Hoosier swimmer, diver represent IU in Australia

Fresh off outstanding NCAA campaigns, IU swimming and diving standouts Leila Vaziri and Christina Loukas represented the United States at the FINA World Championships in Melbourne, Australia. \nTwo weeks removed from her third-place showing at the NCAA championships, Vaziri finished in 10th place in the semifinal of the 100-meter backstroke. \n“I know Leila is feeling fantastic about her performance,” swimming coach Ray Looze said. “She wanted to make the final, but to finish 10th in the world in your first time competing is excellent. She made us very proud back here.” \nVaziri earned a swim in the semifinals of the event by placing sixth in the preliminary heats. Her time of 1:01.36 in the prelims broke her own school record in the event. \nVaziri’s semifinal time of 1:01.39 was slightly slower than her preliminary time and left her two spots short of advancing to the finals. \nAlthough Vaziri’s career at IU is over, Looze believes she has more to accomplish as a swimmer. \n“I think she’ll probably train for the 2008 Olympic games,” he said. “She has the second fastest American time and I think the Olympics are a real possibility for her.”\nAfter finishing second on the 1-meter at the NCAA championships, Loukas placed 14th out of 37 divers in the preliminary round of the 1-meter competition. She dove to a score of 245.55 and missed qualifying for the semifinals by only two spots. \n“I was happy with how I competed,” Loukas said after the meet. “I was hoping to make it to the semifinals and I just missed, so that was a little disappointing.”\nDespite the disappointment, Loukas believes the experience will help her diving in the future. \n“Going to this type of meet and being around the best divers in the world will help,” she said. “It makes me want to come home and train harder because I know I can compete with the best divers.”