IU travels to Purdue for rivalry meet prior to conference meet

IU sophomore swimmer Heath Tameris swam in his first IU-Purdue meet last year. Growing up in Ohio, Tameris wasn't aware of the intensity of the in-state rivalry. After swimming in last year's meet, however, Tameris recognizes that there is more on the line than usual when these two teams compete. \nHe knows this weekend's meet against Purdue will be intense, but he also knows that the meet will be the team's last tune up before the Big Ten championships. \n"It's a big meet because our teams usually fight for recruits from Indiana," Tameris said. "A lot of the guys swam against each other in high school and now the rivalry is continuing in college. This is our last dual meet though and we need to stay focused on the details like starts, turns and just keep up with our fundamentals."\nTameris and the rest of the Hoosier squad will travel to West Lafayette to take on Purdue on Saturday at the Boilermaker Aquatic Center. The No. 15 Hoosiers will look to improve on their 4-3-1 overall record against the No. 19 Boilermakers. \nIU coach Ray Looze downplayed the rivalry, focusing on the team's preparation for the Big Ten championships. \n"Purdue is a very tough opponent," Looze said. "One of the keys is for us to win the two relays. We need seed times for the Big Tens, so we'll be putting a lot into those relays. I think we will really try to drop our times all around trying to get seeds for Big Tens. This is just another step heading into the championship season."\nOn the diving side, the Hoosiers will be going up against a tough Purdue squad and will be a bit undermanned. Diving coach Jeff Huber said the main focus will be staying healthy for the rest of the season. \n"Our training has been pretty good," Huber said. "At this point we just need to get healthy. We've done pretty much all of the work that we can at this point in the season. We're not going to have a full squad at Purdue because of some fatigue and injuries, so it should be a tough meet."\nAfter the meet this weekend, IU will prepare for the Big Ten championships Feb. 15-17 in Columbus, Ohio.