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(03/04/02 7:16am)
The Hoosiers struggled on the last two days of the Big Ten Championships, falling from fifth after the first day to a seventh place finish when the final scores were tallied. Reigning Big Ten champion Minnesota continued its conference domination, as the Golden Gophers outdueled Michigan to defend their title. Minnesota finished with 711.5 points, and the Wolverines had 636.5.\n"Our performance was like a roller coaster," IU coach Kris Kirchner said. "We had some events that we performed really well in with career and lifetime bests and other events that didn't go according to our plans. It's disappointing.\n"Everybody out there wants to go faster and place higher. But, all in all, we knew that Minnesota and Michigan were good teams coming in, and to compete with them, you've got to have the whole package."\nThe Hoosiers kicked off the Friday session with a fourth-place finish in the 200-medley relay. The squad of sophomore backstroker Matt Leach, junior breaststroker David Schulze, freshman butterflier Murph Halasz and sophomore freestyler Claes Andersson swam to a 1:28.15 finish, only five hundredths of a second better than fifth-place finishing Purdue. \nSchulze, Leach and Halasz also competed in the 100-yard varieties of the breaststroke, backstroke and butterfly events respectively Friday. Schulze made the championship finals by breaking a school breaststroke record during prelims. He then broke his own record in the finals, swimming to a 54.66, fourth-place finish. \n"He's come a long way," Kirchner said of Schulze's progress. "He's never been in the Big Ten finals until this year, and he's never been in the NCAAs. He'll make the NCAAs and hopefully go faster there."\nLeach was victorious in the consolatory finals of the 100-yard backstroke while Halasz finished fourth in the consolatory finals of the 100-yard butterfly. \nIU's lone senior, Heath Montgomery, competed in the 400-yard individual medley consolation finals Friday. He swam a season-best 3:56.98 but finished next to last in the event.\n"I'd hoped to go out on a better note, but I can't complain," Montgomery said. "I had two of the three best times of my life in my finals, so I can't complain too much."\nOn the diving side of the meet, junior Adam Hazes placed fourth and sophomore Marc Carlton placed seventh off of the 3-meter boards Friday.
(03/01/02 6:18am)
The Big Ten championships continue today and tomorrow, as the Hoosiers try to rise up the leader board and forge a top finish. The fifth place Hoosiers trail first place Minnesota by 75 points with a 122 score. \nToday's events are book ended by a pair of relays—the 200 yard medley relay to begin competition and the 800-yard freestyle relay to finish the day off. The Hoosiers have not competed in the 800-yard freestyle relay since last November, while the squad of sophomore backstroker Matt Leach, junior breaststroker David Schulze, freshman butterflier Murph Halasz and sophomore freestyler Claes Andersson established a season best time in the 200-yard medley relay in January. \nLeach, Schulze and Halasz will also swim the 100-yard varieties of their strokes on Saturday as the 100-yard backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly events will all also be raced. Schulze has led the team all year in the breaststroke events and Kirchner said he expects that to continue today. \n"I hope he has and I expect him to have the best meet of his career," he said.\nAlso held today are the 400-yard individual medley and the 200-yard freestyle. The 400-yard IM gives season-best time holder and lone senior Heath Montgomery the best opportunity to go out on top—as a Big Ten champion. \n"This is my last chance to do something special," Montgomery said. "I'm going to give it all I've got in all of my events and hope for the best."\nSaturday's lineup features the 1650-freestyle to open the event, the third individual event for freshman Richard Bryant, who raced the 500-yard freestyle on Thursday. \n"The 1650, that could be his great race," Kirchner said. "But he's got to get clicked in and stay focused."\nThe day will continue with the 200-yard backstroke and the 100-yard freestyle, where the same corps of sprint freestylers who competed in the 50-yard event will take the pool again. \nThen, the Hoosiers will race two of their strongest events: the 200-yard breaststroke and the 200-yard butterfly. Schulze holds a season best, NCAA qualifying time in the 200-yard breaststroke while Halasz hasn't lost a 200-yard butterfly race in 9 trials and is 11 hundredths of a second off of the school record held by Olympian Mark Spitz. \nThe 400-yard freestyle relay will close out the swimming events. \nOn the diving side, the squad will compete in the 3-meter event today and the platform (10-meter) event on Saturday. Following sophomore Marc Carlton's fifth place finish and junior Adam Hazes eighth place finish in the one-meter event yesterday, the Hoosiers will turn their attention today to what Huber considers their strongest event, the three meter. \n"I think it's a great event for us," Huber said. "I'm very confident. We just need to get up and do the things we need to do and do them in competition. Marc has to be considered one of the favorites to be a Big Ten champion off of three meter."\nOff of the platform, Hazes will not compete due to a lingering injury in the cartilage in his wrist and Burns doesn't have a complete list in the event. But, Huber said Carlton should have a strong performance. \n"Marc Carlton, I think, is the best diver in the Big Ten up there," Huber said. "That remains to be seen, but he's got all the right dives up there"
(02/28/02 5:35am)
There are only three competing members of the men's diving team. But even with a small roster, the Hoosiers have big expectations for this weekend's Big Ten Championship. \n"Our attitude is just to be really focused on the things we really want to be doing," Coach Jeff Huber said. "We need to be ready to dive tough in competition, and I think we are. We don't have as many athletes in the event as the women's (team does), but the depth is still there."\nThe Hoosiers begin competition Thursday with the 1-meter diving competition, followed by the 3-meter event Friday and the platform (10-meter) event Saturday. \nIn the Hoosiers' last meet before Big Tens, a Feb. 9 win against Purdue, the team showed its versatility on the three-meter boards. Sophomore Marc Carlton flirted with the pool record for top individual score, coming up short but winning the event with a 370.58 tally. Teammates junior Adam Hazes and sophomore Alex Burns followed in second and third place. \n"Without a doubt three-meter is our strongest event, and then platform and one-meter is probably our third strongest event," Huber said. "They all look pretty good off of the one-meter, we'll find out at the end of the meet who's got the best dives."\n Carlton, who holds the team season-best scores in both one-meter and three-meter, agreed and said the one-meter is his weakest event, although he thinks that all three divers could reach the finals in it. \n With the one-meter being the first event, Burns said a solid performance could set a positive tone for the rest of the meet.\n "That would be a real confidence booster for me," Burns said. "If I can do well on one-meter, I can do even better on three-meter, because I'll have the confidence in knowing that I've accomplished something before that." \n As for the competition, the Big Ten has proven to be a deep diving conference. Michigan features sophomore Jason Coben, who qualified for NCAAs, while winning both the one-meter and three-meter events, Feb. 9 against Michigan State. The sweep was his sixth of the season and garnered him his second Big Ten diver-of-the-week award. \nThe Hoosiers are all too familiar with the diving squad of Ohio State. Junior Heath Knowling won Big Ten diver-of-the-week in part for his victories in the one-meter and three-meter events against IU Jan. 12. In that meet, Ohio State senior Chris Monson and freshman Mitch Richeson took the second and third spots off the one-meter, and they figure to add more depth to the Buckeye lineup during the Big Tens. \n Iowa also figures to play a prominent role in the diving events. Hawkeyes sophomore Timo Klami and senior Simon Chrisander took the top two spots off of the one-meter boards against IU Jan. 26. Feb. 22, Chrisander set an Iowa pool record for top score on the three-meter boards. \nHuber said all teams feature at least one or two quality divers and that the competition should be stiff. \n"They'll be tough," Huber said. "They know coming into dive against Indiana at Indiana that they've got to dive well. They know they have to dive well if they want to beat us. There's certainly some good talent in the conference, so we'll have to dive well ourselves. If we do the things we want to be doing and dive tough, we should be fine."\nCarlton said, based on what he'd done in practice and what he's seen from his teammates, he is very optimistic about the team's chances.\n"We're all real confident, everyone has looked the best they have all year," Carlton said. "I think we're all going to do really well. I think we all have a good shot at making finals in all events"
(02/26/02 6:13am)
Freshman Murph Halasz has competed in the 200-yard butterfly nine times so far this season. He's won all of them. Now, with the Big Ten championships beginning on Friday, Halasz hopes he can not only extend that streak, but also write himself into the record books by unseating Olympian Mark Spitz for the best time in school history.\n"My Dad sent me an article from Time about the 50 top people from the past decade and Mark Spitz was one of them," Halasz said. "He sent me the picture of Mark Spitz and he wrote 1:46.89, which is his time. I have that on my wall." \nHalasz swims the 200-yard butterfly on Saturday in the penultimate swimming event of Big Tens, his best time of the year 11 hundredths of a second away from Spitz. It has been a combination of work ethic, rigorous practice and health management that has Halasz, a native of Richmond, Va., in position to break such a storied record. \nHalasz began swimming at age six during the summer and then expanded to swimming throughout the year by the sixth grade when he joined NOVA, a Virginia based club swim team, under the coaching of Geoff Brown. \n"He pushed me," Halasz said. "He got me to figure out what I wanted from the sport. He made me set my goals and made me understand what I needed to do to get faster."\nUnder Brown, Halasz did just that. He was a participant in the 2000 Olympic trials in the 200-fly and won the 200-fly Virginia short course state championship event. \nWhen it came time to choose a college, Halasz came to IU on a recruiting trip and knew it was the place for him.\n "(Assistant coach) Greg (Ruminski) just sold the school to me," Halasz said. "It's a beautiful campus, I had a great time on my recruiting trip. (Teammates) Dave Schulze and Anderson Brooks were two of the guys that were here and I just clicked with them. It was a lot of fun and I really wanted to come here."\nOnce at IU, Halasz quickly developed into an important and respected member of the team. \n"As a person, he is always very bubbly and live," freshman teammate and roommate Richard Bryant said. "He'll always pick you up if you're having a bad day. As a swimmer he is absolutely awesome -- he swims just like a dolphin. He never runs out of energy."\nA biochemistry major, Halasz enjoys reading, playing chess and working on chemistry when not in the pool. \nHalasz attributes his success so far to his work ethic, as well as his practice regimen. He also credits the attention he pays to taking care of his body and doing seemingly little things that garner great results in the pool, such as getting eight hours of sleep every night. In high school, Halasz would do 120 pull-ups at a time, strengthening, but also tiring his arms and forcing him to develop his kicking while swimming. \n"That was really what made me start swimming well," Halasz said. "I couldn't use my arms as well the next day at practice, so I had to kick and that's why my kicking got so much better."\nThe results are evident in Halasz' swimming throughout the course of the season. In addition to the 200-yard fly, Halasz also holds season best times in the 100-yard fly, 200-yard individual medley and the 200 and 400-yard medley relays.\n"He performs exceptionally, week after week, day after day," head coach Kris Kirchner said. "He comes into practice the same guy every day, he is very consistent and has a great work ethic and attitude. He's had a great season." \nAs for Spitz's record, Halasz said breaking it would be nice if only to stop people from bugging him about it. He aims for it to be broken this weekend.\n"Saturday," Halasz said. "It should. I should probably break 1:46"
(02/19/02 6:37am)
Throughout the year, diving head coach Jeff Huber has been far more concerned with personal improvement than dual meet wins and losses, encouraging his team to stay focused on the bigger picture. Now, with IU hosting the Big Ten championship meet beginning Feb. 28, Huber is beginning to watch his words of wisdom blossom into fruition. \nIn IU's last meet before Big Tens (Feb. 9, a win against Purdue), Huber saw his team put together one of their most complete efforts of the year. The trio of sophomore Marc Carlton, junior Adam Hazes and sophomore Alex Burns went 2-3-4 off of the one-meter boards and finished 1-2-3 in an impressive display off of the three-meter boards. Not only did those three scores become the top three scores off of the three-meter for the season, but they also qualified each diver for NCAAs and Carlton's came close to beating the pool record. \n"We're getting closer to Big Tens and I think we look like we're getting closer to Big Tens," Carlton said. "At Big Tens, the three-meter is what I really want to do best at, so I was happy with my performance." \nThe Purdue meet was only Hazes' second meet back after suffering a bone bruise. Huber said he has been pleased with Hazes' performance, particularly his improvement on his reverse two-and-a-half tuck off of the one-meter boards.\n"Adam Hazes has finally stepped up and dove the way he's supposed to," Huber said. "He came into the (Purdue) meet with some fire and dove up to his potential. So we're really glad to see him do that. He is probably diving the best that I've seen him."\nAfter missing several days because of injury, Burns resumed practicing yesterday and is focused on Big Tens. Burns hopes his front three-and-a-half and reverse two-and-a-half twister will score him points when Big Tens begin. \n"Alex is starting to figure things out -- he's going to do really well at Big Tens this year," Carlton said. "He's really going to do well and he's just got some awesome stuff."\nAs for Carlton, a slip up on his gainer two-and-a-half is all that prevented him from setting the pool record for score in the three meter event against Purdue. \n"He missed his gainer-two-and-a-half which is actually his best dive, or he would have been very close to the pool record by Mark Lenzi," Huber said. "So, that has to tell you how good this kid is going to be."\nBurns said the team is beginning to come together, and that unity will foster success in the championship meet. \n"We're prepared for the meet," Burns said. "It's fairly important to be coming together as a team. If you're not a team then you don't have the support. If you're sticking together and having support, you feel a lot better going in."\nWhile it seems his squad is hitting its stride at just the right time, Huber said he is -- and always will be -- concerned with further improvement. \n"I'll say that until the day I die," Huber said. "But I saw a lot of areas that we have improved in. And that's really nice to see. It means all the hard work that our divers have done all year is starting to pay off, and that's rewarding"
(02/12/02 6:32am)
On Saturday against Purdue in the 50-yard freestyle, the field of IU sprinters was without season best time holder sophomore Claes Andersson. Sophomore Dale Ramsy made sure the results didn't take a hit. Ramsy swam to a first place finish, good for a personal season best.\nIt is those types of performances that have Ramsy's coaches and teammates excited about his potential. \n"Dale is our real success story this year," teammate and junior David Schulze said. "When he came in last year, you looked at him and it wasn't even clear that he knew how to swim competitively. And this year, he's really stepped it up and he's been a good leader for all of the sprinters."\nRamsy began swimming during his sophomore year at Lake Central high school, making this only his fourth year of the sport. He joined the swim squad at the insistence of his friend as they searched for a sport to compete in between the track and cross country seasons. \nFrom there, Ramsy fell in love with swimming. Ramsy placed 8th in the 50-free in the state championships during his senior year and is a member of his high school record holding 200-yard medley, 200- and 400-yard freestyle relay squads. \n"Ever since then, I've been loving it," Ramsy said. "The biggest thing about swimming that I love is getting on that block as the anchor or any position and being right with the other team and getting that adrenaline rush. I didn't get that with any other sport. That's why I stuck with swimming and that's why I think I'm excelling at it now."\nWhen it came time to choose a college, Ramsy, a native of Crown Point, Ind., tried to keep his options open, but knew that he would ultimately end up at IU. Ramsy's father, an IU graduate, took his son to IU basketball games growing up, instilling a sense of Hoosier pride that came calling when Ramsy had to pick a college.\n"I didn't really choose IU, it sort of chose me," Ramsy said. "I knew I'd come here ever since I waslittle. In the back of my head, I just knew IU was going to be the right place."\nOnce at IU, Ramsy was impressed by the togetherness the team exhibited. Seeing team members joke together, hang out together and display a cohesiveness that was apparent in and out of the water assured Ramsy he made the right decision. But, on a squad with a number of swimmers who've been competing since early childhood, Ramsy dedicated himself to quickly becoming a better swimmer. \n"He has been a great part of coaching," head coach Kris Kirchner said. "He came here and, basically, was pretty fast. He did a lot of things wrong. However, he has a huge athletic heart. The guy can jump like a deer, he is strong as a bull. \n"In one year, he has really gone to work in weight training and he has become a monster. We've had our struggles, he's probably not the most nose-to-the-grindstone practice swimmer, and I hope in his future that's one part of his preparation that gets better. But, race-time, he's a beast. He is a strong, fast sprinter."\nRamsy tries to not to let swimming dominate his life. He tries to make time for listening to music, playing guitar, hanging out with friends and just getting away from the sport for awhile. \n"There are some people that think about swimming 24-7," Ramsy said. "I try to think about it in practice, and then when it comes down to it, I think about it all the time. But, I like to break away from\nthe pool and get a little bit of 'Dale-time' if you will."\nAs for the future, Ramsy, a business major, wants to make the Olympic trials in 2004 and would be willing to forge a career in some aspect of swimming. \n"If it comes to the point where I can swim at a world-class level, then I'll do it," Ramsy said. "I love it"
(02/11/02 7:25am)
Former head women's basketball coach Jim Izard accepted a settlement offer from IU over a lawsuit that Izard filed shortly after his dismissal in March of 2000. Izard, 53, stated in the lawsuit that then-athletic director, Clarence Doninger, illegally terminated him because he wanted a younger, female head coach.\nIU hired current coach Kathi Bennett, 39, and gave her a five year contract worth $110,000 in her first year. Izard also cited the over $30,000 disparity between that salary and the amount he made in his final year as a violation of the equal pay law.\nThe settlement will pay Izard $76,775, with $26,065 for emotional distress, $20,000 for back wages and $30,710 for legal fees.\n"As with any litigation, you have to make the determination as to whether or not it is worth moving forward and fully litigating the matter and taking into account the costs associated with that or whether there is an opportunity to bring the matter to closure earlier," Vice President for Public Affairs and Government Relations Bill Stephan said. "At the end of the day in the final analysis, the decision was: Is it in the best interest of the University to settle this as opposed to litigate it? The answer was yes."\nAs part of the settlement, IU maintains its claim that there was no illegal activity behind Izard's firing. \n"I think in as much as the settlement does acknowledge that IU is not admitting fault here, it was a reasonably good result for the University to bring this matter to closure early," Stephan said. "I think we are encouraged that we were able to bring it to closure in an expeditious fashion. In the final analysis, it was in the University's best interest."\nDoninger said the motivation for the firing was solely in the interest of evolving the team, and IU should have defended that stance.\n"We felt it was time to go in a different direction, that was all there was to it," Doninger said. "Everybody's got a right to file a lawsuit, but it was totally without merit. I wouldn't have settled it. He had no case." \nDoninger said claims in the lawsuit suggesting he told Izard he wanted a female head coach were false. \n"That was absolutely incorrect," Doninger said. "That was simply an allegation in his complaint and is absolutely incorrect."\nIzard, the fifth coach in the school history of the women's basketball team, is the program's all-time winningest coach. He coached from 1988 to 2000 and led IU to nine winning seasons, two NCAA tournament bids and a second place finish in the NIT. He is now at the helm of the women's basketball program at Berry College in Rome, Georgia. \nIzard's attorneys could not be reached for comment. \nIU counsel Dorothy Frapwell told The Herald-Times that the University decided that reaching an early settlement was the best way to resolve the lawsuit.
(02/11/02 6:20am)
Senior Day at the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatics Center Saturday meant the final dual meet of Heath Montgomery's career. Facing Purdue meant bragging rights were on the line. The Hoosiers made sure that Montgomery went out in style -- bragging rights and all -- as they defeated the No. 21 Boilermakers 136.5-106.5. \n"It was a huge confidence builder for us," junior David Schulze said. "We really wanted to come in and finish our season strong and get Heath another victory over Purdue."\nThe Hoosiers jumped to an early lead with a victory in the 400-yard medley relay. Backstroker Matt Leach, breaststroker Schulze, butterflier Murph Halasz and freestyler Claes Andersson raced to a season-best and sixth-best in school history time of 3:18.25.\nRichard Bryant extended the lead in the 1,000-yard freestyle, finishing first in 9:21.32. Barely out of the water, Bryant then competed in the 200-yard freestyle but finished in last place, nearly six seconds behind his season-best time set last weekend. The Boilermakers capitalized and took the top two spots. \n"One of the regrets we have is we probably should have turned (Bryant) loose in the 1,000 and not worried about the 200," Kirchner said. "But he showed last week he can swim both, but then he got a lot more rest."\nThe Hoosiers quickly quelled the Boilermaker rally and never looked back. Dale Ramsey, Mike Payne and Nicholas Burgess finished 1-2-3 in the 50-yard freestyle with times of 20.59, 20.76 and 20.90, respectively.\n"The 50-free is obviously a pretty big door to bust through," Kirchner said. They didn't swim perfect races, but in those top-three finishes, those are all lifetime bests for those three guys.\n"You can't ask for much more than that."\nSchulze then won the 200-yard individual medley (1:51.81), and Halasz followed in second place 54 hundredths of a second later. \nHalasz easily won the 200-yard butterfly (1:48.71), and Montgomery outraced Purdue's Tamas Bessenyei by 14 hundredths of a second for second place.\nIU next took the top two spots in its fourth consecutive event with a 1-2 finish in the 100-yard freestyle. Andersson won the event with a season-best 45.04 time, followed by Ramsey's 46.14. \nBryant returned to the pool for a third race in the 500-yard freestyle. Having time to rest between races paid off, as Bryant's first-place time of 4:31.02 was more than three seconds better than his nearest competition. \nSchulze knocked off Bessenyei in the 200-yard breaststroke in the closest race of the meet. Schulze touched the wall at a season best 2:00.24, only two hundredths of a second ahead of Bessenyei.\n"We're winning the close races. Our cohesiveness as a team has really helped everybody with that." \nPurdue won its third swimming event of the meet on the last event, the 400-yard freestyle relay. The Hoosier squad of Montgomery, Andersson, Payne and Ramsey were initially listed as the victors but were disqualified when it was ruled that Ramsey left the block early. Nevertheless, Ramsey said he was thrilled to beat Purdue.\n"I feel great going home today knowing that we beat them, knowing that we dominated them," Ramsey said.\nOn the diving side of the competition, Marc Carlton, Adam Hazes and Alex Burns took the top three spots off the three-meter boards and went 2-3-4 off the one-meter boards. \n"It was a little bit rough off of the one-meter, and the three-meter was outstanding; we really dove well," diving head coach Jeff Huber said. For us to come back and go 1-2-3 on the three-meter was a nice way to finish up the dual meet season and give us a little bit of an emotional boost going into the championship part of the season"
(02/08/02 6:15am)
Attention in Big Ten swimming and diving tends to focus more on the championship than on individual meets. This weekend is different, as IU takes on rival Purdue in a showdown between the No. 21 Boilermakers and the unranked Hoosiers. \n"With IU-Purdue, you throw out everything, and it is just a good battle," Coach Kris Kirchner said. "It's just a good sports battle. Every race will be close. It will be one of their best meets, and hopefully that's how we're going into it.\n"It's going to be our final dual meet before the conference meet, and we're going to go all out."\nThe meet marks the Hoosiers' first home action since Jan. 12. IU went 3-1 on a road trip that included double dual meets at Iowa and Kentucky. Last weekend the Hoosiers swept both the Wildcats and Cincinnati by scores of 129-113 and 178-58, respectively.\nIn that meet, freshman Richard Bryant won the 200-yard freestyle and took second in both the 500- and 1,000-yard freestyle events. Sophomore Claes Andersson won the 50- and 100-yard freestyle races, and junior David Schulze won the 200-yard individual medley and the 200-yard breaststroke. Schulze said he can see the team getting better and coming together. \n"I felt we made a lot of improvements in terms of our race strategies and starts and turns and overall just maintaining an energy through the whole meet," Schulze said.\nIU holds a 51-24 edge in the all-time standings against Purdue but fell to the Boilermakers last season in West Lafayette, 131-112. \n"They beat us last year, and I know how disappointed everyone was," Andersson said. "I think we'll have a good chance this year."\nPurdue (6-4, 3-3 Big Ten) comes off a 191-159 victory over No. 15 Wisconsin and a 246-106 defeat at the hands of No. 6 Minnesota last Saturday.\n"Against Purdue, we're going to try and step up another level," Bryant said. "We need to because Purdue has a very strong team this year with a lot of good distance guys. But I think we can do it. The closer we get to Big Tens, the closer we build as a team, which is very important."\nSaturday is also Senior Day. Lone senior and co-captain Heath Montgomery will be honored.\nOn the diving side of the competition, the Hoosiers will try to build off their performance at Kentucky. There, junior Adam Hazes and sophomore Marc Carlton took fourth and fifth place off the one-meter board, and sophomore Alex Burns took third off the three-meter board.\n"Alex Burns was close to, if not, the best performance he's had," Huber said. "He did a real nice job to get in there in third place in the three-meter."\nHuber said Purdue would provide a stiff contest. \n"We're looking forward to finishing up with some good competition," he said. "I think they've got a real good chance of going 1-2-3 off the high boards. But Purdue has got some good divers, so we'll have to dive well." \nThe competition starts at 4 p.m. in the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatics Center.
(02/06/02 5:49am)
Conspiracy theorists may be dismayed to find out that Big Brother isn't watching over the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center. The wall-mounted cameras on the diving side of the facility and the extensive array of portable video equipment on the swimming side may suggest otherwise, but, rest assured, are only the markings of both squads' coaches' dedication to applying improved technology to improving athletic performance. \n"It can be very, very beneficial to give the athletes feedback on little things that the athletes are doing that they may not realize they're doing," swimming head coach Kris Kirchner said. "When you can't watch yourself, you may not think you're doing a certain habit to try and manipulate it. They say it takes 60 days to create a habit or break a habit physiologically. It's not easy. It takes constant feedback, constant work and constant reminders and video can speed it up without a doubt." \nVideo has been a staple of Kirchner's coaching style since the medium was available, but the technological improvements it has undergone since then allow the team to tackle improvement from whole new perspectives. The team now regularly uses a portable underwater camera to capture and analyze views that can more accurately depict how they propel themselves through the water. \n"The video is very good underwater in getting our strokes," freshman Richard Bryant said. "It's helped me a lot, especially when my turns have been all over the place. It shows where you've gone wrong and how you can improve it. It's a great tool." \nOther times, Kirchner sets up a camera on the edge of the pool to analyze starts or finishes. In each instance, improved technology plays another crucial role in slowing down the images in order to better understand them. \n"It's getting more high tech now. We have a digital recorder system that has tremendous slow motion," Kirchner said. "Just watching swimmers swim fast looks like arms and legs in a loose path. But if you slow it down, break it down and get a chance to look at it frame by frame, there are a lot of things that you can look at."\nTechnology is used even more extensively on the diving side of the competition, where the handheld video of volunteer assistant coach Doc Lewis is accompanied by a state-of-the-art Tivo filming system. \n"I think the training and the coaching is important, but when you can give a kid immediate, very detailed feedback, it's terrific," diving head coach Jeff Huber said. "A lot of research has shown that feedback like that, particularly if it's immediate, is very, very beneficial to learning. That's one of the reasons that we do it."\nThe Tivo system, installed last fall, encompasses a pair of ceiling mounted cameras underneath the stands of the Billingsley diving center hooked up to a TV monitor behind the diving boards. There, the divers can review their dives as soon as they're out of the water.\n"We're really, really glad that the Indiana University Athletics Department is willing to back me up in realizing the importance of the system," Huber said. "I know every coach that has come here this year has said 'Man, we've got to do something like this in our pool.' It's terrific."\nBut Huber doesn't rely on the Tivo system alone. Lewis films from multiple angles with a handheld camera and displays the recordings on a set of televisions set up on the side of the diving pool. \n"It's hard to imagine how much that pays off," Huber said. "The Tivos are kind of a set, in-house system that you can't move around, but Doc can move and get some other angles. We then put them on the TVs and we can put one tape in and compare it to another. It's just a great, great learning environment for the athletes, and that's one of the things that we try and promote to recruits."\nSophomore Marc Carlton said filming dives is a necessity in the sport.\n"When we change a body movement on a board, it feels like a lot more than it actually is," Carlton said. "When we get to see it every time, we get to see exactly how much we changed (from) the last dive. We know exactly where we are every day and where we've got to be."\nIn the future, Lewis said he hopes to upgrade to a state of the art computer system capable of analyzing dives and burning DVDs of all the footage he shoots.\n"We think that (the) art of what made us a champion for four years straight is that we have done more filming on videotape than any other team in the nation does," Lewis said. "And that we've had stars develop. Not just one -- one star develops and moves on, another star develops and another star develops. We think a good part of that is they really get an understanding of what the totality of that dive looks and feels like"
(02/04/02 6:27am)
LEXINGTON, KY -- Swimming head coach Kris Kirchner knew the Hoosiers needed a strong performance Saturday against Cincinnati and Kentucky.\nThey didn't disappoint. The team had seven first-place finishes for a 2-0 sweep, 129-113 over the Wildcats and 178-58 over the Bearcats. \n"We're getting to that point of the year where we're focusing on what we've got to do -- fast swimming," Kirchner said. "It was a very strong, in-depth performance. We weren't perfect, but we had some people step up."\nFreshman Richard Bryant won the 200-yard freestyle, and placed second in both the 500- and 1,000-yard freestyle events. \nJunior David Schulze won the 200-yard individual medley and the 200-yard breaststroke. Schulze finished fourth in the 400-yard medley relay with teammates Matt Leach, Murph Halasz and Val Milkov.\n"The 200-breast was a big race for me because Kentucky's got one of their big guns in the 200-breast," Schulze said. "And we needed that for points, so I was really pumped to be able to get that win." \nSophomore Claes Andersson competed in three events and won each of them. Andersson took first in the 50- and 100-freestyle races and swam the second leg of the victorious Hoosier A relay team in the 200-yard freestyle relay. \n"There are a couple of things that I need to work on before Big Tens, but I am very happy with the way I swam," Andersson said. "It's always nice for my confidence when I go into Big Tens to know that I've beat these guys before in the season."\nSenior Heath Montgomery placed third in the 500-yard freestyle relay with a personal season-best time of 4:37.35. \n"As a team, we swam great today," Schulze said. "We're finally winning close races."\nThe Hoosier divers didn't fair as well. Kentucky finished 1-2-3 off the 1-meter board and 1-2 off of the 3-meter board. \n"We've had better days," head diving coach Jeff Huber said. "Kentucky did a nice job. They've got two U.S. national team members on their team, and they dove like it."\nOff of the 1-meter boards, junior Adam Hazes placed fourth, and sophomore Marc Carlton took fifth. Burns led the Hoosiers off the 3-meter board with a third-place finish, followed by Carlton in fourth (295.45) and Hazes in fifth (277.60). \n"I dove pretty well," Burns said. "I got better starts and dove extremely well off the 3-meter." \nHuber said he hoped going into next week's home dual meet against Purdue, more rest would facilitate better diving. \n"I know these guys are already talking about what they want to do on Monday morning for practice," Huber said. "I know they're going to go back and train real hard for next week, but I want them a little more rested than they were this week." \nThe Hoosiers-Boilermakers matchup in both swimming and diving begins at 4 p.m. Feb. 9 at the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatics Center.
(02/01/02 5:59am)
The Hoosiers compete on the road for the second straight weekend tomorrow when they travel to Lexington, Ky., to take on the Wildcats and the Cincinnati Bearcats in a double dual meet. The competition comes on the heels of the Hoosiers' 1-1 record last weekend when they posted a win over Iowa, but a lost to the reigning Big Ten champions, Minnesota. \n"Our last meet was very, very good," head coach Kris Kirchner said. "We swam very well for the road trip. It's definitely always harder to swim in a pool that no one has swam in before, but we adjusted very well. We have to try and keep improving with every weekend."\nLeading the way for the Hoosiers last weekend were freshmen Murph Halasz and Richard Bryant. Halasz won the 200-yard butterfly and took second place in the 100-yard butterfly. Bryant won the 1000-yard freestyle and took second in the 500-yard freestyle. Junior David Schulze placed second in both the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke events and senior Heath Montgomery set a team season best time in the 200-yard freestyle. \nTraditionally, the IU-Cincinnati rivalry has been a storied, if not one-sided affair. In 55 past meetings, the Hoosiers have won 51 of them, boasting a .927 winning percentage. The Hoosiers have had equal success against the Wildcats, winning nine of their ten all-time meetings. But the one loss came last season, when the Wildcats posted a 150-92 victory over the Hoosiers. \n"It's going to be very competitive," Kirchner said. "They have a good team in every event and we have a good team in every event, so it'll come down to close races and touching the wall first."\nThe Wildcats (2-4) are coming off of an impressive upset victory on Jan. 19 when they edged the No. 9 South Carolina Gamecocks by a 124-119 margin. The Bearcats beat Division III Kenyon 133-129 behind seven first place event finishes. \nOn the diving side of the competition, sophomore Marc Carlton took first place in the three-meter event and third place in the one-meter event against Minnesota and Iowa. Head coach Jeff Huber said Kentucky will provide a good challenge for Carlton and the rest of the team. \n"Kentucky has a great team. They have some great divers so it'll be a real good meet," Huber said. "It'll be a good tune up." \nSophomore Alex Burns placed fourth in the three-meter event last weekend. \n"I could've dove a lot better," Burns said. "I had trouble lining up my dives and getting them clean in the water."\nHuber said he expects Burns to have a breakthrough performance in one of IU's upcoming meets.\n"He's just about ready to bust out and have an unbelievable performance," Huber said. \nThe competition begins at 11 a.m. at the University of Kentucky's Lancaster Aquatics Center.
(01/29/02 6:07am)
Last season at the Big Ten championship, sophomore Matt Leach wrote himself into the IU record books as he recorded a fifth-best all time school record in the 100-yard backstroke. Now, in the midst of another season and with Big Tens approaching in February, Leach is hoping he'll be able to take over first place.\n"It'll be really hard but I think I can do it," Leach said. "I'm a lot faster this year and I think I can take even more time off from my previous Big Ten swim from last year. I just keep taking baby steps, that is what it's all about. I think I can be a big impact swimmer at Big Tens." \nAt the Big Tens last year, Leach finished behind then senior backstroker Will Bernhardt in both the 100- and 200- yard events. This year, head coach Kris Kirchner expects Leach to lead the way in the events.\n"He has really developed from freshman year to this year to be a leader in the backstroke and someone we can count on heavily for performances week by week," Kirchner said. "It's been a learning process for him from his freshman year until now and he's just got to keep getting faster. His ultimate goal is to be at the NCAA level, but he's got to get there."\nLeach began swimming early in childhood, and was already competing by age five under the coaching of his father. \n"I would have to say my dad has been my biggest influence, seeing as how he's always been on the pool deck watching me, taking care of me," Leach said. "He swam at Central Washington and he's been a swim coach ever since I started. It was kind of the way I was brought up. Most people start a little bit later, but I just like being in the water, so I kept doing it." \nA native of Beaverton, Ore., Leach set school records in the 100-yard backstroke, 500-yard freestyle and 200-yard individual medley at Westview High School. When it came time to choose a college, IU catered to all of Leach's wants. \n"There are no swimming colleges in Oregon, so I knew I was going out of state," Leach said. "I looked at Washington and didn't really like it there and California just doesn't turn me on. So, I figured I'd decide on whatever I like the best -- campus, school, all that -- and it turned out to be Indiana."\nTeammate Heath Montgomery, a senior, said Leach has already become a team fixture in the pool as well as in the locker room.\n"As a teammate he brings a backstroke that we really need," Montgomery said. "He's really fast and it's great that we have him. As a person, he brings humor -- he's a funny guy. He's good to have around and he keeps everybody's spirits high." \nIn his spare time, Leach said he enjoys surfing and hanging out with friends. An environmental management major, Leach said he has considered becoming a swimming coach when he graduates, but wants to keep his options open. \n"Right now I just want to swim, take classes and see what I really like," Leach said. \nLeach said he hopes he can continue to get better, both in preparation for this weekend and for Big Tens.\n"I'd like to think that every year I've gotten better," Leach said. "Just me being in the water day in and day out and getting better has been really important"
(01/25/02 5:39am)
The men\'s swimming and diving squads travel to Iowa City, Iowa, tomorrow to take on Big Ten foes Iowa (1-2) and Minnesota (2-0). The Golden Gophers, ranked sixth in the nation and the reigning Big Ten champions, could be the Hoosiers' toughest competition. \n"I think we really need to get up to swim Minnesota because we'll swim them in Big Tens and they're the powerhouse," sophomore Matt Leach said. "They're the ones that won it last year and we're looking to take as many races as we can from them."\nIU, 1-2 overall and 0-2 in the conference, is coming off of a home dual meet loss to Ohio State Jan.12. But the Hoosiers did have a strong showing against the Buckeyes, posting season best times in six events and setting 14 personal best records in what amounted to only a 23 point loss, 133-110. \n"I was very pleased with the times put in by the guys at (the Ohio State) meet," Coach Kris Kirchner said. "The competition was really good, but we swam really well and just got beat in the final outcome. You've got to be disappointed by that, but happy with the performances. A lot of our people swam really well. But we just need to go up to Iowa, win as many events as possible and swim even better than we have been swimming." \nAgainst Ohio State, freshman Richard Bryant won the 1650-yard and 500-yard freestyle races, freshman Murph Halasz won the 200-yard butterfly and junior David Schulze won the 200-yard breaststroke. \n"Personally, I just want to have the same type of performance that I had against Ohio State," Schulze said. "I'd like to improve on some little things, hopefully go a little bit faster and just race the competition as best as I can."\nIowa last competed against Northern Iowa, posting a 200-85 win Dec. 7. The Golden Gophers are coming off of a dominating victory over Hawaii and UCLA Jan. 14. \n"Minnesota is one of the top teams in the country, they have good people in every event," Kirchner said. "Iowa probably doesn't have the depth that Minnesota does, but they'll be good. I assure you this meet will be their best meet to date." \nThe Hoosiers lead both Iowa (17-12) and Minnesota (18-5) in the all-time series. The Hoosiers didn't swim against Iowa last year, but the teams met in the Big Ten championship where IU placed sixth and Iowa ninth. The Hoosiers faced off against the Golden Gophers last season, but lost, 91-49. \nOn the diving side of the competition, sophomores Alex Burns and Marc Carlton will represent the Hoosiers in Iowa. Coach Jeff Huber said he expects tough competition. \n"Iowa and Minnesota have real good diving teams," Huber said. "It certainly helps to have a strong showing, but sometimes getting your butt beat isn't all bad. I feel like sometimes we dive too well and we can become a little complacent. I'm not saying I hope we get beat, but it will be a very competitive meet. If we do well, that will help them feel they're on the right track and if we don't, they'll go home, get a littler tougher and be ready to fight at Big Tens." \nPart of Carlton's diving list will include a reverse two and a half with a one and a half twist, one of the more difficult dives. \n"It's a 3.5 (difficulty) and it's one of the harder dives being done nationally right now, so he'll be throwing that," Huber said. \nThe meet begins noon tomorrow at the University of Iowa Fieldhouse pool.
(01/18/02 6:24am)
Originally a swimmer, sophomore Alex Burns didn't make the shift to diving competitively until his freshman year in high school. Since then, Burns has improved each year, a trend that head coach Jeff Huber hopes will continue.\n"It's hard to imagine, I think he's still trying to come to terms with how good he has gotten," Huber said. "He's 100 percent better than he was last year. And not just better as a diver, but I think as a person. He knows how capable he is, how strong he is, how much energy he's got and that's probably the greatest improvement of all."\nBurns, a native of Elletsville, Ind., first tried diving in junior high, but he said it wasn't what he initially expected.\n"In seventh grade I was on the swim team and they had sign ups for diving, so I signed up for both," Burns said. "I just thought it was like jumping off the board."\nAt Edgewood High School, Burns' coach spurred his interest in the sport by teaching him the fundamentals of diving. Burns went on to write himself into the Edgewood record books, establishing a school record for one-meter diving and becoming a three-time high school sectional champion. When it came to college, Burns wanted to stay in the state and go to a school with a reputable diving program. IU provided a perfect match.\n"Diving was one of the main reasons," Burns said. "I believe we have one of the best diving clubs in all of the colleges in the nation."\nIU also proved the source of one of Burns' main influences, former Hoosier diver Mike Collier.\n"Mike Collier has all the records on the record board," Burns said. "I used to watch him dive and just be mesmerized by his diving. A lot of great divers went here, but I think Mike Collier was my best influence as a diver and he's probably the one I look up to most."\nNow competing in his second season on the squad, Burns already credits the coaching of Huber as having the greatest impact on his diving.\n"I think Jeff Huber probably has had the biggest influence on me," Burns said. "He's the one that taught me to control my emotions and control my fear level off the diving board, to not hesitate even if I'm afraid. (Under Huber) I've improved a lot. Just from my freshman year to this year I've learned a lot."\nHuber said Burns has become an integral part of the team.\n"I think he brings a lot to the team," Huber said. "He has shown himself to be a very hardworking, extremely courageous, gutty diver, especially in practice. Here's a guy that was afraid to stand backwards on the 10-meter tower last year and now is not just doing dives, but is doing them well. He's a very talented athlete and he really adds a lot to our program."\nTeammate sophomore Marc Carlton agreed and said Burns is ready to be a top-notch competitor.\n"He's got a whole lot of talent," Carlton said. "He can really rip hard and when he gets up and down, he can definitely get tens on a lot of dives. I love watching him because in practice he'll drill dives for nines all the time. I'm just waiting for him to do it in the meet and I think once he starts doing it and figures out how to compete a little better, he's going to start drilling all of his dives."\nBurns, a general studies major with an emphasis on computer science, hopes to go into the network administration field. But he is now focused on becoming an even better diver.\n"I think I can at least double my potential," Burns said. "I've learned a lot of stuff this year, I still have a little bit to learn. But I think I'm going to stick it out and just keep on rolling"
(01/18/02 5:39am)
Maynard Thompson, IU vice chancellor of budgetary administration and planning for the past 14 years, announced his retirement effective at the end of the school year. In a nationwide search for a replacement, Chancellor Sharon Brehm has created a 19-member search-and-screen committee and hired consultants from California search firm Morris & Berger. \n"(The position) is responsible for the administration of the budget and of its planning," Brehm said. "It's a critical position because it involves a very strong focus on the budget of the campus."\nBrehm said the responsibilities of the position could change with the hiring of Thompson's replacement.\n"We have made some modifications to the position," she said. "In the new position, we would want someone who has expertise, dedication and experience in higher education and also someone who would manage the budget.\n"In addition, I would like someone who has an interest in more general administrative elements in the job. These are things like coordinating with, for instance, the vice president of the administration's office in terms of planning of buildings and space. But, in large part, it will be very similar to Maynard's position."\nRobert C. Klemkosky, an associate dean at the Kelley School of Business and chair of the search-and-screen committee, said the biggest change could be the hiring of an applicant without teaching experience.\n"We've had only three people in this position, and all three have been academics," Klemkosky said. "But I think this time we're kind of broadening it out. The search opens it up to both academics and non-academics, as long as they have some experience in higher education."\nCommittee member T. Michael Ford, special assistant to the vice president and chief financial officer, said the position needs to be filled by someone with budgetary and executive experience. \n"It's going to be someone who's strong in both areas," Ford said. "Someone who has a strong financial acumen and someone who has administrative experience working with numerous or multiple units in a University setting, which is very different than, say, working as vice president for a Fortune 500 company."\nKlemkosky said he has already received about a dozen nominations from people in Bloomington and is confident in the national search. \n"We expect to have a good pool of people to choose from," Klemkosky said. "Ultimately, we'll send the chancellor a list of three or four people, and she will make the final decision."\nBrehm said Thompson has fulfilled an important role in the University during his tenure. \n"He's incredibly dedicated, he has great skill, he knows the University extremely well and I think he has done a wonderful job," Brehm said. \nFord said Thompson gained a unique and helpful perspective of the University by continuing to teach while holding the vice chancellor position.\n"He had knowledge of both worlds," Ford said. "He had knowledge of the academic world and the faculty concerns but also knew what it takes to run the University from the administrative side. So I think he was a real nice hybrid kind of an individual who was able to bring both sides of the University, the academic and the administrative, together." \nKlemkosky said Thompson's implementation of Responsibility Centered Management, a program in which the costs and income of each school stay within that school, was one of his main contributions to the University.\n"He's been responsible for getting that system up and running, and that's probably one of his largest contributions," Klemkosky said. "Another of his large contributions is that everybody enjoys working with him. You need a person that has good interpersonal skills, that's for sure, and Maynard certainly has that." \nBrehm said she intends to name Thompson's replacement by July 1.
(01/15/02 5:32am)
"Who was that guy in lane 6?" A stunned Ohio State head coach Bill Wadley asked the scorers table following sophomore Claes Andersson's second place, career-best finish in the 100-yard freestyle during Saturday's dual match against the Buckeyes. While Wadley hadn't heard of Andersson, who earlier won the 50-yard freestyle, the Hoosiers are hoping his solid performance will soon make him the talk of the Big Ten. \n"He is probably the fastest swimmer I have ever coached," head coach Kris Kirchner said. "He is a contender to win at Big Tens. At the national level, he should be at the NCAAs. He is a very good athlete, is very talented and he has done some amazing things in the last year."\nAndersson, a native of Boras, Sweden, joined the Hoosiers during their season last year following almost a lifetime dedication to swimming.\n"My dad brought me to a pool in Sweden when I was like five or six and since then I've been hanging in there," Andersson said. "At first I just wanted to learn how to swim, then I started to compete when I was 11 or 12. It was a lot of fun."\nAndersson decided to pursue a collegiate career in the U.S. because it provided a more serious opportunity. \n"It's much more serious here than if I were still swimming in Sweden," Andersson said. "It was between IU and Nebraska. I met (assistant coach) Greg (Ruminski) and I didn't meet the coach from Nebraska. I think that had a big impact, and Greg seemed to be a nice guy. The coaches here, they know what they're talking about. I'm really, really glad I came here."\nArriving in the U.S. with a limited knowledge of English, Andersson said the biggest life adjustment was finding good food, but that getting used to swimming also proved difficult.\n"It took a while to get used to being here," Andersson said. "First of all, there are yards here and I'm used to meters. It took almost one semester just to get used to everything."\nLast year at Big Tens, Andersson placed 22nd in the 50-freestyle and 28th in the 100-freestyle. While Andersson hopes for another strong showing in the Big Tens this year, he has big plans for his long-term future as well. \n"I'm here because I like swimming," Andersson said. "My goal is to swim for Sweden in the 2004 Olympics."\nJunior teammate David Schulze said that Andersson is one of the hardest workers on the squad.\n"Claes is a very serious athlete," Schulze said. "He comes in and he works as hard as anybody on our team and he's all about swimming fast. He's a really great competitor and I know we expect a lot of big things out of him this year." \nFreshman teammate Richard Bryant, a native of Somerset, England, said that Andersson helped him to make the transition from Europe to the U.S. \n"As a swimmer, he's awesome," Bryant said. "He is really dedicated and it's amazing at what a high level he can swim. As a teammate, he's great, he's a big part of the team. I was quite close to Claes in the beginning, he helped me to settle in and he's taught me a lot too." \nKirchner said Andersson could be one of the top swimmers in IU history. \n"Claes has had some experience, but he's gaining more and more experience week by week in the Big Ten," Kirchner said. "He looks forward to being one of the fastest ever."\nAs for Wadley, he'll probably remember Andersson next time the Buckeyes and Hoosiers face off. \n"Claes Andersson?" he said as he walked away from the scorers table. "He's the real deal"
(01/11/02 6:07am)
For the IU men's swimming team, it's been all practice since Dec.1, when they closed out a second-place finish at the US Open. With Saturday's home dual meet approaching, the Hoosiers are eager to get back into competition. \n"Over the Christmas break, we did some tremendous training and obviously, we'd like to go fast enough to touch before Ohio State in a majority of events and win the meet," head coach Kris Kirchner said. "We're looking at seven more weeks until our Big Ten meet, and this is our first step, our first competition, in over a month. I'm looking forward to restarting the engine and getting things rolling back on track."\nIU is 24-16 against Ohio State all-time, but fell to the Buckeyes 149.5-93.5 last year. Junior David Schulze, who won the 200-yard breaststroke against the Buckeyes last season, said he is eager for revenge. \n"We really want to beat Ohio State this year because they got us last year," Schulze said. "There's only seven weeks left until Big Ten's and we've got only four meets before that to prepare ourselves. To get off on the right foot right away is important so we can build right off that."\nFollowing the Hoosiers' second-place finish at the US Open, the team earned a 22nd ranking on the College Swim Coaches Association of America Top 25. While Ohio State is unranked, Kirchner said he expects a close meet.\n"The teams match up pretty darned evenly," Kirchner said. "They're maybe a little behind in some events and we're behind in some events. They pretty much match up fairly evenly. We may have faster times on paper right now in most events, but every time we compete against them, they're very strong." \nSenior Heath Montgomery said the team hopes to win one for Kirchner, who is originally from Ohio.\n"As a team, I hope we all come out and are prepared to swim," Montgomery said. "It's a big meet. Coach really wants to win it; we all want to win it too. But it kind of hits home for him because Coach is from Ohio. We really want to win it for him."\nSchulze said the winter training has the team ready for Ohio State and for the rest of the season. \n"We've come together as a team outside of the pool; we've come together as a cohesive unit," Schulze said. "I think that's going to help with our performances when it comes time for Big Tens. In terms of training, I've seen a lot of guys really improve and I think that's going to show this weekend."\nOn the diving side of the competition, the Hoosiers first compete in the NCAA Zone Diving Championship at Purdue today before returning home to compete against Ohio State Saturday.\n"Purdue and Ohio State are two big conference rivals and we have a lot of respect for them," diving coach Jeff Huber said. "We\'re getting ready to dive well. I know they\'re a little tired, so we\'re going to try and rest before and be ready to dive well."\n The diving squad already competed in the Indiana Dive Off Jan. 4-6 and is eager to build on their performance. Sophomore Marc Carlton, although unable to compete on the final day of the event because of illness, won all five events the previous two days and was named Big Ten Diver of the Week. \n"I think he deserves it," Huber said. "He's an awful hard worker and a very talented and outstanding diver."\nCarlton said he expects strong performances out of the team and himself.\n"Overall, I think as a team, we\'re going to do great," Carlton said. "I feel like I'm just getting started. The meet I had last weekend, I dove about what I've been doing. Another few weeks of hard work and I can kick it up another 30 points and get over the 600 mark." \nThe competition begins at 1 p.m. at the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center.
(01/10/02 5:36am)
The approximately 15 members of Delta Lambda Phi, the first fraternity catering to gay students on campus, are working to ensure the organization gets off to a successful start. \nLed by senior president Steven Ary, the fraternity, which is open to all students regardless of sexual orientation, will colonize Jan. 19. The fraternity has already recruited its first "Alpha" class and elected officers for the year.\n"I think it\'s very important because it gives people a chance to understand what being gay or bisexual is all about,\" said secretary Jeff Alewine, a junior. \"It gives people who are of that orientation a forum through which they can express their ideas and beliefs. It also gives more exposure to the public.\" \nSophomore pledge master Andy Yates deemed the colonization "a milestone."\n\"IU works so hard to promote anti-discrimination when it comes to sexual orientation, but there\'s always something controversial surrounding greek life and homosexuality," Yates said. "To have a fraternity really open about the issue of sexual orientation is a really important step to take.\"\nFollowing colonization, the fraternity will turn its attention to recruiting its Beta class and scheduling service projects and fundraising ventures, Yates said. \nAlewine said he expects the fraternity to blossom into a full-fledged participant in the greek system within the next several years.\n\"It will be a full member of the greek system,\" Alewine said. \"We\'re trying to get a house, but I think it\'s going to take a few years for it to really get established. I feel that not as many people are going to want to pledge simply because there\'s not as many people in the gay population as there is in the straight population…but after a few years, I think it can be a big thing.\"\nGay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Support Services Coordinator Doug Bauder said he worries that establishing the fraternity will not solve campus diversity problems.\n\"I am committed to diversity, and if this does that, then I\'ll be really pleased,\" Bauder said. \"But I\'m worried that it will be perceived as another exclusive group. So, my hope would be that the group would be advocating for openness for gay issues in the larger greek system by being a model...I think there is a larger need for the campus to be accepting of our gay and lesbian students and I\'m concerned that the fraternity won\'t be able to do that.\" \nAlewine said because the fraternity is open to all sexual orientations, it not only offers support but also fosters diversity. \n\"I think it\'s important for people to know it\'s not exactly a gay frat,\" Alewine said. \"It\'s open to any males who want to be in it. Labeling it as a gay fraternity can be a good and a bad thing. It can get people a chance to have a belonging within their sexual orientation, but it can also be a point of controversy."
(01/10/02 5:01am)
Heath Montgomery could've easily been turned off by swimming during high school. His grandfather was his coach, and arguments weren't uncommon. But Montgomery stuck with swimming, and now, as the only senior and co-captain of the IU squad, he not only competes in a variety of events, but also leads the team. \n"(High school) was interesting," Montgomery said. "It was tough, because my grandfather was my coach, and of course, you argue with your family more than anyone else, especially in a sporting situation. But it was a unique and interesting experience."\nAfter first enrolling in bowling classes as a child, Montgomery became fed up and credits his grandfather with not only introducing him to swimming, but with encouraging him to continue at it. \n"An ad for (swimming) was in the local newspaper, and my grandfather thought maybe it'd be a good, new experience for me, so I gave it a shot," Montgomery said. "He's been one of my biggest influences, definitely. He was my coach, and he was the only person that was really there for me every time at practices, at meets.\n"He was always there. He's the reason I'm here, and I'm grateful for it."\nMontgomery has molded his love of swimming into a successful collegiate career. He said that after visiting IU, he felt the team and the school offered him his best fit. \n"Heath's a great guy to swim with," teammate David Schulze said. "He's always up to working hard, and he's always got a good attitude about competition and racing. He's a leader out of the pool, too. He loves being on the team, and I'm happy to support him."\nThis year, he has season-best times in the 200-yard freestyle, the 400-yard individual medley and the 800-yard freestyle relay. \n"He's a very talented athlete," head coach Kris Kirchner said. "He's been a good athlete to matriculate through this program. We've seen ups and downs, and he's matured into a strong contender, competitor and a very good leader.\n"I'm excited with where he's at right now, and I look forward to some great things in the future."\nFollowing graduation, Montgomery, a finance major, said he might pursue an age-group coaching position, but he intends to go into sales. In his free time, he enjoys fishing and just relaxing. While swimming doesn't afford him much time to do those things, Montgomery said it has provided valuable experience. \n"As far as time constraints, swimming takes a lot of time out of the day," he said. "It's really good as far as budgeting your time. It's good for when you graduate and have to do it in real life." \nKirchner said he expects a successful final semester from Montgomery.\n"Ultimately, I think he can make NCAAs," Kirchner said. "Whether he does or not, that's up to him. He's certainly got the stroke, background and the talent. Certainly, a Big Ten finalist, he should be able to do that. That's my expectation of him, and I know he wants to."\nMontgomery said he hopes to post his best times in his final semester as a Hoosier and leave IU with a bang. \n"I just want to finish my season and my career with my best times ever," he said. "I want to finish it without any regrets and having my best year"
