No. 5/10 Indiana men’s and women’s swim and dive returns to competition at 2 p.m. on Jan. 14 to face No. 11/15 University of Louisville at the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatics Center in Bloomington.
Indiana has not competed since Dec. 3 when it defeated the University of Cincinnati at home.
As the spring season begins, Indiana looks forward to competition against Louisville and preparing for championship competition.
“It should be very exciting and a good opportunity for growth,” head swimming coach Ray Looze said.
The Hoosiers’ last scheduled meet against Michigan on Jan. 8 was cancelled due to rising COVID-19 concerns.
Indiana continued to train throughout the break, preparing for the rest of the season and Big Ten Championships beginning in February.
During the break, seven Indiana divers competed at the 2021 USA Diving Winter National Championships, held at the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatics Center in Bloomington.
Related: [Indiana diver Kristen Hayden becomes first Black woman to win national championship]
At the week-long event, Indiana diver Kristen Hayden became USA diving’s first Black female national champion and the first Black U.S. diver to qualify for the Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA) World Championships in Japan in May. Hayden earned the title after winning the mixed synchronized 3-meter dive with her teammate, Indiana freshman Quinn Henninger.
All seven Indiana divers placed in their events and five qualified for the FINA World Championships, including senior Andrew Capobianco in the 1-meter and 3-meter, sophomore Tarrin Gilliland in the mixed Synchronized Platform and the women’s synchronized platform and freshman Carson Tyler in the mixed synchronized 10-meter.
During the next three meets, Indiana diving will be on full display as it works toward championship goals.
“The team is excited to compete against Louisville,” head diving coach Drew Johansen said. “We have meets each of the next three weekends, and we will be competing platform in each meet to prepare for the championship season.”
The Hoosiers and Louisville Cardinals last met Jan. 31, 2020, with Indiana’s men taking the victory 171 to 129 and Indiana’s women losing 156.5 to 143.5. Looze said Indiana looks forward to competing against Louisville’s top program.
“Louisville is one of the top programs in the NCAA on an annual basis, so it will be a huge challenge. I fully expect both contests to come down to the last relay,” he said.
Related: [Indiana and Michigan swim and dive cancel Saturday meet amid COVID-19 concerns]
During Indiana and Louisville’s last meeting, then-junior Bruno Blaskovic, then-sophomores Jack Franzman and Van Mathias, and now-alumnus Mohamed Samy won the 400-yard freestyle relay with a time of 2:52.84. This year, Indiana continues to focus on improving their relay teams. A men’s 400-yard freestyle relay squad of now-seniors Mathias and Franzman, along with freshman Rafael Miroslaw and sophomore Tomer Frankel, already recorded an NCAA Division I Championships A cut time of 2:49.05.
“We have been really emphasizing an improvement of our relays because we’ve got big goals,” Looze said. “We want to have relays that are in the A final at the NCAAs, that can contend for Big Ten Championships, and we need to be better.”
At the Ohio State Fall Invitational, held Nov. 18-20, a men’s 400-yard medley relay squad of Miroslaw, Mathias, junior Brendan Burns and senior Gabriel Fantoni posted a 3:04.05, setting a meet record and securing a qualifying spot in the NCAA Division I Championships A cut.
Friday’s meet is in Bloomington and is free to attend. It will be streamed on Big Ten Plus. Live results can be found here.
