No. 13 IU faces final ranked team

The Great Lake State will host a pair of dual-meets for the No. 13-ranked IU men's swimming and diving team. The two Big Ten meets against unranked Michigan State and No. 8-ranked Michigan are some of the Hoosiers' last chances to crack the top ten in the rankings. \nIU will square off against the Spartans in East Lansing at 3 p.m. today at the forefront of the meet against the last ranked school they'll face and the leader in the Big Ten. However, with the recollection of a disappointing loss to unranked Ohio State two weeks ago, IU head coach Ray Looze says he will have his team focused and ready.\n"We're definitely not going to overlook Michigan State in any form or fashion," Looze said. "These are two tough meets. Michigan State typically has the better swimmers in the conference."\nThe demons that may try and haunt the Hoosiers stem from a weekend that began with celebration. IU upended then-No. 11-ranked Tennessee in a meet that set the table for a push into Big Ten competition. But following their 149.5-85.5 victory over the Volunteers, IU suffered a 114-129 loss to Ohio State. \n"With regard to Ohio State, I don't think overlooking was the main culprit. We have a really young team. We're starting to get used to the role of a favorite," Looze said.\nAs a young team, the best way for the swimmers and divers to improve and gain experience is to be "force-fed" a tough schedule, Looze said. In this case, they must show perseverance in beating the Spartans and then travel to Ann Arbor for a tough meet. But he said the Hoosiers don't want to settle with what they have -- they want to reach higher.\n"The big goals for this year are to help the team win," said senior diver Marc Carlton. "For me, the big goals are to win a few events at the Big Ten (Championships)."\nOne place to start that goal is against the Wolverines. While the Hoosiers will have close events in the 100-yard breaststroke and 200-yard freestyle against the Spartans, any event against Michigan is going to be challenging. \nJunior Peter Vanderkaay for Michigan provides great competition for the Hoosiers. Vanderkaay won a gold medal at the 2004 Olympics in the 800-meter free relay alongside six-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps. Another junior, Chris DeJong, will also focal point coming off a week where he grabbed Big Ten Swimmer of the Week. \nA sweep against Michigan and Michigan State would give IU a 10-win season in dual meets. The last time that IU held a 10-win mark was 20 years ago, when legendary James "Doc" Counsilman coached the Hoosiers. \n-- Contact Staff Writer Evan Harris at evharris@indiana.edu.