competition as best as I can."\nIowa last competed against Northern Iowa, posting a 200-85 win Dec. 7. The Golden Gophers are coming off of a dominating victory over Hawaii and UCLA Jan. 14. \n"Minnesota is one of the top teams in the country, they have good people in every event," Kirchner said. "Iowa probably doesn't have the depth that Minnesota does, but they'll be good. I assure you this meet will be their best meet to date." \nThe Hoosiers lead both Iowa (17-12) and Minnesota (18-5) in the all-time series. The Hoosiers didn't swim against Iowa last year, but the teams met in the Big Ten championship where IU placed sixth and Iowa ninth. The Hoosiers faced off against the Golden Gophers last season, but lost, 91-49. \nOn the diving side of the competition, sophomores Alex Burns and Marc Carlton will represent the Hoosiers in Iowa. Coach Jeff Huber said he expects tough competition. \n"Iowa and Minnesota have real good diving teams," Huber said. "It certainly helps to have a strong showing, but sometimes getting your butt beat isn't all bad. I feel like sometimes we dive too well and we can become a little complacent. I'm not saying I hope we get beat, but it will be a very competitive meet. If we do well, that will help them feel they're on the right track and if we don't, they'll go home, get a littler tougher and be ready to fight at Big Tens." \nPart of Carlton's diving list will include a reverse two and a half with a one and a half twist, one of the more difficult dives. \n"It's a 3.5 (difficulty) and it's one of the harder dives being done nationally right now, so he'll be throwing that," Huber said. \nThe meet begins noon tomorrow at the University of Iowa Fieldhouse pool.