The No. 7/10 Indiana men’s and women’s swim and dive teams emerged victorious over No. 15/13 Michigan on Saturday in Bloomington.
In their first contest of the spring season, Indiana was led by graduate diver Andrew Capobianco, senior swimmer Brendan Burns, graduate Van Mathias and freshman swimmer Rafa Miroslaw on the men’s side.
Junior diver Anne Fowler, sophomore swimmer Anna Peplowski, graduate Noelle Peplowski, and sophomore Mariah Denigan had strong showings for the women in the first meeting between the Big Ten rivals since early 2021.
“The team wanted to make a statement today,” head swimming coach Ray Looze said.
Both teams did exactly that. The Indiana women won their first five events of the meet and never looked back, defeating Michigan 208.5 to 91.5. This was the women’s first victory over Michigan since 2012.
“It was great to see them get that monkey off their back,” Looze said.
The men took care of business in equally dominant fashion, winning by a score of 212-88 on senior day.
Saturday’s meet was the final home meet of the regular season and it was a strong showing for Brendan Burns. The defending NCAA champion in the 200-yard butterfly took the top spot in the event while securing victories in the 100 back and 200 back.
Three-time Big Ten Diver of the Year and 2020 Olympic Silver Medalist Andrew Capobianco had to wait until Saturday to compete in his first meet of the season and he did not disappoint.
Capobianco swept the men’s diving events, finishing 1-2 with sophomore Quinn Henninger in both events. The two Hoosier divers were separated by just 10 points in the 1-meter while Capobianco prevailed by over 30 points in the 3-meter.
“Feels good to be back,” he said on Twitter after the meet.
The women’s diving events were swept by a Hoosier as well. Junior Anne Fowler took top honors over Michigan senior Lucy Hogan in the 1-meter and 3-meter by 12.68 and 20.25 points, respectively.
Much like Brendan Burns, Noelle Peplowski took a trifecta of top spots on Saturday. She finished first in the 100 breast, 200 breast, and the 200 individual medley, carrying over her strong form from the fall season.
Another Peplowski who continued her dominance was her sister, sophomore Anna Peplowski . She contributed to a 200-medley relay win and won the 200 free and 200 back. She has been a key contributor to the women’s success this season as they look for their first Big Ten title since 2019.
“It's a step along the way,” Looze said. “It certainly builds confidence. We have to keep doing positive things that put our swimmers and divers in a position to succeed.”
The Indiana men’s and women’s teams both improve to 5-1 on the season and will head to West Lafayette to face off against the Purdue Boilermakers on Jan. 21.
