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(02/04/02 6:25am)
Saturday's final double dual meet at Kentucky's Lancaster Aquatic Center against Cincinnati and Kentucky marked the fourth consecutive weekend of competition for the IU women's swimming and diving team. \nThe No. 19 Hoosiers (7-1-1, 4-1-1 Big Ten) battled through and prevailed over Kentucky (3-6) by a score of 152-91. They also defeated Cincinnati (5-3) by a tally of 189-47.\nTierney thought the stretch of meets exhausted the Hoosiers.\n"This was the first time we have done four meets in a row, and I think it showed today," Tierney said. "We need to be a lot better. Mentally, we were a little bit drained."\nIU was led by junior Brooke Taflinger who won the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 2:07.02, just eight-hundredths of a second ahead of teammate Tina Gretlund. Taflinger finished second in the 500-yard freestyle. Taflinger also led a quartet of Hoosiers in the 200-yard breaststroke which finished 1-2-3-4. Taflinger won with a time of 2:22.64 with Kristy Martin, Jennifer Lichtblau and Megan Geers finishing second, third and fourth.\nMartin collected a victory in the 200-yard butterfly, leading the Hoosiers to a 1-2-3 finish with teammates Erin Smith and Gretlund taking second and third. Martin's winning time was 2:03.81.\nOther victorious Hoosiers included Sarah Fiden in the 1000-yard freestyle. Fiden and teammate Erin Rice finished 1-2 with times of 10:13.16 and 10:20.73 respectively. Susan Woessner won the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 2:01.57, concluding an undefeated dual season for Woessner in the 100-yard and 200-yard backstroke events.\nThe Hoosiers also concluded with a win. Woessner, Meghan Medendorp, Jillian Lathrop and Anne Williams won the 200-yard freestyle relay in 1:35.99.\nOn the diving side of the competition, the Hoosiers focused on saving their best dives for competition. After previous events, diving coach Dr. Jeff Huber thought the Hoosiers performed better in warm-ups than in competition.\nThe Hoosier divers responded, placing 1-2-3-4 in the one-meter competition with Jennifer Sonneborn leading the way. Sonneborn edged teammate Erin Quinn by 1.2 points to win the event with a score of 276.55. Sara Reiling and Cassandra Cardinell brought home third and fourth with scores of 267.10 and 263.65 respectively.\nHuber was content with the Hoosiers' performance.\n"We are still throwing some difficult dives and we hit a few and we missed a few," Huber said. "We are trying to get off some hard dives and get ready for what is down the road."\nThe Hoosiers next compete at the Big Ten Championships at Canham Natatorium in Ann Arbor, Mich. The event is scheduled to start on Feb.20 and conclude Feb. 23.
(02/01/02 6:00am)
Heading into their fourth consecutive weekend of competition, the women's swimming and diving team travels to Lexington, Ky., Saturday for a double dual meet with Kentucky and Cincinnati at 11 a.m.\nThe No. 19 Hoosiers (5-1-1, 4-1-1 Big Ten) suffered their first dual meet loss last weekend against Big Ten foe Penn State, but will look to regain their confidence against the Wildcats (2-5) and Bearcats (5-1). The double dual meet will be IU's final dual meet before the Big Ten Championships begin on Feb. 21.\nIU swimming head coach Dorsey Tierney expects the meet to help the Hoosiers continue in preparation for the Big Ten Championships.\n"The challenge for us is to maintain focus," Tierney said. "It is more of a mental challenge and will help because at Big Ten's you have to stay on top of your game for three days."\nIU and Cincinnati will be going head-to-head for the second time this year as the Bearcats competed in the Indiana Invitational where they finished fourth. The Hoosiers won the event.\nTierney said the Hoosiers have had a great week of training and will look to fine tune their racing skills in this weekend's competition. She is also looking to finalize the Hoosiers' relay teams who Tierney believes have been somewhat inconsistent of late.\n"I still don't think we have had all four girls on relays as good as they can be," Tierney said. "That's the challenge, to have all four swimmers on the relays be at their very best."\nThe Hoosier divers are using the Kentucky and Cincinnati meet in much the same fashion as the IU swimmers, a preparation for the Big Ten Championships.\nJennifer Sonneborn believes a good meet would give the Hoosiers confidence heading into the conference championship.\n"We are working on a lot of new dives," Sonneborn said. "Hopefully the meet will be a good confidence builder and we will be able to get our dives off the way we want to be doing them for Big Ten's."\nFollowing last week's meet, diving coach Dr. Jeff Huber thought the Hoosiers dove much better in warm-ups than in competition. Huber said turning the team's focus to competition has been the primary goal this week.\n"Sometimes it is easy for athletes to get up and be ready too early," Huber said. "We have looked good at some meets, but it has been in warm-ups. It is easy to warm up really well and then be flat for competition, so we want to save that little extra. We will continue to focus on training, but training is only a means to an end and the end is competing and diving well in competition"
(01/25/02 5:38am)
Coming off an emotional victory over rival Purdue, the No. 19 women's swimming and diving team look to remain unbeaten when they square off against No. 18 Penn State and Michigan State tonight.\nThe Hoosiers (4-0-1, 3-0-1 Big Ten), Nittany Lions (4-3, 1-1) and Spartans (5-3, 1-2) will compete in a double dual meet starting this evening at 6 p.m. at the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatics Center. Competition will resume 10 a.m. and again at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.\n\"We are at a level now that we need to make sure we are at our best at least mentally every weekend," coach Dorsey Tierney said. "That is what separates the great teams from the average teams; the ability to re-focus and get yourself ready for whoever the competition is."\nIU shouldn't have a hard time refocusing for the Nittany Lions, who handed IU its only dual meet defeat last season. Last year, IU and Michigan State traveled to Penn State for the double dual meet. Penn State defeated IU 201-163, while the Hoosiers beat the Spartans 251-118.\nFeeding off each others' performances will be key to the Hoosiers finding victory, junior Tina Gretlund said.\n"When somebody has a good race, we need to feed off of that person. And if we can get that going, the whole team will do really well," Gretlund said.\nThe competition provided by the Nittany Lions and the Spartans should give the Hoosiers a good gauge for their progress as they prepare for the Big Ten Championships coming up in February.\nTierney believes Penn State is the best team in the Big Ten, but she draws comparisons between the Nittany Lions and the Hoosiers.\n"They have a tremendous amount of depth and that is something that is very similar in both of our teams," Tierney said of Penn State. "I always enjoy competing against their squad; they really leave no stone unturned. Their coaching staff is very thorough in their preparation, something I would like to think we do as well."\nWhile the swimmers competed last weekend, the Hoosier divers had the weekend off after taking on Purdue a weekend early.\nNot having competed for nearly two weeks has allowed the Hoosiers to focus meet competitions and to continue working their way towards the Big Ten Championships, sophomore Cassandra Cardinell said.\n"It has been a really good break," Cardinell said. "Getting to see Kara (Hajek-Gustafson) of Purdue made us realize that we have a lot of work to do. That helped us work and focus on what we need to do for Big Ten's. I think we still have a long ways to go (to get ready for Big Ten's), but I think we are where we want to be and in this next month we will improve a lot."\nDiving coach Jeff Huber said he wanted to have worked more with his divers over the squad's extended break. But since they were able to lay their foundation early in the year, Huber is confident the team will be ready.\nHuber said the break couldn't have come at a better time for the Hoosiers who are battling a variety of injuries and illnesses.\n"I thought we would have gotten a little more rested," Huber said. "Unfortunately a lot of people came down with the flu and we have two wrist injuries. It was probably a good time to get it, because I would rather have them tired and sick now than later"
(01/22/02 6:00am)
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Usually a promising start to the second half is a good boost for a team and can lead to a victory. So after IU forward Jenny DeMuth hit two three pointers in the first 2:18 of the second session, it looked as though the Hoosiers might break out of their four-game losing streak.\nBut a Michigan run erased that momentum and carried the Wolverines to a 68-55 victory.\nThe Hoosiers led the Wolverines 30-28 after a competitive first half, and DeMuth's threes gave IU an eight-point lead. But Michigan coach Sue Guevara called a timeout which spurred a Wolverine comeback.\nIU's lead quickly evaporated as Michigan outscored the Hoosiers 19-3 over a stretch of seven minutes and 37 seconds to take a 47-39 lead. IU (8-10, 2-5 Big Ten) never got within less than six points in the final 6:20.\nHoosier guard Heather Cassady was disappointed IU couldn't close the door on the Michigan (12-7, 2-6) comeback.\n"We said in the huddle that we needed to put this team away," Cassady said. "They came back and got within four, and we just kind of hung our heads."\nGuevara thought the Wolverines' ability to respond to DeMuth's threes was the turning point in the game.\n"After DeMuth hit those two threes, I thought the kids really responded," Guevara said. "They knew that we had to change that momentum. We started really rebounding and running."\nThe Hoosiers led for the first 30 minutes of the game but were plagued by poor shooting and rebounding midway through the second half, which allowed Michigan to break open the game. IU shot 29.6 percent from the field in the second session, while Michigan shot 46.2 percent.\nIU was out-rebounded 46-29 and gave up 15 offensive boards. Michigan also had a distinct advantage at the free-throw line, making 24-of-30 shots to IU's 14-of-20.\nCassady led the Hoosiers with 11 points, while guard Tara Jones and forward Erin McGinnis each chipped in 10 points. The Wolverines were led by game-high scorer guard Alayne Ingram, who had 23 points.\nIU head coach Kathi Bennett believes her team lacks toughness and confidence in one another.\n"We lose our focus and stop playing as soon as something doesn't go well," Bennett said. "I don't think we are a really tough team right now. You have to have confidence, and you have to believe in your teammates and I think that is really lacking with this team. We have to somehow find that way back."\nThe Hoosiers will return to action Thursday at 7 p.m. against No. 5 Wisconsin at Assembly Hall.\nBennett hopes the Hoosiers can turn around their season and perform in a game situation like they play in practice.\n"We have to keep working hard," Bennett said. "We practice very hard. We are a different team in practice than we are in the games, but we have to be able to do that at game time"
(01/18/02 6:24am)
Coming off a dominating performance against Ohio State in their first dual meet after winter training, the IU swimmers will face a tougher challenge Saturday when they host in-state rival No. 22 Purdue. \nThe Boilermakers come into the meet with a 5-1 overall record and a 3-0 mark in Big Ten duals. The No. 19 Hoosiers hold a 3-0-1 overall record, with a 2-0-1 record in Big Ten competition.\nIU will start the competition trailing the Boilermakers 20-18, as the divers have already competed. The diving portion of the meet was completed Jan. 11 at Purdue's new Boilermaker Aquatic Center. Diving coach Jeff Huber said there were two reasons for the divers competing early and at Purdue.\n"With (junior Sara Reiling leaving town this weekend) we asked them to reschedule and we felt that as a favor to them, we could give them the home advantage," Huber said. "But the primary reason for competing up there is that it is the site of the NCAA Zone meet. We have never been to that facility and we wanted to get acclimated and familiar with the facility because the NCAA Zone meet is going to be very tough."\nBoilermaker senior Kara Hajek-Gustafson swept the one-meter and three-meter events with scores of 308.45 and 323.75, respectively. But IU showed its depth, taking second, third and fourth in each event. Sophomore Cassandra Cardinell led the Hoosier contingent in the one-meter event with a score of 272.35, while senior Erin Quinn and junior Jennifer Sonneborn took third and fourth. \nReiling took second for the Hoosiers in the three-meter with a score of 301.05. Juniors Crystal Gregory and Mamie Goodson rounded out the Hoosier trio, taking third and fourth.\nHuber said he believed that while the Hoosiers have performed better, the competition was beneficial because it allowed the divers to execute some new dives.\n"They are throwing a lot of new dives and if they want to have them ready for the championship meets, they need to throw them in competition," Huber said.\nThe swimmers will take to the pool 1 p.m. Saturday at the Counsilman/Billingsley Aquatics Center, as the Hoosiers attempt to overcome the deficit.\nSwimming coach Dorsey Tierney said she believes Purdue will be a good meet for the Hoosiers to compete in at this point in the season.\n"Being on the heels of heading into the championship season, it is important to have an emotional type of meet like a Purdue meet," Tierney said. "From a confidence standpoint this is a very important meet, but it doesn't have a lot of bearing on where we will be at the end of the season."\nTierney said she believes as the championship season closes in on the Hoosiers, her squad has no room for even the slightest mistake.\n"There are no more excuses for a lapse of discipline with regards to certain technical aspects of our races like starts and turns," she said. "Those entities should be in place by now."\nOne entity Tierney doesn't have to worry about is depth and the ability to move swimmers around to different events. In the Ohio State dual, Tierney mixed up her lineup and still found success. But she believes she will have to keep people in their strongest events against Purdue.\nFreshman Erin Smith said she also thinks IU's versatility will help them overcome the Boilermakers.\n"We can all see that we can swim well, no matter what situation we are put in or what event we are swimming," Smith said. "It has given us all a lot of confidence and makes us comfortable to race again"
(01/15/02 5:35am)
When Jenn Christy graduated from IU last spring, the IU women's swimming team lost their most accomplished swimmer of all-time in terms of awards and records. Christy is the school record holder in the 50-yard freestyle and the 100-yard freestyle and was a ten time All-American during her career as a Hoosier.\nHeading into this year, head coach Dorsey Tierney knew it wouldn't be easy to fill the role in the sprint events left by Christy's departure. But after swimming behind Christy last year and participating with Christy on the IU free relay teams, junior Anne Williams has stepped up for the Hoosiers.\n"Anne has put herself in a real nice position at this point," Tierney said. "I think Anne probably of anyone sticks out in my mind as really raising her level of performance."\nTierney says Williams will have to continue to improve, but that her confidence will help her to keep swimming well.\n"Anne is consistently one of the best workout performers and she has been for the last three years," Tierney said. "She has a nice steady balance now and that is nice to see. We want to build on that and hopefully continue to get a little bit better.\nWilliams holds the third fastest times in school history in both the 50-yard freestyle and the 100-yard freestyle, but she will look to better those times as the Hoosiers head into the spring championship meets. She posted a personal season best time in the 100-yard freestyle against Ohio State last weekend. But most of all, Williams was pleased to break the 52-second mark in a regular season dual meet.\n"I have been trying to break 52 (seconds) for a long time in season," Williams said. "It is a good barrier for me to finally overcome, and I am happy for that."\nSenior teammate Susan Woessner, who races with Williams in the sprint events and on relays, has been impressed with what Williams has done this season.\n"Anne has been phenomenal this year," Woessner said. "She is a constant who we always know will pull through on the relays, she really gets up for relay swims. In training, she is an amazingly hard worker. We are training partners and she always brings her best to the pool and pushes me."\nWilliams, a native of Bloomfield Hills, Mich., where she attended Seaholm High School, was a 1999 Michigan State Champion in the 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard freestyle. She was a four time high school All-American and was an All-Big Ten selection and Honorable Mention All-American last year.\nWilliams said she swam in middle school because her friends did it, but that she didn't begin swimming year-round until her junior year of high school. Even with a late start on swimming full-time, Williams drew the attention of schools such as Oakland (Mich.), Arizona State and Michigan State. But Williams selected IU in part due to Tierney.\n"Dorsey (Tierney) was the main reason that I even started looking at IU," Williams said. "I had heard really good things about her when she was an assistant coach at SMU (Southern Methodist University). Some of my swimming friends told me she was the coach at IU and that I should check it out. I came on a recruiting trip here and I liked everything about the campus and the team."\nAfter her collegiate career is over, Williams says she might continue swimming, depending on her development in the next year and a half. Williams says she would like to go to graduate school and study either computers or math if she doesn't remain in swimming. She was an Academic All-Big Ten selection last year and is currently a math education major.
(01/15/02 5:29am)
Hard work and perseverance paid off in the end for the IU poms squad and the all-female crimson cheer squad. After learning Nov. 24 that the pom squad\'s funding for their trip to the 2002 College Nationals had been canceled, the entire IU cheer and dance program chipped in to help pay for the trip.\n\"The whole program had to go out and get money and get donations and sponsors," said senior and crimson squad captain Karmen McCracken.\nPom squad co-captain and senior Kathryn Sims said the size of the program base helped the pom squad raise the $17,000 they needed to fund the trip themselves.\n"All of the cheer alumni knew what the problem was, so we went to them (for support)," Sims said. "The large base of our program really helped also. We also contacted local businesses and appealed to them for support, but some of it we still had to foot ourselves."\nTo qualify for the national championships the pom squad and crimson squad had to submit videos of their routines to be judged by the Universal Cheerleaders Association. After the video judging, the pom squad had placed eleventh in the Division IA Dance competition while the crimson squad was in fourth place in the All Girl Division I for the cheer competition.\nLearning of the budget cut after they had already qualified for nationals pushed the team even more to make sure they were able to showcase their abilities at the competition.\n"The adversity made us want to prove that we do deserve support from the university," Sims said. "We knew that this was our year. We knew how good we were. We wanted to show the world I guess that Indiana dance was very good and we wanted to let everybody else know."\nAfter raising the money, the pom and crimson squads were able to make the trip to Orlando, Fla., to compete in the 2002 College Nationals at Disney World. In the finals, the pom squad finished second at the Division IA Dance level and the crimson squad finished fourth in the All Girl Division I cheer competition. \nThe pom squad was only beaten by Orange Coast College of California and finished ahead of other Big Ten squads from Michigan State and Minnesota who took home third and fourth. Morehead State was the national champion in the crimson's competition, followed by Memphis and Southwest Texas State.\nSims said it was important for the pom squad to accomplish its goals of a top-five finish and to be ahead of all the other Big Ten competitors. Senior co-captain and pom squad member Erin Gross also said it was nice for the squad to perform well to represent the university.\n"This year we really wanted to prove ourselves that it is worth the university's time and money to send us (to Nationals)," Gross said. "It's nice to come back and let them know that we are on top and that we should be there. The Big Ten has a lot of talent in their dance teams and it was good to be there and to represent IU. You want to be proud to have Indiana on your uniform, it's a good feeling and it is good for the university as well."\nMcCracken was pleased to be able to compete in the crimson squad's first national competition.\n"We put so much time and effort into the raising of the money and practices that it made it real important for us to perform well," McCracken said. "When I got the chance to come to IU and cheer it was like a little girl's dream come true. I never thought I would be able to compete in nationals, so that was an awesome experience."\nThe competitions will be televised on ESPN and ESPN2 during the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament in mid-March. Sims thinks the recognition would be good for the program and for IU.\n"ESPN airs these competitions many times, and not just locally, but nationally," Sims said. "The exposure will be good for us as athletes and dancers, but also for IU, not just the dance team"
(01/11/02 6:05am)
After intensive winter break training, the IU women's swimming and diving team is anxious to start the spring season this weekend in Big Ten competition. While the diving team ended its training with its Winter Invitational and Dive-Off last weekend, the swimming team hasn't raced in competition since Dec. 1.\nThe No. 20 Hoosiers will open up the spring season when they host Ohio State Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatics Center. IU enters the meet with a 2-0-1 overall dual record and a 1-0-1 record in the Big Ten. The Buckeyes are 2-5 overall with an 0-2 record in conference duals.\nComing off the break, swimming head coach Dorsey Tierney is pleased with the Hoosiers' progress.\n"I feel real good about where we are at this point," she said. "As an overall group, we really stepped up our performance, and I think most of the swimmers are probably in the best physical condition of their life. Now it is up to us as to what we do with that, and we are definitely chomping at the bit to get on the blocks against another team."\nJunior Colleen McCracken echoed Tierney's opinion of the team's eagerness to compete again.\n"Just getting back into racing since we have been out for a month and getting everybody psyched up for the meet will be good," McCracken said. "Showing everybody what we can do after Christmas training and showing them how hard we worked is important, because it will definitely show in our performance in the pool."\nTierney believes the Hoosiers need to swim smarter and more confidently in the spring season to reach their full potential. She is also looking for the Hoosiers to display more depth.\n"We are looking for the entire team to step up, not just have four, five or six people," Tierney said. "We need 24 people to participate and to get up and race and score points for the team. I haven't seen that yet, and it is time now. There are no more excuses for the smaller details in races."\nThe little details are what junior Kristy Martin believes will make the Hoosiers a better squad.\n"We want to have good races and work on all the little things," she said.\nTierney said she hopes her freshman class responds positively in its return to competition and looks for sophomore Sarah Fiden and juniors Anne Williams and Tina Gretlund to have success following strong training sessions.\nOver break, Gretlund competed for her homeland of Denmark in the European Championships in Antwerp, Belgium. Gretlund's time of 4:46.14 in the 400-meter individual medley was fast enough to give her an automatic qualifying time for the NCAA Championships in March.\nOn the diving side of the competition, the Hoosiers and head coach Jeff Huber are coming into the meet after a successful showing in the Indiana Winter Invitational and Dive-Off.\nThe Hoosiers had a five day training session in Orlando, Fla., where Huber said they especially worked on completing all of their dives.\n"In the first semester, we focused a lot on just skills and drills," Huber said. "This phase of our training is getting in more repetitions of the actual dives. We wound up doing lists of dives where they go through their competitive dives."\nIn their return to competition, Sara Reiling set two pool records and Erin Quinn set one school record. For her performance, Reiling was named the Big Ten Diver of the Week for the second time this season.
(01/10/02 5:00am)
Junior swimmer Kristy Martin struggled through her sophomore season, but now having been able to train in the fall and through winter break, she is hoping to make a big impact.\n"Being able to train the whole year has been a benefit, and being able to do all of the team things has been much better," Martin said of her junior year. "I really don\'t like to set goals for myself; I like to just get in and race usually. But I think ultimately I would like to make the NCAAs."\nMartin suffered through the fall semester of her sophomore year with a dislocated kneecap that prohibited her from training until the spring. Martin was still able to post two sixth-place finishes in the 400-yard individual medley and the 200-yard butterfly at the 2001 Big Ten Championships. She also finished tenth in the 200-IM at Big Tens and was awarded the team's Most Improved Swimmer award.\nIU head coach Dorsey Tierney expects Martin to perform well, especially in light of her performance without a semester of training.\n"I have kind of been dreaming of this season to have with Kristy, just having the opportunity to actually train her for an entire season," Tierney said. "Right now Kristy is a joy to coach. She is enjoying herself and has stepped up the level in her training group."\nRoommate and teammate Colleen McCracken also benefited from Martin's experience of fighting through an injury.\n"When I was injured at the beginning of this year, it was really good living with Kristy," McCracken said. "She was very supporting and gave me advice whenever I got down."\nMcCracken said Martin is a positive influence outside of the pool, as well.\n"She is always positive and is very good at helping people up and is one of the hardest workers on our team by far," McCracken said. "She is so much fun to be around."\n Martin came to IU via Gardner High School in her hometown of Gardner, Mass., where she was a state champion in the 200-IM and the 100-butterfly. Martin said she began swimming competitively when she was 8-years-old with her lifelong club coach Don Lemeiux at the Greenwood Memorial Swim Club. Martin competed in the 1997 U.S. Junior Nationals, which were held at IU, and that was when she became attracted to the University.\n"When I came here for the (Junior Nationals) meet, I thought the campus was beautiful," she said. "The swim team is great; when I came and visited, I just loved the team. The facility is awesome, and Dorsey (Tierney) is great."\nCurrently, Martin holds the fastest time on the squad in the 200-fly. Tierney gives credit to Martin for how much she has improved since her first days as a Hoosier.\n"From a coaching standpoint, it is very gratifying to watch somebody mature and challenge themselves and to overcome some of the fears that were there when they first came into this program," Tierney said. "Kristy has done that and it is a complete credit to her"
(12/06/01 5:58am)
Even though freshman Erin Smith has only been on the IU campus since August, she has already left her mark on the Hoosiers women's swimming team that is looking to vie for the Big Ten Championship in March.\n"I think she is leading the freshmen in training and in the meets," junior Tina Gretlund said of Smith. "I am impressed with how well she is doing. Usually it takes a little while to adjust, but she is doing really well for only being a freshman."\nSmith credited Gretlund as being an influence on her in the pool since she has came to IU.\n"(Gretlund) definitely keeps me consistent and gives me someone to measure against," Smith said. "She is very motivational and always encourages me to keep going."\nGretlund said the competition between herself and Smith helps each of them improve.\n"We train together everyday, and if you get beat in practice chances are you will get beat in a meet too," Gretlund said. "That helps to push each of us to get better."\nWhile the duo is very competitive in the pool, Gretlund said Smith has a very likeable personality when they aren't swimming.\n"She is really funny and very ironic," Gretlund said. "I like her and I think everybody on the team really likes her. She is the type of person that gets along with everybody."\nSmith, a product of St. Teresa's Academy in Kansas City, Mo., chose IU over Kentucky, Michigan and Northwestern.\n"The reputation of IU is incredible," Smith said. "Everyone (has so much school spirit). When I came for my recruiting visit, I fell in love with the team and (head coach Dorsey Tierney). I knew that at IU I would improve as a swimmer and be able to get a good education at the same time."\nOutside of the pool, Smith is planning to major in psychology and said her ultimate goal would be to become a psychiatrist and practice medicine.\nIn the pool, Smith holds the team best in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 56.26, which she posted at the U.S. Open Swimming Championships. She also has the second fastest time in the 50-freestyle and third fastest in the 100-free. Smith has also been a prominent factor on all of IU's relay teams, often swimming the closing legs on the free relays and the butterfly leg on the medley relays.\nTierney has been pleased with Smith's improvement thus far, but believes Smith still has more in her.\n"It is exciting to see how far she has come, but I really think she will just keep getting better," Tierney said of Smith. "I still think she has only tapped one percent of her potential though."\nSmith has high expectations of herself and the team in the upcoming spring season.\n"Our team goal is to win Big Tens and place well at NCAAs," she said. "I would like to place in the top four in all of my events at Big Tens and I would like to qualify for NCAAs in at least one event. I think from what I have seen so far, we can definitely do it as a team, and I think that I can, too. I am pretty confident with the way we have been swimming."\nShe admits that while she doesn't know what to expect from the championship meets, she wants to be a Big Ten champion.\n"I don't really know how competitive Big Tens and NCAAs are," she said. "But I know that I definitely want to win Big Tens in a personal event at least once"
(11/29/01 6:11am)
In its last weekend of competition in the fall season, the IU women's swimming team is sending swimmers to both the U.S. Open Swimming Championships and to the Miami (OH) Invitational. The Hoosiers are currently ranked No. 17 in the nation and have a 2-0-1 dual meet record.\nEight Hoosier swimmers are heading to the Nassau County Aquatic Center in East Meadow, New York, to square off against some of the world's best competition. The Open will allow the Hoosiers to compete in short-course meters as opposed to the short-course yards they compete in for collegiate events. The Open will start today and continue through Saturday, Dec. 1.\nIU head coach Dorsey Tierney hopes the competition her swimmers will see at the Open will help them prepare for the spring championship season.\n"The competition at the U.S. Open will be the toughest we have faced thus far this year," Tierney said. "It gives us a chance to see some swimmers you don't even see on the NCAA level, either high-schoolers or post-graduates, and they are some of the best in the world."\nWith a good performance, Tierney also knows the Open will be a good chance to spotlight IU and possibly even look at recruits.\n"It is a good opportunity for us to showcase our program nationally and internationally," she said. "It helps us as far as recruiting and gives us a chance to watch some of the young kids."\nLeading the Hoosier contingent to East Meadow will be senior Susan Woessner whose international experience already includes two silver medals and one bronze medal from the World University Games. Juniors Jenny Bechem, Kristy Martin, Colleen McCracken and Anne Williams; sophomores Sarah Fiden and Brooke Taflinger and freshman Erin Smith will also represent the Hoosiers at the U.S. Open.\nMartin doesn't think the team will be affected by having to compete in short-course meters, and said she will focus more on places rather than times for this event.\n"I don't think (the short-course meters) will be a big difference," Martin said. "We have been training for it the past two weeks, so I think we will be okay swimming it. I am looking to go fast and hopefully place in the top eight; I am looking more at places, because I really don't know what times to expect."\nTaflinger is looking forward to the Open and to facing the tougher competition.\n"I am really excited to go to the U.S. Open, because it is one of my favorite meets," she said. "I'm looking to get in the top eight in a few events and just to get good racing in. We will face more high-caliber swimmers there and will have to get mentally prepared to get up and race against everybody. It will be nice to match-up against some people we will be competing against at the end of the season."\nMinus from competition in both the Open and the Miami Invitational for the Hoosiers will be junior Tina Gretlund, who will take a break after returning to her native Denmark to swim for her club team in Denmark's National Championships. Gretlund placed second in three individual events and one relay, while also guiding her team to win in the 400-meter free relay.\nWhile the eight Hoosier swimmers are competing at the Open, 15 others will travel to Oxford, Ohio, to compete in the Miami Invitational. Heading the 18 team field in Oxford will be fellow Big Ten competitors, Illinois (3-0) and Michigan State (4-1) along with Western Kentucky (4-0) and host Miami (OH) (5-1).\nTierney said she likes being able to split the squad and hopes the young swimmers going to the Invitational will be able to improve and increase their leadership qualities.\n"Hopefully we can continue to get better from out past performances this season," she said.
(11/28/01 5:55am)
Usually choosing a college is one of the toughest choices for an athlete to make, but the decision to come to IU was an easy one for sophomore diver Cassandra Cardinell. \nCardinell, a native of Shaker High School in Loudonville, N.Y., came to Bloomington for the U.S. Diving Junior Nationals in the spring of her junior year and became very fond of the campus and Counsilman Billingsley Aquatic Center.\n"I loved the campus, the facility and (head coach Dr. Jeff Huber)," Cardinell said. "I kind of knew then that I wanted to go here. The only other college I was kind of serious about was Michigan, but I basically knew I wanted to come to IU so I wasn't really serious about looking anywhere else."\nJunior teammate Mamie Goodson said Cardinell is an asset to the IU squad and she always brings a positive attitude to the pool.\n"We worked together a lot this summer and she is really fun," Goodson said. "She is pretty bubbly. She always comes to the pool with a smile and you can always count on her to have a good attitude."\nAlthough she didn't start diving until the summer before her eighth grade year, Cardinell quickly took a liking to the sport. She became a state champion in her junior year and was a high-school All-American.\nCardinell credits her improvement and enjoyment for diving to her club team coach, Maria Coomaraswamy.\n"I think of (Coomaraswamy) as my biggest influence because she taught me how to enjoy the sport," Cardinell said. "When I first started I always took it so seriously, but she taught me how to have fun with it and that you have to have fun if you want to be good."\nAs a Hoosier, Cardinell has already racked up several impressive achievements. She placed fifth on one-meter and ninth on platform at last year's Big Ten Championships. She also finished sixth on one-meter and fifth on platform at NCAA Zone Diving Championships last season. Cardinell placed eighth on the platform at the U.S. Diving Outdoor Nationals and finished third in the synchronized platform competition with senior teammate Erin Quinn.\nCardinell is hoping for more success in her second season.\n"My goals are to make NCAA's and win Big Ten's (in any event)," she said. "I would also like to make finals at World Trials in April."\nGoodson respects Cardinell, especially for her ability on the platform.\n"I admire her because she didn't have a lot of tower experience before she came here," Goodson said. "Jeff (Huber) threw her up on tower her freshman year and she stepped up. She is throwing dives that a lot of guys across the country are throwing. I admire her for stepping up to that challenge and for her hard work up there."\nHuber said he has been very pleased with Cardinell's improvements thus far this season.\n"The speed of her improvement has been nice to see," Huber said. "She has really improved quite a bit."\nWhile Huber has high expectations for his sophomore phenom, he believes that Cardinell will first have to get used to seeing herself in the spotlight.\n"Being kind of a newcomer to the sport, I think part of what she will need to work on is getting used to seeing herself as one of the top divers in the United States," Huber said. "If she can see that and not let that distract her from her training and from getting better, I think she has all the tools to be a national champion"
(11/19/01 5:06am)
Going into the Indiana Invitational, the IU women\'s swimming team looked to defend its title as invitational champions and to use the championship format to help them prepare for the Big Ten and NCAA Championships.\nAfter the three-day competition, sophomore Sarah Fiden said she thought the Hoosiers were able to learn from the meet format and said the invitational is just another event as the team gears for the spring championship events.\nThe championship format didn't effect Fiden, who swam to victory in the 500-yard freestyle and the 1,650-yard freestyle, with times of 4:53.39 and 16:30.60 respectively. Senior Erin Rice and junior Megan Ryther followed up Fiden, placing second and third in the 1,650-yard event for the Hoosiers. The invitational provided the first chance for the Hoosiers to compete in the 1650-yard free. Fiden defeated all competitors except Rice and Ryther by more than 50 yards.\n"I am very pleased," Fiden said of her time in the 1,650. "(My time) was about 35 seconds faster than what I went in this meet last year, which is always good. I was just hoping to go 16:45 in this meet, which would put me in the top eight at Big Tens. I felt really good and just went with it."\nLed by the performances of Fiden, senior Susan Woessner, juniors Tina Gretlund and Kristy Martin and freshman Erin Smith, the Hoosiers won 11 of the 18 swimming events throughout the weekend. The No. 17 Hoosiers (2-0-1) were successful in defending their crown with a score of 1,332.50. No. 26 ranked Tennessee (2-1) finished second with a total of 991.50, while Evansville (1-1), Cincinnati (2-0) and Kentucky (1-0) completed the invitational in that order. Kentucky only brought their divers to the invitational.\nThe Hoosiers claimed all five relay titles, setting season best times in the 200-yard free relay, 800-free relay, 200-medley relay and 400-medley relay. They just missed setting a season best in the 400-free relay as well.\nWoessner also won the 200-backstroke with a season best time of 2:01.35. She said she thought the Hoosier relays were very competitive and demonstrated the team's motto.\nIU also demonstrated its depth in the butterfly and individual medley events. Smith won the 100-butterfly event with a season best time of 56.57, while Gretlund placed third. In the 200-butterfly, Gretlund finished second, behind Volunteer senior Monica Shannahan. But Gretlund led a quartet of Hoosiers who took places two through five. Gretlund also won the 200-IM with a season best 2:05.78, while Martin placed third. Martin did claim the title in the 400-IM with a personal season best of 4:25.33, edging out Shannahan by 26 hundredths of a second. Junior Maggie Helmers placed third behind Martin and Shannahan for the Hoosiers.\nTierney also noted the importance of the Hoosiers' likeness to competing and racing.\nOn the diving side of the invitational, the Hoosiers were led by sophomore Cassandra Cardinell who placed fourth in the three-meter competition and by juniors Jennifer Sonneborn and Sara Reiling who placed fourth and fifth in the one-meter event respectively.\nDespite the Hoosiers' struggles, head diving coach, Jeff Huber was pleased with his teams' progress and said the invitational wasn't a high priority for the Hoosiers, who train their whole season looking ahead to the spring championship events.\n"The women are encouraged to see a lot of improvement," Huber said. "We had 12 personal best records just this weekend, which is pretty phenomenal. We have had the best training in any of me 26 years of coaching, and I think we have made as many improvements as I can remember over a short period of time."\nThis weekend also marked the first time the Hoosiers have competed in the 10-meter platform in competition. But because of injuries, only two Hoosiers, Reiling and junior Mamie Goodson were able to perform dives from the tower. \nReiling and Goodson only completed six dives while all other competitors did nine dives. But Reiling's six-dive total of 300.65 was good enough to put her in fourth place in the competition.\nThe Hoosier team will be split for the next competition which goes from Nov. 29 to Dec. 1. Some swimmers will go to the Miami Invitational at Miami of Ohio, while select swimmers will head to the Nassau County Aquatic Center in East Meadow, N.J., to compete in the U.S. Open Swimming competition.
(11/16/01 4:42am)
Heading into this weekend's Indiana Invitational, the women's swimming and diving team is looking to defend last season's title. The Hoosier squad is also hoping to use the event to prepare for the U.S. Open Swimming and Diving events later this month and in early December, as well as to gear their progress toward the Big Ten and NCAA Championships in the spring.\nHead coach Dorsey Tierney said she looks at the invitational as a good chance for the Hoosiers to go through the grueling three-day schedule of events they will face at the upcoming championships.\n"I usually approach (the invitational) as an opportunity to run through the same schedules as the championships," Tierney said. "It is the same meet format, so they get a chance to practice their championship events."\nJunior Tina Gretlund said the format for the invitational will be a good chance for the team to work with the order of events they will face at the championship events.\n"(The invitational) is a good opportunity because it is the Big Ten's order and it has both prelims and finals," Gretlund said.\nWhile the Hoosiers will use the invitational to help them work on the schedule of the championship meets, junior Kristy Martin said it is more of a stepping stone for the Hoosiers and they won't rest for it like they typically would for a championship meet.\n"We have to go into it knowing it is a longer meet and we will be doing more events," Martin said. "But we aren't really resting for it, because it isn't a real big meet for us."\nTierney said she hopes the invitational will give her swimmers a chance to utilize some racing tactics and swim consistently, but knows it won't be easy over all three days.\n "This will be a true challenge for our consistency because it is a three-day event and it will be hard to maintain that intensity over all the days," Tierney said. "We also want to strategically race smart, being patient in the beginning so we can be great at the end of races."\n The Invitational will be held at the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatics Center beginning this morning at 10 a.m. with preliminaries and finals 6 p.m. today. Events Saturday will be on the same schedule as Friday, but the events held Sunday will have preliminaries beginning at 10 a.m. and finals at 3 p.m. The No. 17 ranked Hoosiers go into the meet with a 2-0-1 dual meet record and will host No. 29 ranked Tennessee (2-1), Cincinnati (2-0), Evansville (1-1) and Kentucky (1-0) divers.\nDiving coach Jeff Huber is preparing his group of divers differently for this year's invitational. The Hoosiers are working on new dives and gearing their preparation for the spring meets. But Huber said he expects the competition for the invitational to help push his divers and help them gauge how far they need to go before February and March.\n"Tennessee is an outstanding team and Kentucky has some good divers, so it will be a very competitive meet," Huber said. "I think (the competition) will benefit us a lot. Whether we beat them or get beat by them, either way we are going to benefit from it so it will be good for us."\nThe invitational will also give the Hoosiers their first chance to compete in the 10-meter platform event. When initially asked what he will look for from his divers on the tower, Huber replied jokingly, "survival."\nHuber said he believes his divers will perform well on the platform, even though he thinks they might not be fully prepared to compete in the tower at this time in the season.\n"We have been working on a lot of new dives (on the tower)," he said. "We aren't quite ready; it's just a little early. We need about one more month and we would be ready up there, but we will do some good stuff"
(11/14/01 5:03am)
When junior Tina Gretlund came to IU, she had already established herself as a premier swimmer. Gretlund, a native of Kastrup, Denmark, was a member of the Danish National Team, was ranked in the top 100 swimmers in the world for the individual medley and had been named the 1998 New Young Swimmer. \nShe was also a four-time long-course-meter Danish Champion and a six-time short-course-meter Danish Champion. All of these accomplishments drew attention from Hoosier head coach Dorsey Tierney, who at the time was an assistant at Southern Methodist University. Gretlund said she first met Tierney in 1996 in Denmark and they kept in touch, leading Tierney to land Gretlund as a recruit when she came to IU.\nGretlund said the chance to swim at IU gave her opportunities she wouldn't have had if she had stayed in her homeland.\n"It was a good opportunity to combine college swimming and education at the same time," Gretlund said. "You can't do that where I am from, we don't have those systems at all."\nGretlund's experience and international background have already helped her garner two school records. She is the current record holder in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 1:58.92, more than two seconds ahead of the next fastest time. \nGretlund also has the fastest time in IU history in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 2:02.91. But Gretlund has her sights set on a higher mark this year as the Hoosiers train for the Big Ten and NCAA Championships in February and March.\n"My goal is to win the 200-fly at Big Ten's, that is what I would really like to do," she said.\nWith Gretlund having posted wins in the 200-butterfly in each of IU's last two dual meets, including a team season best of 2:02.43 against Northwestern, Tierney said she is pleased to see Gretlund gain confidence and provide the Hoosiers with reliability.\n"Tina is doing a great job," Tierney said. "Her consistency is a key. She was real good at Northwestern and was just as good if not better in some events against Iowa. That is real important for her confidence."\nTierney said Gretlund has excelled in the 200-butterfly because she has tactically improved her stroke and performance.\n"(Tina) has strategically gotten the 200-butterfly down," Tierney said. "She is very comfortable and confident in how she is swimming it. Her performances in the meets have been consistent with her training everyday and it is good to see the correlation there."\nGretlund's training partner, freshman Erin Smith, has also noticed Gretlund's consistency and says she looks to Gretlund as a role model for what to do.\n"We swim similar events and we train very similarly," Smith said. "I look to her to see what I should be doing and her consistency really helps to push me."\nJunior Kristy Martin swims with Gretlund in both the 200-butterfly and 200-individual medley. Martin has the second fastest times in IU history in each of the events which Gretlund holds the records. While she admits they are in the back of her mind, Martin says that the duo pushes each other in practice and she wouldn't want anyone but Gretlund to get the records.\n"In workouts we push each other and encourage each other," Martin said. "We never really talk about the records, but I know it is in the back of my mind. If anyone was going to get them I would want Tina to get them, because I know she works just as hard"
(11/12/01 6:20am)
Going into their meet against Iowa, IU women\'s swimming coach Dorsey Tierney was looking for senior Susan Woessner and junior Anne Williams to step up for the Hoosiers. \nWoessner and Williams responded by winning both of their events. The duo also composed half of IU's relay team which won the 400-yard medley relay with the eighth fastest time in school history.\nAfter the meet, Tierney was pleased with the contributions Woessner and Williams made.\n"Susan (Woessner) is working real hard right now, so it is good to see her stay at that high level," Tierney said. "Anne (Williams) did a great job today. She gets the job done everyday and anytime I see her translate that into a race it is huge; it is great for me and the team to see."\nWoessner's wins came in the 100-yard backstroke and 200-yard backstroke. Her winning time of 56.49 in the 100-yard race was the fastest for the team this season. She was content with her performance and said her times are getting down where they should be for the championships in the spring.\n"I am happy with my swims today," she said. "I just wanted to get the job done. We have been working hard so the times are about right, but we are looking to be a little faster going into February and March."\nWilliams' times of 24.21 in the 50-yard freestyle and 52.05 in the 100-yard freestyle races also set season bests. Williams credited her group of sprint practice swimmers for her performance.\n"Our sprint group is very strong and everyone pushes each other in workouts," Williams said. "I feel like the way I swim reflects everybody in my group because they are the ones that push me everyday in practice."\nThe No. 17 Hoosiers defeated Iowa 194-106 to move to 2-0-1 overall and 1-0-1 in Big Ten meets. With the loss, the Hawkeyes drop to 0-2 overall with both meets in conference.\nIU also received strong contributions from junior Tina Gretlund, sophomore Brooke Taflinger and freshman Erin Smith. Gretlund won the 200-yard butterfly and placed second in both the 100-butterfly and 400-individual medley. Taflinger placed second in both the 200-freestyle with a season best 1:52.79 and in the 200-breaststroke with a time of 2:21.43, a season best and fifth-fastest all-time for IU swimmers. She also won the 400-IM with the sixth-fastest time in school history of 4:22.66. Smith placed second in the 100-free and won the 100-butterfly with the seventh-fastest time in IU history of 56.89.\nTierney was delighted to see consistency in her team's performance from their previous meet and looks for that to help them come spring championship season.\n"Their consistency from two weeks ago makes me happier because they are confident in how they are racing and doing it the same way each time," she said. "That is going to benefit them the most at the end of the season because then it is so automatic when you are rested, in shape and ready to go. It is huge to have that confidence going into the big championship meets."\nThe Hoosier divers also displayed their strength over the Hawkeyes, placing 1-2-3 in both the one-meter and three-meter events. Senior Erin Quinn won the one-meter competition with a score of 270.38. The Iowa meet was Quinn's first competition of the year as she is coming back from injuries and is still battling bicep tendinitis. Head coach Dr. Jeff Huber was pleased with how far Quinn had come with just one week of practice.\n"She hadn't dove for three months," Huber said. "This is the first week she has done very limited diving, but she's tough so I knew she would show up and perform well. That certainly is not her best effort, but for as little training as she has been able to do we just wanted to get her some competitive experience this year."\nComing off her redshirt year to compete in the 2000 Summer Olympics, junior Sara Reiling returned to the boards for the Hoosiers for the first time since the 1999-2000 season. Reiling scored a 293.70 in the three-meter competition to win that event. Reiling dove in exhibition in the one-meter competition, but posted a score of 305.48 to reclaim her school record for a dual meet. Sophomore Cassandra Cardinell had taken the lead from Reiling with a score of 304.80 at Northwestern two weeks ago. Reiling hit a reverse 2 1/2 tuck and a reverse 2 1/2 twister, each new dives, to secure the record.\n"I actually wasn't as nervous as I thought I was going to be," Reiling said of trying the new dives. "I have to perform them in a meet sometime, so I just decided to go out and do them. I will probably keep them after today; I don't think I could convince Jeff (Huber) not to."\nHuber said he thinks this Hoosier squad is ahead of last year's pace and envisions that this group of divers could be a very special team.\n"We are off to a great start," Huber said. "I think we are way ahead of where we were last year. We have the opportunity to have the best women's team we have ever had here."\nThe Hoosiers will return to the water as they host Cincinnati, Evansville and Texas A&M in the Indiana Invitational next Friday thru Sunday at the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatics Center.
(11/09/01 5:35am)
Coming off their first dual meet tie since the 1990-1991 season, the women's swimming and diving team is looking to continue its improvement in today's match-up against Iowa at the Counsilman/Billingsley Aquatic Center at 5 p.m. The Hoosiers are ranked No. 17 by the College Swim Coaches Association of America and bring a 1-0-1 overall record into the meet with an 0-0-1 record in Big Ten duals. Iowa comes to Bloomington with an 0-1 record in both overall and Big Ten competition.\n"The way we plan out our season, we like to at least make an attempt to get a little bit better each meet," said head swimming coach Dorsey Tierney.\nTierney said she especially wants to see the Hoosiers focus on team chemistry and have their leaders establish themselves in the meet against the Hawkeyes.\n"From a team standpoint, we still need to gel a little bit better," she said. "We still have quite a bit of development as far as team chemistry is concerned. We also need to have the leaders step forward on a more consistent and numerous basis."\nSeniors Susan Woessner, Erin Rice and juniors Megan Ryther, Anne Williams and Tina Gretlund were mentioned by Tierney as upperclassmen who she expects take on leadership roles with the squad this year. Tierney also noted that junior Brooke Taflinger and freshman Erin Smith have gained the respect of their teammates through their work ethic and have established themselves as swimmers the team can count on.\nTaflinger has already posted times in IU's all-time top ten in the 200- yard freestyle, 500-free, 200-individual medley and the 400-IM. But the sophomore native of Kokomo said she is still doing lots of training and targeting areas that have been problems in the past.\n"Look back on our events, we each can pick out something that we did wrong," Taflinger said. "We have to pick on the little things and get those right. We have to keep our mindset focused on what we have to do and stay positive."\nWith similar goals in mind, the diving team heads into the Iowa meet looking for improvement from it's showing at the Northwestern dual tie.\n"We are pretty much training right through meets with two-a-days all week and then competing on Friday evening," head diving coach Dr. Jeff Huber said. "We want to see improvement from the last meet and from what I have seen in practice, I think we will look better."\nJunior Sara Reiling will be back on the boards in competition for the Hoosiers for the first time since the 1999-2000 season. Reiling redshirted last season while competing in the 2000 Summer Olympic Games in Sydney. In her first meet back, Reiling is looking to try some new dives in her routine, but her real concentration is on the championship season in February and March.\n "I'm working on my dives," Reiling said. "I'm using it as a meet to throw my new dives in and see how they go. But I am looking more to February and March."\n Huber is just looking for Reiling to do the things they have worked on in practice and to see that she can do them in live competition.\n "Even though she hasn't competed yet, she has been training and we have been working on some things in practice," Huber said. "I would like to see those show up in the meet and not disappear just because it is competition"
(11/02/01 6:11am)
Many teams might be discouraged going into a conference tournament after a winless conference regular season. But after a year of improvement, field hockey coach Amy Robertson and her remain positive going into the Big Ten Tournament this weekend in Evanston, Ill. The Hoosiers are the No. 7 seed.\nIU's most notable improvements in its second year have come in the net with junior Molly Pulkrabek and freshman Katie Kanara, keeping the Hoosiers close in nearly all their matches. Kanara broke the IU record for saves in a season, recording her 80th save in an 8-1 loss to Iowa two weeks ago. Pulkrabek is right on Kanara's heels, as she posted her 78th save of the year last weekend against Penn State.\nFor the Hoosiers to succeed in Evanston, Robertson knows they will need stellar performances from Pulkrabek and Kanara.\nGoing into the Big Ten Tournament the Hoosiers have allowed 54 goals in 16 games, compared to 81 goals in 13 games during their 2000 campaign. Although IU's keepers have faced 263 more shots than the Hoosiers have taken, the team goals against average is down more than three points from the 2000 season.\nPulkrabek said she tries to concentrate on the game and not get down when IU gives up a goal.\n"I probably should feel pressure, but I just try to focus on the game and put all the pressure aside because I don't want it to eat at me," she said.\But the IU goalies are sure to face a fair amount of shots in their first round match-up against No. 2 Ohio State at 10 a.m. today. Last Friday the Buckeyes defeated the Hoosiers 3-0 to clinch a share of the regular season Big Ten Championship. But with Michigan State's 2-1 win against Iowa, the Spartans were awarded the No. 1 seed and a first round bye.\nComing into the weekend the Hoosiers are 1-15 overall and 0-6 in the conference, while the Buckeyes are 12-4 overall and 5-1 in Big Ten play. The winner of the IU and OSU game will play Saturday against the winner of No. 3 Michigan and No. 6 Northwestern.\nSenior co-captain Akila Jones is hoping to keep her career going with a Hoosier win today.\n"We always need to take it to them and play to the level of the other team," she said. "All status aside and all records aside, we have to take it to them and play your hardest, it comes down to who has the most heart."\nFellow senior co-captain Brooke Magers said she is confident IU can pull an upset of the Buckeyes.\n"Big Tens are like a whole new season, everyone goes in with a 0-0 record and we are looking to do some upsetting," Magers said. "Given our season and how we have held some very good teams, I think we can do it"
(11/01/01 5:41am)
Junior swimmer Brooke Taflinger is "home sweet home" in the Hoosier state. Taflinger, a native of Kokomo, went to the University of Florida for her freshman year. But she transferred to IU after her freshman year and received a release from her scholarship at Florida, making her eligible to compete for the Hoosiers this year.\n"I got homesick, and that played a big part of it," Taflinger said of her transfer. "When I was (at Florida) they made me not like swimming anymore. It felt more like a job than more like an activity that I choose to do."\nThat pressure and lack of pleasure in swimming spurred Taflinger to quit the sport for six weeks until she was contacted by head coach Dorsey Tierney. Tierney had been notified by Florida head coach Gregg Troy that Taflinger was on the verge of dropping out of the sport all together. Taflinger, who was recruited by Tierney out of high school, took another trip to IU and decided to make the switch.\n"Florida was always my dream school since I was little," Taflinger said. "I had to go there and see for myself what it was like. It's really good to be back in my home state, to be close to my parents and friends so they can come and watch me swim. There is nothing like Indiana."\nTaflinger placed ninth in the 200-yard individual medley at the 2000 Southeastern Conference Championships and finished in the top 20 in the same event at the NCAA Championships. She hopes to shave a couple of seconds off her personal bests in both the 200-Individual Medley and 400-IM throughout the year. With those times, Taflinger hopes she can win the 400-IM at the Big Ten Championships and finish with at least a top three in the 200-IM.\nHer experiences at Florida have helped Taflinger in the training room and she hopes bringing that knowledge to IU will help the Hoosiers reach the next level.\n"There are a lot of things I learned about myself and my swimming (from Florida)," she said. "The training down there was really tough; so the things I didn't think I could do, now I can say 'I can do this, because I have done it before.' I think I have a better work ethic, and with my experience from last year I know that I can do things, and that helps my training."\nFreshman teammate Erin Smith said Taflinger's work ethic pushes her to train harder. \n"She comes in and takes command and works hard, and that makes me want to work hard," Smith said of Taflinger.\nSmith competes with Taflinger in the 200-yard freestyle and said the duo push each other to keep posting lower times.\n"We are both really competitive," Smith said. "We don't get mad at each other, but we are both telling each other, 'I'm going to beat you.'"\nTaflinger said she welcomes the competition from Smith and other teammates.\n"Definitely in practice we push each other," Taflinger said. "If one of us is having a tough set we have to be verbally encouraging to each other."\nTierney echoed Smith's opinions of Taflinger's strong work ethic and believes they are keys to her personal success and motivation for others on the team.\n"She trained at a tremendously high level last year, and I think her expectations of herself are a little bit higher," Tierney said. "She is well adjusted as far as training is concerned, she is very experienced in training and that helps the people around her in practice. She has earned the respect of her teammates based on her work ethic. She is not afraid whatsoever to challenge herself on a daily basis, and I think a lot of that she learned in her freshman year at Florida."\nTierney is also happy to see Taflinger's enjoyment in swimming back at a high point since her high school career and thinks that can only help the team.\n"I see enjoyment in Brooke (Taflinger)," she said. "I saw a lot of that in her in high school and I think she lost a little bit of that last year. But I definitely see it again, she just loves to race, and when you have people like that who are excited to get up on the blocks, it filters back down through the team"
(10/30/01 4:36am)
Making the transition to college is hard enough for most, but for an international student, the changes in culture and lifestyle can be overwhelming. Freshman Claire Loots has tried to ease the adjustment by taking part in one of her homeland activities, joining the IU field hockey squad.\nLoots came to IU via a program in her native Sint Michielsgestel, just south of Holland in the Netherlands. The program allowed her to apply to five American colleges and then select one to attend. Loots chose IU for the campus' size and diversity, not its field hockey program. Loots didn't contact head coach Amy Robertson until she was already on campus for the fall semester.\n"I chose Indiana because it is so big, there are a lot of different people and lot of different classes that I can take," Loots said. "I also chose (IU), because IU had a field hockey team, but I didn't choose for the field hockey team at first. I didn't do anything from back home; I arranged everything with coach when I got here."\nIn Sint Michielsgestel, Loots played for the first division of her De Dommel club team. Robertson said she was impressed that Loots had played in such a high level of competition in her homeland and was excited to get Loots on the team.\n"She just happened to be on campus and called me and asked how she could play," Robertson said. "She said she played on the first division of her club team, so I was interested. Players from Holland are typically very good and have good skills; many of them have been playing since they were three or four. We gave her a tryout and got her eligible and she has been very helpful to the team."\nSo far, Robertson has been pleased by Loots' contributions to the defense.\n"Even though she came to the team late, she is really starting to step and really give us some solid poise and distribution from the backfield," Robertson said.\nSenior co-captain Akila Jones plays in the back with Loots and has also been impressed by the play of her teammate.\n"She has the talent and is an amazing player," Jones said. "We have tried to make her comfortable playing with us."\nJones also noted that the team worked to help Loots adjust, but she is treated like all the other team members.\n"Her English is great so the language barrier wasn't really too much of a problem," she said. "We've tried to help her understand that we try to play as a team and that she doesn't have to come in and do anything fancy, so she can just play like she knows how to. We give her encouragement and treat her just like anyone else one team, everyone gets the same treatment."\nLoots said the biggest changes in field hockey from her homeland were in the surface of play and the different phrases used in playing the game.\n"In Holland we had sand on the field, so it was a lot more bumpy and your hits had to be almost technically perfect," she said. "I thought language was kind of a barrier in the beginning because I had to get used to the specific field hockey terms since I had never heard them before. Language was probably the biggest barrier to overcome, but even it was a small one."\nBut Loots acknowledged that once on the field, everyone on the team is working toward the same goal and there are no obstacles between her and her teammates.\n"I play field hockey with my entire body, with my heart," Loots said, "so language and culture doesn't really matter if you are playing field hockey, because you're out on the field together and going for the win together"