IU wins dual meet at Purdue

Julius Caesar’s mantra “veni, vidi, vici” was the feeling the IU women’s swimming team had after its effort against the Purdue Boilermakers Saturday.\nIU (2-5) defeated in-state rival Purdue (5-9) at West Lafayette in its final tune-up before the Big Ten championships Feb. 21-23. The Hoosiers collected 11 of the 16 individual and relay victories to pave the way for a 186-114 final score.\nThe Hoosiers took control from the outset, as the 400-yard medley relay team of sophomore Presley Bard, junior Sarah Stockwell, sophomore Kate Zubkova and sophomore Donna Smailis opened the meet with a victory in an NCAA provisional time of 3:42.81. \nSmailis added a victory in the 200-yard freestyle to begin a streak of four straight races with Hoosiers on top in each one. Zubkova won the 100-yard backstroke, Stockwell won the 100-yard breaststroke and junior Allison Kay won the 200-yard butterfly. The meet was over almost as soon as it began.\n“I thought it was a real team effort since we were a little shorthanded today,” IU coach Ray Looze said. “Our team is just so resilient, and girls just fill in where needed.” \nInjuries to junior swimmer Kristin Cihoski and sophomore diver Brittney Feldman depleted the team even more than it already had been. Last month, the team was forced to redshirt sophomores Ashley Jones and Brittany Barwegen due to injuries.\nIn place of the injured team members, two senior swimmers had impressive performances in their final regular season dual meet.\nChristie Fuchs scored points for the Hoosiers with a second-place finish in the 200-yard butterfly and a fifth-place finish in the 100-yard butterfly. Brittany Epperson placed third in the 50-yard freestyle, fourth in the 100-yard freestyle and concluded the meet by contributing to a Hoosier victory in the 400-yard freestyle relay. \nFuchs, who said prior to the meet that IU’s goal was to completely dominate the Boilermakers, felt a sense of accomplishment upon fulfilling that goal.\n“We had a lot of motivation to beat Purdue, because they are Purdue,” she said. “I think everyone swam really well. Going into the Big Ten’s, I think we have a lot more confidence in our team abilities and should do well.”\nWhile the Hoosiers put the meet away early, they continued taking victories in the second half of the meet as well, including first-place finishes in the last five events. Smailis won her second individual event of the day with a season-best 51.55 in the 100-yard freestyle. Sophomore Amilee Smith took the 200-yard breaststroke as IU posted a 1-2-3 finish. Stockwell finished second, and freshman Jessica Hill took third.\nFreshman Amanda Smith won the 500-yard freestyle in 4:51.51, .08 faster than Purdue’s second-place finisher. Zubkova took a break from her normal dominance in the backstroke events – having won every backstroke race she has competed in this year, to win the 100-yard butterfly and 200-yard individual medley. The team’s 400-yard freestyle relay victory ended the meet.\nThe team now has four weeks to train for its next meet, the Big Ten Championships, in Columbus, Ohio.