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(10/20/04 5:01am)
By Chris Hopper \nIndiana Daily Student\nThe IU men's water polo club will be in action this weekend against many of its Big Ten foes along with some nationally ranked opponents from around the country.\nThis weekend the Hoosiers will play host to the Hoosier Classic at Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center and will be opening up competition against some accomplished teams. Saturday's play will consist of a round-robin format to determine the best teams out of the three brackets. There are nine teams competing in the tournament, and of the nine, five squads come from the Big Ten.\nMichigan State, Michigan, Purdue and Ohio State will join IU as Big Ten participants. Michigan is the top ranked team in the tournament and in the Big Ten. IU enters the tournament third in the tournament and the Big Ten. The Big Ten Championships await the Hoosiers next weekend, so this tournament will provide the team with a gauge for next weekend's event.\nTeam president and senior leader Dave Johnson said he feels the team is fully prepared, and he is happy with their efforts so far this season. \n"We are definitely good," Johnson said. "We beat 10th-ranked Georgia Tech, and we are 2-0 against 12th-ranked Purdue."\nJohnson said the Hoosiers would be ranked in the top 10 in the country had they not used a non-student player for part of the season. Following one of the team's victories over Purdue, the Boilermakers logged a protest citing that an IU team member was not a student. Therefore, no matter how many votes the Hoosiers receive, the team cannot be ranked. The player in question will not be competing with the team in the upcoming Big Ten Championships, erasing any doubt lingering over the team's successes. \nThis weekend at the Hoosier Classic, IU will face off against two tough teams. At 1 p.m. Saturday, the Hoosiers play the Indy Master's Team, a squad the Hoosiers have never played. Then in the evening portion of Saturday's docket, IU will meet familiar faces, the Boilermakers, who they have defeated twice this season. Sunday afternoon, the team will start its day with a matchup against the defending national champion Michigan Wolverines. The Hoosiers will end round robin play against the Spartans of Michigan State. \nTeam treasurer and senior Dave Doerr said he is looking for a strong performance this weekend eventually leading to a spot at Nationals. \n"I think if we can get everyone to step up for the Big Ten tournament, we have a good shot at winning that and giving us a seat in the National tournament," Doerr said. "If we make it to Nationals, the Big Ten teams have always fared well there, and we can expect another strong performance." \nJohnson, a St. Louis native and eight-year veteran of the sport, has a bright outlook for the rest of the season. Player and coach Aaron Eisberg is a key part of the team as the defending Big Ten Player of the Year. Overall, the men's IU water polo club has some promise for the Big Ten Championships and possibly Nationals. \nDoerr has set the bar high for himself and the team, and said he feels these goals are possible. \n"I'm looking for a spot at Nationals," he said. "I think we have a very strong team this year, and it wouldn't be unrealistic to look to win the Big Ten tournament."\n-- Contact staff writer Chris Hopper at chopper@indiana.edu.
(10/06/04 4:25am)
There are many different aspects that can define a Hoosier. Car racing, basketball, corn -- they all represent Indiana in a special way. The card game Euchre is another that sets a Hoosier apart from a resident of any other state. \nThe Euchre revolution began in the 1800s, deriving from a game called "Jucker." \nThe game is played around the globe and is continuing to become popular in other countries. Most will agree that, though fun, Euchre is still a difficult game. \nEuchre is regularly played with two pairs of players. The object of the game is to score ten points by scoring tricks.\nThis campus has become quite a hot-spot for many Euchre players. The IU RecSports department noticed the high number of Euchre players and added the game as an intramural sport, drawing quite a crowd. \nThe cost of participation is $4. \n"Students came to us, demonstrated interest, and we thought it would be a great addition to the intramural program," said Assistant Director of Intramurals Josh Downing. \nEuchre has been an intramural sport for more than 10 years, and last year alone, intramural Euchre drew in 180 participants. \nDowning mentioned the sport is a one-night event and it consists two divisions. \n"(Each) team plays four matches and 12 hands in each match, and the teams with the most points after four matches win the tournament," Downing said. \nSome students who participate in the one-night event conjure up a great part of one of Indiana's favorite pastimes. Junior Jeremy Webster, of Veedersburg, Ind., loves the game and has been playing since he was 10 years old. Although this is his first time playing in the intramural program he says he really enjoys the game. \n"In high school, my friends and I became fanatic about the game, playing it at every free moment. Euchre is my crack cocaine -- the more I play, the more I want to play," Webster said. \nFor many of these Indiana natives, Euchre is much more than just a card game.\nFreshman Jonathan Pollack has been playing Euchre for about two years. \n"I decided to sign up for Euchre because my friend and I played so many times back home, and we want to play together here and win it all," Pollack said. \nA native of Tennessee, Pollack's participation lends credence to the claim that Euchre is much more than an Indiana game.\nEuchre is by far one of the most unique games the IU RecSports department offers, but if students show interest in other games and sports, the department says they have no problems with creating a new sport. Downing said IU has one of the only intramural programs in the nation that plays Euchre, and it is glad to have it. \n"The atmosphere is great and students are just having a great time. It's a chance to get away from the stress of classes and come out and play a really fun game." \n-- Contact staff writer Chris Hopper at chopper@indiana.edu.
(09/03/04 6:17am)
His antics on and off the court draw people in from all over to see what he will do next. So CBS and Paramount television have decided to base a sitcom on the life of Bobby Knight. Now fans and critics alike will have the opportunity to see another side of Knight they may have never seen before.\nCBS and Paramount Television have struck a deal with Knight to create a television sitcom based on his life. The character will be based on his crazy style. The Executive producer for this future sitcom will be Lindy DeKoven from CBS. But, the show still has to be approved by CBS before it will air, and a writer for the sitcom is yet to be announced, so no specifics on the show were released. Knight approved the deal about three months ago, and it is expected the show will not air until a year from now. \nThis would not be Knight's first appearance in the media outside of basketball. He has also been involved with television commercials for companies that sponsor Texas Tech basketball. In the past, Knight has been involved with books and movies.\n"A Season on the Brink" by John Feinstein was the best-selling sports book of all time. The book was a documentary of the 1985-1986 season, when Feinstein was granted permission by Knight to have an inside look at the team. In 2002, ESPN released the movie version of the book. \nKnight has also written his own autobiography and has released books about coaching techniques.\nBryant Paul, who is an assistant professor in the telecommunications department, feels the show could definitely draw some attention in this area, and also around the country. \n"In this area, it certainly will be because he is still a pretty polarizing figure," Bryant said. "It obviously has some sort of lure because it is beyond a wacky person you watch to see his antics every week. He has a past." \nPaul also mentioned that Knight has a lasting effect on the Bloomington community because of the contributions he made to the University.\nSome people around campus are anxious to see what the sitcom will be like. \n"As someone who really enjoyed Bob Knight, I think it would be a really interesting show. I could see it being an enjoyable show," freshman Nick Beckert said. \nOther people will watch the show to see that other side of Knight. \n"People would watch it to see the more personable side to Coach Knight. The side you can't get on ESPN," sophomore Ryan Black said. \nThe show is still looking for a writer, and after the script has been written, DeKoven will take it to CBS for approval. According to The Associated Press, Knight will be a consultant for the show and will make a few guest appearances during the season.\nSophomore Paul Sigfusson feels that because of the legacy Knight left at IU through his basketball experiences, he will draw viewers for the show. \n"He is a very inspirational person. I think people will watch the show because he is an icon and a figure to Indiana University," Sigfusson said. \n-- Contact staff writer Chris Hopper at chopper@indiana.edu.
(12/11/03 7:05am)
The first half of the season is over for the women's swimming and diving team. Now, preparations begin to travel to Florida for its annual training trip. \nEvery year at the beginning of January, the entire team takes the trip to get in shape and bond before the last half of the season begins. \nThe team will compete against some tough Big Ten squads in the second half of the season, as well as at the Big Ten Championships and NCAA Championships to conclude the season. These events give team members the opportunity to bond and put themselves in better shape for the grueling last half of the campaign. \nJunior Erin Smith has been on the training trip before and is excited about making the journey to Florida. \n"What's best about the training trip is the warm weather," Smith said. "Being in Florida, away from the cold, getting some sun, makes the hard work so much more bearable." \nThe team will start the trip Jan. 1 and will return Jan. 9. The next day the team will resume dual-meet action when it will face off against Big Ten foe Ohio State. \nSmith made it clear that the team members' main objective is to get some well-deserved rest, enjoy themselves and most of all, to get in great shape for the last half of the season. Smith also commented on how the team comes together to form a closer relationship after the trip. \n"After 10 days of really hard training, sleeping and eating together, the team definitely gets much closer," Smith said. "I think the ones that really feel the difference are the freshmen, though, because this is the turning point when they realize they finally fit in and are really a part of the team."\nThe team has surprised many with its excellent performances at many of the meets. The team is holding a 3-1 dual-meet record, and it won the IU Invitational in November. The team is getting quality contributions from young freshmen like Leila Vaziri, and old veterans, still shining through, like Brooke Taflinger. \nTaflinger was also very excited to be taking this trip.\n"I enjoy being tested in the sets and training really hard," Taflinger said. "I enjoy coming together as a team because we all thought we were unstoppable, and we we're all working together to achieve one goal. Nothing was going to get in our way." \nSmith and Taflinger both said they love the opportunity to enjoy their teammates' company and their breaks. But they said this is a time when the season is going to be toughest and they're going to have to work hard. \nThe team is also focused on defending its Big Ten Championship from last year, with a top ten showing at the NCAA Championships in its sights.\nCoach Dorsey Tierney feels the team is at its best right now at certain points, but some days members struggle a little.\n"Some days I think we're ahead and some days I think we are behind," Tierney said. "We have about 50 percent of our team that is at the right level, and we have about 50 percent of the team that I don't think is there yet."\nTierney has stressed all season she is very impressed with the effort her team has put out.\nTaflinger is certainly ready to finish up strong.\n"(The competition in Florida) is a test for everyone on the team to see how tough they really are," Taflinger said. "Practices are going to be harder than they have been all season, and this trip will only make our team better and stronger."\n-- Contact staff writer Chris Hopper at chopper@indiana.edu.
(12/04/03 5:21am)
The women's swimming and diving team heads into this weekend with some of the team traveling to the Miami Invitational in Ohio and the rest heading to Washington for the U.S. Open. Regardless of where this team heads, they have been led by a strong senior class thus far.\nThe swimming and diving team is led in many ways by its seniors, led by captain Brooke Taflinger. Taflinger feels the seniors bring many great attributes to the team, but leadership truly stands out.\n"The senior class brings leadership, not only in practices and meets, but in who we are," she said. "I think the younger classes really look up to us and appreciate what we have done over the past four years."\nThe class did not all start out at Indiana. Taflinger swam at Florida her freshman year, where she placed ninth in the SEC championships. Another senior who transferred to IU is former Arizona State swimmer Erin Gorlesky. Greer McGettrick swam at Fresno State up until her junior year when the school dropped its swimming program. \nTogether, this senior class has had several memorable moments, but one that sticks out in many of their minds is the Big Ten championship last season. \n"Winning the Big Ten was the most incredible experience of my swimming career and it is one I will treasure forever," Taflinger said. \nAnother senior who has been essential this season is Sarah Fiden. Fiden set the school record in the 1650-meter freestyle at the IU Invitational. Fiden also considers the Big Ten championship her greatest moment at IU and is having a great time in her senior year, but said she is having a hard time realizing it's almost over.\n"It's surreal. I've been swimming since I was six and for this to be my last year of competitive swimming, it's hard to grasp," Fiden said. "It's nice though to be a senior and help lead the team."\nAfter this weekend, the team's next event will be its holiday training trip. After that, the real stretch of the season starts as the team will have a few dual meets to compete in and then the wrap up of the season begins. The senior class will be moral leaders for this team and Gorlesky is looking forward to finishing strong in her senior year. \nGorlesky said she has loved the time she has had swimming for IU and had words of encouragement to the younger classes.\n"Have fun, you always enjoy what you're doing more when you have a smile on your face," Gorlesky said. "It goes fast, so enjoy it." \nTaflinger and Fiden both said they have aspirations of swimming in the Olympic Trials this summer and would like to continue with swimming sometime in their lives. Fiden also commented that she would like to eventually be a coach. It will be a new experience for them when the season is over because they have been swimming competitively their entire lives. Gorlesky also has aspirations to continue with swimming but right now said she is looking forward to trying something else.\n"I thought about swimming another year," Gorlesky said. "But I've been swimming since I was eight, so I'm excited to try some new things, but really that's too far down the road."\nIU coach Dorsey Tierney stressed what a pleasure it has been coaching the current senior class. She said that they were underdogs their entire careers at IU but they have always found a way to shine. Tierney said that three of them are transfers and they really have made the best of their experience at IU.\n"This group really strives to be better and they are never satisfied," Tierney said. "The fact that I enjoy the most is that they have been underdogs and in some circumstances they are still underdogs, but they have exceeded even their own expectations. They are really consistent performers."\n-- Contact staff writer Chris Hopper at chopper@indiana.edu.
(12/04/03 5:20am)
Starting today, the women's swimming and diving team will be competing in the U.S. Open in Washington and the Miami Invitational in Ohio. There will be five team members going to the U.S. Open, with the remainder of the team traveling to Ohio. The U.S. Open will not only be more of a international-type competition, but will feature international competitors. \nThe five members traveling to Washington are seniors Brooke Taflinger, Meghan Medendorp and Erin Gorlesky, junior Erin Smith and freshman Leila Vaziri. The U.S. Open is a meet that focuses more on cut times for the Olympics, giving the teammates an opportunity to see where they match up with the rest of the world. Vaziri said she is looking forward to seeing how she fares. \n"In the 200-free and the 100-back which are my best events, I would like to make Olympic trial cuts," Vaziri said. \nThe other half of the team members, which will be heading to Ohio, said they are ready to see some tough competition. Senior Sarah Fiden, an Ohio native, said she's also looking forward to swimming in her home town again.\n"I'm kind of looking forward to going home. I am from Ohio and it was my favorite pool in high school," Fiden said. "I have always swam well there, and I really want to post a good 500 (meter) time this weekend."\nThis Hoosiers will see tough competition from the rest of the field, which includes Marshall, Kenyon, Cincinnati, Carnegie Mellon, Emory, Lewis, John Hopkins and Wheeling Jesuit. They will compete at the Nixon Aquatic center Dec. 5-7. The team is the favorite to win the meet, and if they do, it would follow up their win at the Indiana Invitational two weeks ago, the first three day meet they competed in. \nIU coach Dorsey Tierney feels the team is doing well at this point, and said she is ready for the next stretch of the season.\n"We were pleased with our performance in the late sessions of the invite," Tierney said. "We weren't too happy with our morning sessions, but unless you are 100 percent across the board you are never totally satisfied. It was by far our best meet of the season."\nTierney was especially pleased with the team's training because she considers this to be the most challenging part of the year. She believes this because the team had to travel for Thanksgiving, and the routine is somewhat offset because of the holiday period. \nAfter this weekend the Hoosiers are off from competition for a while to prepare for their training trip in the beginning of January. After the training trip, the team begins the final half of the season which contains the Big Ten Championships. Fiden said she is excited about this season, and she is ready to continue.\n"We are on a roll, and we had some really nice swims at the invite," Fiden said. "It takes a while for any team to come together, and we are definitely getting there."\n-- Contact staff writer Chris Hopper at chopper@indiana.edu.
(11/21/03 6:47am)
This weekend the No. 13 IU women's swimming and diving team will be holding the IU Invitational at Counsilman Billingsley Aquatic Center. \nThis will be the first three-day event for the team and the field will include No. 23 Missouri and Big Ten foes Michigan State and Illinois among other schools.\nIU swim coach Dorsey Tierney said she is excited about this weekend's meet, and she wants to see how the girls can hold up in a three-day event.\n"The main thing I want to take out of this meet is sustained energy throughout the three days," Tierney said. "We need to practice being good for six total sessions."\nThis meet should be a first real test of the season for the girls. \n"It's more of a mental challenge, but I would say this is our first mental test of the season," Tierney said. \nThe Invitational will start each day with preliminaries at 9 a.m., and then today and Saturday the finals will commence at 6 p.m. On Sunday the finals will begin at 3 p.m. \nMissouri and IU are the only two ranked teams in the field, but Illinois and Pittsburgh also come in with winning records. Tierney feels this will be a good meet for the girls because they will face up against some foreign competition and some conference rivals. \n"We don't really know a lot about the teams coming in except Illinois and Michigan State, but I think it will be good to go up against some teams," Tierney said. "Arkansas usually has good sprinters."\nThe team is hoping senior Brooke Taflinger and freshman Leila Vaziri will be able to step up. Taflinger is very excited about this weekend's invitational.\n"It's definitely more exciting because people are coming here," Taflinger said. "It should be some really good competition, but hopefully we will swim well and have a good meet."\nSophomore Kristen Bradley also said she is prepared for this weekend's meet, and she is hoping the team could end with a win. \n"It is our first succession meet, and we talked about this, and winning would be a great goal," Bradley said.\nAlong with Tierney, the team stressed the importance of having a quality meet because the three days are going to be draining on them. Tierney said it would be a way to see if the conditioning has paid off.\nThe team has a 3-1 dual meet record coming into this weekend and placed third at the SMU Classic and the Indiana Intercollegiates. \nLast year's Invitational was a successful one for the team. They won the meet by beating second place Tennessee by more than 300 points. Senior Sarah Fiden broke a couple of school records last year at the meet. Tierney feels the team is going to be ready this weekend, and she is looking forward to having an invitational here again.\n"It's more of a pride thing for us to be good everyday, and it's a real sign of conditioning for us," Tierney said. "We'll be a little short-handed. Two of the girls' grandparents died, so this again will just be a challenge where we need everyone to step up."\n-- Contact staff writer Chris Hopper at chopper@indiana.edu.
(11/20/03 6:01am)
This year, the women's swimming and diving team has a certain swimmer who has the potential that college teams are always looking for.\nLeila Vaziri, who has become one of the team's star swimmers this year, is a freshman from Coral Springs, Fla. Vaziri has been really consistent this year in many of the team's relays and she has been someone that the team can count on.\nVaziri seems to have adjusted well to the program and IU, and she feels so far this has been a great experience for her.\n"I am proud of how I have adjusted to the intense schedule you can have as a student athlete at college," Vaziri said. "It can be demanding and sometimes very overwhelming, but it teaches you great time management." \nIn the team's last meet against Northwestern, Vaziri was a quadruple winner. It is performances like that against Northwestern that has made her a leader even as a freshman. Vaziri has some short term goals she would like to reach for swimming. \n"This season I hope to make cuts in my NCAA events," Vaziri said. "Also I would like to make the Olympic trials cuts in many events." \nVaziri is close to reaching those goals. Last year at the Olympic trials, she missed the cuts in four of her events by mere hundredths of a second. Vaziri feels she is close to reaching some shorter term goals.\nVaziri commented that she has adjusted really well to the program with the help of many of her teammates and coaches. She said it has made this experience much easier for her.\n"Being an athlete in college, you spend 90 percent of your time with these people, and I am fortunate they are great people," she said.\nOne of those teammates is senior Brooke Taflinger, who is ecstatic about Vaziri's performance thus far. Taflinger is pleased with what she has done as only a freshman and feels Vaziri has a lot to prove for the future.\n"She is a great relay swimmer, and I know she is going to keep contributing throughout the year," Taflinger said. "She is off to a great start."\nAlthough the adjustment has been smooth for Vaziri, she still admits that the homesick feeling arises every once in a while. She credits her parents, Lise and Mansour Vaziri, and even brother Ramin, for a lot of her success. She said the hardest part thus far is getting use to the climate change between Indiana and Florida.\nVaziri came from a prestigious, but small program, in Coral Springs that really prepared her for college swimming. No matter how prepared one person can be, college level sports can still be intimidating. \n"It is very intimidating to swim in college, but you learn to adjust and try to keep your head and nerves from interfering in your race," Vaziri said.\nVaziri's performance has been nothing of a surprise to her. She has been training at a more intense level, which has prepared her for this experience. Vaziri is really anticipating the big meets at the end of the year, such as the Big Ten Championships and the NCAA Championships.\nVaziri has made her mark not only at IU but around the nation. She has been nationally ranked in four of her events this year. She placed in the top 25 in the 400-yard freestyle relay, 800-yard freestyle relay, 100-yard backstroke, and 100-yard freestyle. She has ranked among the top 10 all-time at the school in five of her events.\nVaziri, like any young athlete, has a lot of growing and molding to do, but most people would agree she's on the right track. Vaziri and IU will continue their success this weekend when they face off in the IU Invitational. This will be one of their first big meets of the season. It will take place Friday, Saturday and Sunday. IU swim coach Dorsey Tierney has also stressed her pleasure for Vaziri throughout the season.\n"She thrives in racing situations. We have made an effort to challenge her against the best competition, and she has responded with some strong performances," said Tierney. "I'm excited to have four years with Leila because if she makes the choice, she could compete with just about anyone in the nation."\n-- Contact staff writer Chris Hopper at chopper@indiana.edu.
(11/07/03 3:35pm)
This weekend, the women's swimming and diving team will head to Wisconsin and Northwestern for a pair of Big Ten conference dual meets. These will be its first Big Ten dual meets of the season.\nThe first meet is at 5 p.m. tonight in Madison, Wis. The team will then travel to Chicago to face off against the Wildcats at 1 p.m. IU swim coach Dorsey Tierney feels the traveling will be tough for the women, but they should fair pretty well.\n"It will be a bit of a challenge, anytime you're sitting on a bus for seven hours, but we enjoy having the opportunity to go swim in other pools," Tierney said. "It will be an exciting weekend for us."\nIt will especially be an exciting weekend for Tierney because she will be facing off against her brother for the fifth time in her career. Jimmy Tierney is the coach of Northwestern.\n"It's a friendly rivalry, I guess you could say," Dorsey said. "Northwestern is a very strong team. He always gets good talent up there, so it will be good competition for us."\nFreshman Leila Vaziri also feels this will be a good weekend for the team. She is very pleased with her performance thus far, as are her coaches.\n"I think I'm doing better than I thought," Vaziri said. "I trained at home for 10 years. I think switching programs was a really good thing, and I have responded well."\nThe team is really looking forward to going head-to-head with Big Ten swimmer of the week Carly Piper from Wisconsin. Piper has always been a threat in the past to many of the teams in the Big Ten and around the nation. Senior Sarah Fiden stressed the importance of going up against Piper.\n"This weekend will be a good experience racing against some fast people," Fiden said. "We have Carly Piper at Wisconsin who has won the 500 and the mile and the 200 at Big Tens the past two years. We can hopefully project how we'll do by how we race against her." \nNo.14 IU will be facing off not only against a Big Ten opponent, but a nationally-ranked opponent in No.12 Wisconsin. The two teams are also joined in the polls by two other Big Ten rivals -- No.10 Penn State and No.16 Michigan.\nThe Hoosiers are 5-4 all-time against the Badgers, but this is their first dual meeting since the 1991-1992 season. The Hoosiers are 10-8-1 all-time against Northwestern. Wisconsin is 1-1 in dual meet action, and is also 1-0 in the Big Ten after defeating Iowa. The Wildcats are 1-0 in dual meet play when they defeated the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee early in the season. They dominated the event by winning 12 of the 13 races.\nVaziri is also very excited about the rest of the year for her team and herself. She feels having Tierney as her coach has added a lot to her swimming.\n"Dorsey is always on top of how you're doing and how you're doing it," Vaziri said. "She always has feedback, which makes you stay on top of it more, so she makes you always think about what you're doing."\n-- Contact staff writer Chris Hopper at chopper@indiana.edu.
(10/31/03 6:20am)
Senior Brooke Taflinger and sophomore Kristen Bradley led the No. 14 IU women's swimming and diving team to a victory against No. 19 Notre Dame Thursday.\nGoing into this meet, IU held a record of 1-0 in dual meet action. It earned the first win against Evansville in the first meet of the season. Coming off a tough weekend, the IU squad went into the meet feeling strong.\n"It's always nice to get a win under our belt, especially against a top 20 team like Notre Dame," said coach Dorsey Tierney.\nIU defeated the Irish by a score of 176-124. Many personal and school bests were set for the Hoosiers. Taflinger won in the 1000-yard Freestyle with a time of 10:02.08 -- a career best for her and the third best 1000 meter time in school history. In the 200-yard backstroke, freshman Leila Vaziri finished the race in second with a time of 2:04.84, a career best for her and eighth fastest time in school history.\nTierney stressed that Taflinger's efforts went above and beyond the "norm" for a swimmer.\n"Brooke again had a very nice meet. Anytime you are swimming the thousand at the beginning of the meet and the 400-IM at the end you have your work cut out for you," Tierney said. "She certainly did a fine job."\nSenior Sarah Fiden finished first in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:57.78. Notre Dame has a solid freshman crew and Tierney thinks they will be a force to be reckoned with in the future.\n"With their freshman class they are going to be pretty tough these next couple of years," Tierney said.\nTafllinger said she was pleased with her team's performance.\n"We had some good swimmers and Notre Dame usually matches up pretty well with us," she said. "They are pretty equal depth wise with us, and it was nice to come out with a win."\nThe divers also fared well with freshmen Lindsay Weigle and Heather Chapman sweeping second and third place in the one meter and three meter dives.\nNext weekend the team will travel to Wisconsin and Northwestern for a pair of dual meets in the Big Ten. It will be a family affair as Tierney will face her brother, who is coach of Northwestern. \n-- Contact staff writer Chris Hopper at chopper@indiana.edu.
(10/30/03 7:07am)
The IU women's swimming and diving team will face off tonight with No. 17 Notre Dame at the Counsilman Billingsley Aquatic Center. This will be the second dual meet of the season for IU.\n"Notre Dame is going to be tough," IU coach Dorsey Tierney said. "They have a really good dual meet team. We typically don't have a lot of speed this time of year, so other than winning, I would really like to see what type of grit our team has."\nLast year, Tierney took the squad up against a tough Irish team, and they came away with the win in the last relay. IU pulled it off by a small margin of eight points.\nDiving coach Jeff Huber sent one diver last weekend to the SMU Classic, and that was freshman Lindsey Weigle. Weigle placed fourth in the 3-meter springboard, and Huber was expective of that type of performance this time of year.\n"She was throwing some harder dives that other people weren't, and I think that will ultimately help her in the end," Huber said.\nThis will be the team's first trip back home since the Evansville meet when they were victorious. Of course, they have more of a challenge on their hands with the Irish coming to town, but Tierney feels the home atmosphere should help out.\n"A pool's a pool, but one advantage is not having to travel," Tierney said. "The athletes can go to class on (today), and we can have morning workout. It's just a matter of we can stay in our groove."\nOne aspect of the team's performance that was strong last weekend was the relays. The relays at SMU were led by freshman Leila Vaziri. Tierney said she was really impressed with her effort along with the entire relays last weekend.\n"It was really nice to see those relays step up, and really in most cases we had three out of four people step up," Tierney said.\nSenior Megan Medendorp was a part of the 400-yard freestyle relay team that really stepped up at SMU. Medendorp has high hopes for the next meet.\n"Notre Dame was a big challenge last year, and it will be this year," said Medendorp. "I've heard they have a lot of good freshmen, as do we, so it will be a good battle."\nAlso last weekend, the team competed in the Indiana Intercollegiates in West Lafayette. The team also finished third, and freshman Annica Lofstedt and sophomore Kristen Bradley were two standouts at the meet. Lofstedt came in first in the 100-yard butterfly, and Bradley finished first in the 200-yard individual medley nearly two seconds ahead of the second place finisher. Tierney also stressed how impressed she has been with the work of Bradley.\n"She just continues to be in a nice groove right now, and she is by far the best she's ever been at IU," said Tierney. \nAnother top performer from last week's competition was senior Erin Gorlesky, who is also a member of the stellar 400-yard freestyle relay team. Gorlesky said she ranks this meet highly thus far.\n"This meet is our first real test as a team, and it's going to take everyone working hard," Gorlesky said.\nIU is 2-1 against Notre Dame in the history of the school, and is looking to add to its win record. Tierney said she feels IU has looked promising thus far even though it is early in the season.\n-- Contact staff writer Chris Hopper at chopper@indiana.edu.
(10/24/03 5:53am)
This weekend, the women's swimming and diving team will be traveling to Dallas, Texas, to face off in the SMU Classic. \nThis is the first time in the five-year tenure of IU coach Doris Tierney that the swim team will head to Dallas for the competition. Tierney is prepping the team to its fullest potential for every meet, and this one is no different.\n"We're not backing off at all as far as our work load," Tierney said. "It's such an early season meet against a high level of competition, and we're just excited to get an opportunity to race early."\nThe field will contain four ranked teams from last year's final poll. The teams will include No. 2 Florida, No. 5 SMU, No.16 IU and No. 23 Washington.\nThe meet will take place tonight and Saturday at 7 p.m. at Perkins Natatorium in Dallas. There will be nine IU athletes competing in the meet, eight swimmers and one diver. The lone diver competing is freshman Lindsay Weigle, who was also named Big Ten "Diver of the Week" Wednesday. This will be her first trip as an IU diver.\n"I'm a little nervous because I haven't thrown my hard dives on either board," Weigle said.\nIU diving coach Jeff Huber has kept the same routine going for Weigle and really isn't taking any special preparations for this meet. Huber feels it's a little too early in the year for any special preparations. \n"It's hard because we have all these meets, and we have to do the things we need to do in order to be ready at the end of the season to really look good," Huber said. "We kind of make a conscious effort to work on fundamentals and not really get ready for these early meets, and make sure we lay a solid foundation for the end of the season."\nThe eight swimmers that will be traveling to Dallas are seniors Erin Gorlesky, Greer McGettrick, Meghan Medendorp and Brooke Taflinger; juniors Tammy Kostner and Erin Smith; sophomore Lauren Lubus and freshman Leila Vaziri.\nLast season the team had a stellar invitational record. The women won the Big Ten Championship along with the IU Invitational. They also managed to take third at the Miami Invitational and third in the collegiate division of the U.S. Open in December. \nIU had another Big Ten honoree in "Swimmer of the Week." Taflinger took home that honor after a strong performance in the team's meet against Evansville. She claimed three victories in the meet.\nThis is only the second meet for IU, and in their first meet they defeated Evansville 183-104. The team had a strong outing, and Tierney found many strengths and weaknesses. \n"As far as strengths, our sophomore class has really figured things out here," Tierney said. "They have adjusted to the training program really well. However one of our weaknesses is our starts and turns."\nAlong with the SMU Classic, there is also the Indiana Intercollegiate meet taking place Saturday at1 p.m. IU will be sending 11 participants to West Lafayette for this meet. Tierney sounded really confident about this season, and she has high expectations for her team.\n"Overall, we have a pretty high level on our team. (It) is small, but as far as quality of athletes, this is probably the best we have been in my five years," Tierney said.\n-- Contact staff writer Chris Hopper at chopper@indiana.edu.
(09/18/03 6:13am)
At IU there are about 38,000 students and roughly 87.5 percent have at one time or another participated in recreational sports.\nThe high participation rate may be one reason Sports Illustrated On Campus listed IU as having the best recreational program in the country. IU was ranked sixth in "Best College Sports Towns." SIOC highlighted IU's prestigious basketball and football programs, but the light shone on the recreational sports program. \n"When students aren't trying to live up to that lofty mantle, they spend plenty of time enjoying the beautiful campus and taking advantage of perhaps the nation's top recreational-sports program," Chris Ballard said in the article.\nDirector of Recreational Sports and Assistant Dean of HPER Kathy Bayless understands the success of the program.\n"We're here to support active healthy lifestyles and add a sense of community," Bayless said. "We are committed to excellence."\nIn 2002-03 there were 21,360 participants in just the intramural sports program, a 4 percent increase from 2000-2001. The two largest intramural sports are basketball with 435 teams and flag football with 402 teams. There are 46 club sports, which had about 1,500 participants last year. The largest club activity was ballroom dancing.\nClub and intramural sports make up a large number of the participants, but last year more than 446,000 people played on the basketball courts at the SRSC or HPER. Also there were about 2,000 training sessions in the fitness and wellness department, a record setting number. \n"We listen to our participants," Bayless said. "We are their advocates. We want a great product for them -- our programs and services."\nBayless also said the department provides informal sports for everyone's well-being and enjoyment.\n"We hire team members that are really dedicated to serving students well," Bayless said. "The students are the primary audience. Without the students there would be no program."\nThe recreational sports program is watched over by the Campus Recreational Sports Committee. Debbie Allmayer, vice president for Information Technology, said the committee is divided into four task groups, and these groups are proactive in looking for ways to improve the program.\n"The committee helps out with fund-raising, and they also provide different ideas for the recreational sports program," Allmayer said. "They suggest different activities for the program to try."\nThere are thousands of participants every year. One of those participants is senior Amanda Madden, who has been involved as an official, conditioning coach and a participant.\n"I have been a participant for four years now," Madden said. "I play soccer, basketball, softball and flag football with my sorority Kappa Delta. I have been playing sports since I was a little girl. Intramurals gives me the opportunity to continue playing, stay fit and have fun." \nBayless said all the work and effort that went into this program has now been validated. She said it has been recognized throughout the nation and everyone involved seems to have the same feeling about the program.\nBayless said she was ecstatic that someone recognized the program above all else, but was not surprised by the SI ranking.\n"I think the biggest joy for me is that this has been in my heart for years," she said.\n-- Contact staff writer Chris Hopper at chopper@indiana.edu.
(09/16/03 5:43am)
With nine floors of classrooms and offices, thousands of people travel through Ballantine Hall everyday. But IU students and faculty might not know what to do in an emergency, such as a fire or tornado.\nThat is why action has been taken by 30 faculty members that work in the building, formingthe Ballantine HallSafety Committee. The committee has decided to educate students and faculty by holding a "Safety Week" that runs Monday through Friday.\nKathryn Propst, project coordinator with the IU Teaching and Learning Technologies Centers, founded and heads the committee.\n"We want everyone in the building to know who we are and what to do when there is a tornado or fire alert," she said. "We also want people to know what to do when the (Emergency Medical Service) personnel come."\nThe committee members help when there is an emergency in the building by providing medical assistance and directing evacuations. \nEach floor will have a flier posting the officers for that floor and their credentials, Propst said.\nCommittee member Bob Althauser said he hopes to make students and faculty more aware of Ballantine's safety procedures. Althauser, a sociology professor, said he wants faculty and students to know that tornadoes are something that they have to worry about.\n"(Before the committee was formed) we didn't have any possible way of reaching the classes in session once a tornado warning was sounded," he said. "Now we have a start towards that goal."\nWhen an alarm sounds, a committee member goes to each room on their assigned floor and gives evacuation instructions. \n"One of the greatest problems in Ballantine Hall is that it is virtually impossible to hear the tornado siren," Propst said. \nTo help prevent this problem, many of the faculty have weather radios or weather software to alert them of a tornado. \nPropst said they will have a tornado safety display and informational flyers and handouts. They said they hope to have a mannequin dressed in a green and yellow DayGlo vest. The mannequin will give the students and faculty an idea of what is worn by CPR and First Aid Trained officers in the building in case of an emergency. \nThe Bureau of Facilities Programming and Utilization sets up the evacuation plans for each building on campus. \n"Risk Management (Department) brings a marked-up set of plans, and we produce the plans with the evacuation routes showing," said Tim Hansel, facilities data manager. \nBallantine Hall is the only building with a safety committee.\nPropst and the rest of the committee said they hope the safety week will also help students and faculty during fire alarms.\n"A recurring problem in Ballantine Hall is the clogging of the entries and stairwells during fire alarms," she said. She said when students and faculty make it to the ground floor, they should follow the guidance of the EMS personnel so everything goes smoothly.\nPropst and the committee are also hoping to obtain an Automated External Defibrillator. It is used to restore regular heart palpitations when a person goes into cardiac arrest.\n"Although AEDs are available at several locations on campus, we believe it is important to have a unit in a building as large and as populated as Ballantine Hall," she said. Propst said they are taking many steps to obtain one of these units.\nFor more information about Safety Week, go to the Ballantine Hall Safety Committee Web site at www.indiana.edu/~bhsafety.\n-- Contact staff writer Chris Hopper at chopper@indiana.edu.