Hoosier swimmers vie for supremacy over Purdue

The storied IU-Purdue rivalry will continue Saturday as the No. 18 women's swimming and diving team welcomes its arch-rival, the No. 14 Boilermakers, to the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatics Center on senior day. The Hoosiers will honor seniors Kristin Bradley, Heather Chapman, Doherty Colgin, Lauren Lubus and Lauren Torpey. \nThe meet is also the next round in the AT&T Crimson and Gold Cup. Each sport can earn one point toward the overall championship and a total of 20 points can be won. Currently, the Boilermakers lead overall 3.0 to 2.5, but with a win Saturday, the Hoosiers can retake the lead. \n"It couldn't be a better way to end than against Purdue," said Torpey. "What a way to end a career." \nThis year's senior class is the last one to win a Big Ten Championship (2002-03) and Colgin said she believes it has left its mark on the team.\n"This is a strong class," Colgin said. "We have strong personalities and are very driven. We led by example which is the only way to do it. Hopefully (the lowerclassmen) can carry it on and keep up the tradition."\nIU coach Ray Looze credited the seniors with being a significant factor in the team's success this year.\n"They have meant a lot on attitude and championship pedigree," Looze said. "I think of them as champions."\nThe Hoosiers have defeated their rival from West Lafayette five straight times and lead the overall series 14-9. However, Purdue enters the meet Saturday ranked higher than IU and possesses some of the nation's top-ranked swimmers and divers.\n"It will be a tough one," Looze said. "They're almost better in every category. If you look on paper, you ask yourself 'how does IU beat Purdue?'" \nLooze said it will take confidence and staying poised for the Hoosiers to defeat the Boilermakers.\n"We just have to take it one event at a time and stay with them until the end," Looze said. "Winning close races will be key and it will come down to which team wants it more."\nIU enters the heated contest having won three in a row over Northwestern University, the University of Illinois and UCLA. \nChapman credits IU's boost in confidence to their Christmas training, or as coach Looze called it, the "dog days" of training. \n"It was really challenging," Chapman said. "We united as a team and if we can make it through that, then we can beat anybody. Knowing that coach (Looze) believes in us helps us to believe in ourselves."\nHowever, anyone familiar with this rivalry knows that the rankings and numbers go out the window when IU and Purdue face off. \n"In an IU-Purdue rivalry, you always try your hardest," Torpey said. "Amazing things always happen when IU and Purdue get together"