Hoosiers primed for Big Ten Championship

IU Women's swimming and diving look to avenge their last split against Penn State and defend their 2003 Big Ten title this week at the Big Ten Championships -- the conference's final showdown for the Big Ten prize.\nThe Championships, which begin today and end Saturday. They will be held at the University of Minnesota's Aquatic Center. The Hoosiers, though losing to Penn State in the last meet, look primed and ready to make a run at the Big Ten title.\nHoosier swimmers Brooke Taflinger, Annica Lofstedt, Doherty Colgin and Leila Vaziri have led the way for the Hoosiers this year in individual competition. Taflinger particularly is coming off a very strong performance in the Penn State meet, where she took wins in the 400-yard individual medley and the 200-yard breaststroke making IU history with a top-10 time, taking third in the 1000-yard freestyle. \nColgin and Lofstedt also placed with top-10 times -- Lofsted placing fifth in the 50-yard freestyle, and sixth in the 100-yard freestyle. Colgin placed third in the 200-yard freestyle and sixth in the 500-yard freestyle. \nWith these strong swimmers backing them up at the championships, the divers look also to defend their title from last year. The Hoosier divers have been led this year by two freshmen -- Lindsay Weigle and Heather Chapman. Both have the first and second best scores, respectively, in the team bests in three major diving categories, the 1-meter, the 1-meter invite, and the 3-meter. \nWeigle and Chapman led the way for the Hoosiers in the Penn State meet, as well. Weigle placed third in the 3-meter event with a score of 272.35 points -- a season and personal best. Chapman captured sixth with a score of 224.7 points. \nWhile the pressures of the Big Ten Championships are many, this Hoosier team is not unaccustomed to the competition. IU won the title last year for the first time in 20 years, edging out Wisconsin, Penn State and Michigan to capture the crown with 595 team points. The Hoosiers did not win a single relay last year, but proved they could win with a deep cast of performers. \nReturning Hoosiers from last year's competition include Taflinger, senior Megan Medendorp and sophomore Lauren Lubus. All captured enormously important times for the Hoosiers last year, and look to repeat with strong performances this year.\nSwimming preliminaries begin at 11 a.m. and the swimmers start at 1 p.m. The diving competition begins at 7 p.m.