Team sets sights on claiming Big Ten title

The length of IU's drought winning a Big Ten title can be measured by the amount of swimmers and divers that were not even born when James "Doc" Counsilman last led the Hoosiers to glory. \nThe last 10-win season for the Hoosiers came in 1985 when Counsilman led IU to a conference title, something IU coach Ray Looze said he hopes to accomplish three weeks from now.\n"We have an outside chance for the conference title," Looze said. "Because of our depth, we can overcome teams. In a rebuilding process, we can go from seventh to contention. It's nice to know that we have a chance."\nCompeting in the final dual meet of their careers, the senior swimmers and divers passed the IU tradition of success to the squad's underclassmen. Six out of the eight swimming events won by the Hoosiers were attributed to sophomores and freshmen in IU's 144-97 victory. \n"We're pretty good from top to bottom," said freshman swimmer Todd Patrick. "We got a lot of younger guys who can help the team win."\nPatrick won two event titles in the 400-yard medley relay and the 200-yard individual medley, helping the Hoosiers win 144-97 over the Boilermakers. Another freshman, swimmer Alex Brunfeldt, received two event titles as well as senior swimmer Murph Halasz.\n"(Depth) is reflective on good recruiting," Looze said. "A lot of hard work was put in by the team and the coaching staff."\nThe Hoosiers were never behind in the meet, as they won the first six events of the day. Junior swimmer Sergiy Fesenko and sophomore swimmer Kyle Ruth helped accumulate two of those six event title wins, in the 200-yard freestyle and 50-yard freestyle, respectively. The meet was nearly clinched when another underclassman, sophomore swimmer Lee Houchin, captured the 100-yard freestyle event title.\n"Our depth is going to prevail at the conference championships," said senior diver Marc Carlton. "It definitely bodes well for us."\nCarlton won the platform diving event for IU, but came in second for only the second time this season in the one-meter diving event.\nThe Hoosiers, who captured nine out of 13 events Saturday, won their final dual meet of the season, finishing with a record of 10-4 overall and 4-2 in Big Ten competition. The Hoosiers have less than three weeks to prepare for the Big Ten Championships in Minneapolis, but hopes are high. The team is confident it can avenge its loss to No. 6 Michigan and cause concern for No. 8 Minnesota in their own backyard.\nLooze said the IU men's swimming and diving team is a lot better than their ranking shows. Their goal is to be within the top 10 in the nation, and a strong performance at the Big Ten Championships would be a step in the right direction, he said.\n-- Contact Staff Writer Evan Harris at evharris@indiana.edu.