Two months ago, IU women’s swimming and diving stayed afloat to beat the University of Louisville over a two-day stretch at home. The Hoosiers travel Friday to the Bluegrass State to try to replicate that achievement, something head coach Ray Looze said he knows will be a daunting undertaking.
“It is very difficult in sports to beat somebody twice in a season, so this is gonna be a really hard meet,” Looze said. “Our women already know it’s gonna be tough.”
When the two schools last competed, IU exploited its advantage in the endurance events, with senior Cassy Jernberg controlling the 400 and 800-meter freestyles.
However, the Cardinals’ senior Grace Oglesby laid claim to the butterfly races, while senior Mallory Comerford snatched victories in the 100 and 200-yard freestyle.
IU can be counted on to perform well in the breaststroke and distance freestyle contests, but its success will hinge on keeping up with Louisville in the butterfly and freestyle sprints.
IU junior Laurel Eiber and senior Maria Paula Heitmann managed wins in the 100 and 200 freestyles against Purdue on Saturday. And the efforts of freshmen Cora Dupre and Carla Gildersleeve secured the top spot for IU in both butterfly competitions.
To walk out with first-place finishes in these events was unprecedented for the 2019-20 Hoosiers but must be made status quo to defeat Louisville at the Ralph Wright Natatorium.
Another area in which IU has shown growth as of late is the diving board. Freshman Zain Smith has gathered a collection of NCAA zone-qualifying scores in her budding career, culminating Saturday with a victory in the 1-meter dive.
Louisville seniors Molly Fears and Michaela Sliney both have robust diving resumes and will remain favorites going into Friday. Nonetheless, Smith’s proficiency with the pike diving position has earned tallies as high as eight from judges and should give her more than a fighting chance.
Due to the nature of collegiate swimming, athletes are generally not expected to peak until the season’s apex at the NCAA Championships. Looze is prioritizing his team’s focus and composure.
“I wanna see girls building a lot of confidence,” he said. “We’re not necessarily gonna go best times until the end of the season.”
In spite of this, Looze said he will do everything necessary to dominate the scoreboard come Friday, especially given the Hoosiers’ adversary.
“Yeah, I’m not really a fan of Louisville, at all,” he said.
