IU ready for first test

The last time the IU men's swimming and diving team met the Michigan State Spartans in regular dual meet season was Jan. 30, 2000 at Michigan State. The Hoosiers lost 148 to 95. At 5 p.m. today at the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatics Center, the Hoosiers will look to avenge that loss and win their conference opener. \nLast week, IU easily swept Evansville, but today the Hoosiers will face a more evenly matched Spartan team. Coach Ray Looze said he expects the meet to be very competitive and for the final score to be very close. Looze has been working the team hard in practice all week to prepare for Michigan State, he said.\n"I am one of those believers that the faster you go in practice, the faster you swim in a meet," Looze said. "We want to eliminate a lot of mistakes we made last week against Evansville like in relay starts, turns and finishes. We want to be the best we can be." \nLooze said it will be critical for the Hoosiers to win the 200-yard medley relay, and the 1000 and 200 freestyle events. He added that he thinks that if his team can win these three events today, then they will be in control of the meet. \n"Our strategy will be to hit them hard early," Looze said. \nLooze said all the races will be exciting to watch and should come down to the finishes, but one race in particular to watch for will be the 200-yard freestyle. Senior captain David Schulze and sophomore Richard Bryant will be racing the Spartan's top swimmer, senior Joe Brennan, in this event. \nLooze said he thinks that if IU can win that race and beat Michigan State's best swimmer, it could be psychologically damaging to the Spartans. \nThe 200-yard IM featuring sophomore Murph Halasz and junior Matt Leach will also be another key race to watch. \nLooze did note one distinct advantage IU has over Michigan State: the diving team. Coached by Jeff Huber, the IU men's diving team is one of the best in the Big Ten. Looze said the diving team should win both the 1-meter and 3-meter event, which would give the Hoosiers more points towards the final score. \nLed by co-captains junior Marc Carlton and senior Adam Hazes, Huber said all of his divers are healthy, and he plans to have six divers competing. \n"I think we are a stronger team than them," Huber said. "We will be using some more difficult dives. I'd like to see our divers step it up on the more difficult dives. I am looking to challenge them." \nLast weekend the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center was alive with over 800 Hoosiers. Halasz said he hopes the fans once again come in droves for today's meet. \n"We had a lot of fans," Halasz said. "I was really surprised. I hope to see that again"