140 items found for your search. If no results were found please broaden your search.
(01/20/12 3:54am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Saturday’s Indiana swimming and diving competition in Bloomington against in-state foe Purdue will be unlike any other dual meet in IU’s history.The real news surrounding this meet is not about the margin in the race for the Crimson and Gold Cup, nor is it about a meeting between two ranked programs, with Purdue’s men being ranked No. 20 and the women ranked No. 18.Rather, the true headlines about this meeting between the two rival programs revolve around the fact that the competition will be televised live on the Big Ten Network — the first time ever for any Big Ten swimming and diving event.“We think it is awesome and a great opportunity for our team that this meet will be televised,” IU junior diver Zac Nees said. “With the cameras on us, it will cause people to step up a little bit more and set some personal bests on the season. It may add a little pressure, but many of us have experience competing in these type of meets, so I think it will be an advantage to our team.”With the meet being the first swimming and diving event ever broadcast live on BTN, many steps were taken, both by IU and the network, to ensure this historic occasion will happen as planned.Every year, each Big Ten university has the option to choose two or three events (as decided by the network) to be telecast on BTN, and this year, IU had two. For one of those two events, IU elected in September to show the swimming and diving meet against Purdue, which is set to begin at 10 a.m. Saturday.“The fact that this meet is between Indiana and Purdue is huge, and that’s one of the reasons we chose this,” Assistant Athletic Director for Broadcast Services Jeremy Gray said. “It’s going to be a dual meet, it’s going to be men and women competing, and we have a great swimming history that we’re very proud of. The fact that we’re going to be able to broadcast this across the country where our alumni and our swimming parents from around the world will be able to watch it will be big. And with Crimson and Gold Cup points on the line, we think it’s huge.”Once the request was submitted to BTN, Senior Coordinating Producer Bob Lanning ran with it. Lanning, who organizes the broadcasts of 500 Big Ten sporting events during the academic year, said when he looked at Saturday’s broadcast schedule after receiving IU’s request, what he found surprised him.“We had a unique opportunity this weekend in that we didn’t have any live programming already scheduled on the network at the time of the competition,” Lanning said. “I got with our programming guys and said I would prefer to do this live. A Purdue/Indiana meet is what we would consider premier programming on the network, so from a network-scheduling standpoint, there were no issues for us.”After months of cooperation between the school and the network, the idea finally came to fruition within the past month, as the plans were officially made to broadcast the meet. The broadcast itself will start at 11:30 a.m. Saturday after the diving competition takes place. In addition, Lanning hired swimming and diving broadcasters Rowdy Gaines and Bernie Guenther. The diving analyst will be Cynthia Potter, an IU alumna and former Olympic diver, to call the live meet.“These two individuals bring a unique combination of broadcasting ability and knowledge about the sport to the table,” Lanning said. “For Cynthia to have been an IU alumna and having been around the Big Ten much of her career, she will be a great asset in addition to Rowdy’s broadcasting history and overall knowledge of the sport, having been a world class swimmer himself.”Though the camera lights will be on the Hoosiers at the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatics Center on Saturday, IU Coach Ray Looze said the team’s true focus will be on the pool.“We want to go hard and do the best we can for the University and all of Hoosier Nation,” Looze said. “Last year, the women got beat pretty bad, so I’ve got to think the women will be pretty motivated. On the men’s side, the meet came down to the last couple of events, too. There’s no easy meets when you’re Indiana. Everybody wants to beat us because it’s Indiana.”
(01/09/12 4:30am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The ResultIn their meet in Ann Arbor, Mich., this season and their first meet in more than a month, both IU men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams fell to Michigan on Saturday, with the men losing 166-130, and the women getting edged 151.5-148.5.The ActionWhen the men’s swimming and diving team traveled to Michigan two months ago in its double-dual meet involving IU, Michigan and Texas, the Hoosiers lost by an embarrassing 216-84 margin. This time around, although the margin of defeat was much closer, the No. 10-ranked Hoosiers found it hard to win events against the No. 4-ranked team in the nation. In the men’s first event of the day, the 200-yard medley relay, the team of junior Daniel Kanorr, sophomores James Wells and Cody Miller and freshman Steve Schmuhl took first place, and things were looking positive for the Hoosiers. After that race, IU won only one other swimming event, as Schmuhl won the 200-yard backstroke by a 2.28 second margin. IU’s lack of swimming victories was enough for Michigan to take the win, though junior Zac Nees won the 3-meter dive competition, and junior Mick Dell’Orco took first place in the 1-meter dive.The Hoosiers’ women’s swimming and diving team saw a promising performance, but the meet ended with a loss. Freshman Allie Day was the main story for the Hoosiers’ success, as she went on to win her first career events in the 100- and 200-yard backstroke races on the day. In addition to Day, senior Margaux Farrell continued to show her prowess in the pool, winning the 100- and 200-yard freestyle and 400-yard freestyle relay events. Farrell’s worst finish of the day was second place in the 50-yard freestyle, only .64 seconds behind the first place finisher. The Hoosiers also saw wins by senior Allysa Vavra in the 400-yard IM, sophomore Lindsay Vrooman in the 500-yard freestyle and senior Gabby Agostino in the 1-meter dive, but it was barely not enough against a resurgent No. 22 Michigan team. Key PlayIn the women’s 100-yard backstroke, Day defeated freshman Justine Ress by a .02 second margin to earn her first career collegiate victory.Notable NumberFive — The total number of events the men’s swimming and diving team has won against Michigan this entire season, out of 32 total events. Quote of Note“Michigan is really the class of the Big Ten this season,” IU Coach Ray Looze said. “If anything, at this point, everyone is fighting to dethrone them, not us. We’re still in the process of preparing for the Big Ten Championships, and that is where we will get our revenge. For now, we just have to keep working hard like we have so far.”Up NextBoth the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams will have their first meet in Bloomington on Jan. 21 against Purdue. This season, the men’s team is ranked No. 20 in the nation, and the women’s team is ranked No. 18. The meet will also be telecast live on the Big Ten Network, with the action starting at 11 a.m.
(01/06/12 5:41am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>For the No. 10 IU men’s swimming and diving team, this weekend’s dual meet at No. 4 Michigan is about rebounding from an earlier loss. For the No. 8 women, this meet is all about not letting up after a previous victory against the same team.On Saturday, IU’s swimming and diving team will travel to Ann Arbor, Mich., for the second time this season and IU’s first meet in more than a month. Earlier in the season at the Nov. 4-5 double dual meet with IU, Michigan and Texas, the men’s team lost to the Wolverines by a score of 216-84 in its only third-place finish of the year. On Oct. 28, the women defeated the now No. 22 Wolverines 178-122.“This meet is going to be really important for us,” IU Coach Ray Looze said. “For the women, we really want to improve on our depth and get a good gauge on where we stand on our relays, and on the men’s side, I feel there is a lot of unfinished business to take care of. We want to go in there and do a much better job than we did before.”The Hoosiers’ men’s team started the season with a 4-2 record, with its only losses of the season coming from the double dual meet with Michigan two months ago. The men thus far have enjoyed a breakout season by junior diver Zac Nees, who has won three of the six diving events he has participated in during the year, and they have shown a wide range of depth in the swimming pool. Junior Sam Trahin has won multiple 400-yard individual medleys this season, freshman Steve Schmuhl has specialized in the 200-yard backstroke and competed in both freestyle and butterfly races and sophomore Cody Miller has continued to contend for breaststroke titles. However, when IU traveled to Michigan this past November, the Hoosiers did not win a single event in the swimming competition. Looze said performing well and beating Michigan this time is a must.“I told our men that we’re going into this meet and the rest of the season with a blue-collar approach,” Looze said. “We want to go in there and be hard working and tough, and luckily we get this extra shot against them before the Big Ten Championships.”IU’s women’s swimming and diving team (3-3) meanwhile faces a different task in Saturday’s meet against Michigan. During October’s double dual meet against the Wolverines and Longhorns, IU beat Michigan by a margin of only 56 points. For a veteran Hoosiers team led by senior swimmers Allysa Vavra, Margaux Farrell and Brittany Strumbel, the Hoosiers are well aware of the potential letdown.“Michigan had a great first semester on the women’s side, but I don’t see us letting down against them,” Looze said. “I think we’re a better team than we were last time we raced them. Last time, they beat us in a few races that we should have won, but this time around, we should be able to rectify that.”
(12/07/11 3:53am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Senior Allysa Vavra received the Big Ten Swimmer of the Week award Tuesday, days after her record-breaking Georgia Invitational.Last Friday, Vavra broke the school record in a third-place finish in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 1:56.80, breaking her previous personal record.The next day, in the 400-yard individual medley, Vavra returned and raced a second-place 4:04.60, the third-best time in IU history. That finish also gave her sole possession of the top five times in the event in IU history. Vavra also automatically qualified for the 2012 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships in the event due to her finish in the race.Vavra is the first women’s swimmer at IU to win the Big Ten weekly honor since then-sophomore Taylor Wohrley on Jan. 11.
(12/06/11 3:03am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Junior diver Zac Nees hadn’t won an event since the platform dive at the 2009 Hoosierland Invitational. Now, he’s won three events in the past month.Despite swimming from age 6, Nees didn’t start diving until he was 14-years-old.“I got bored of it,” Nees said of swimming. “One summer, I tried out diving and instantly loved it and decided to further pursue it into my freshman year of high school.”By his senior year, Nees was the district and league champion in diving. During the 2009 Junior East National Championships, Nees won the 1-meter dive competition. Though he had other options, Nees found his true top choice at that meet.“Indiana decided to give me a shot when I won at the Junior East National Championships,” Nees said. “The last-minute discovery and the fact that I waited to decide until really late in my senior year almost made it feel like it was meant to be.”Nees said he knew his diving career would progress with the guidance of IU Diving Coach Jeff Huber, who has developed top talent for IU. His freshman year, Nees won the platform dive at a 2009 meet, his first collegiate victory. Nees didn’t win another dive that season or the next.“I never doubted my ability, and neither did Huber,” Nees said. “We really worked together on long-term success rather than putting a huge focus on winning dual meets.”That long-term preparation paid off Nov. 4 against No. 1 Michigan and No. 2 Texas, nearly two years after his previous victory. Nees won the 1-meter dive with a score of 408.95, his first career dual meet victory and the fourth-best score in IU history. Two weeks later, Nees swept both the 1- and 3-meter dives against No. 21 Virginia and Penn State and earned his first Big Ten Diver of the Week award of his career.“Zac has really matured in many ways,” Huber said. “I’m excited for him and his future performances.”Nees said his goals for the remainder of the season include qualifying for the 2012 Olympic Team Trials on the 3-meter springboard by placing in the top 12 of the event at the 2012 USA Diving Winter National Championships from Dec. 15 to 22. For now, Nees said there are still things to work on.“I feel like I am beginning to dive at the level I should be competing at, though I don’t think I am at my peak,” Nees said. “There is still a lot of room for improvement, and I hope to continue to get better as the season goes on.”
(12/05/11 5:07am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Senior Allysa Vavra led the way for a record-breaking weekend in Georgia.The No. 14 IU women’s and men’s swimming teams finished the three-day Georgia Invitational with top-five finishes.The women’s team took fourth place in the overall meet standings, ahead of No. 18 Virginia and second overall in swimming-only teams.Meanwhile, the men were led by wins from junior Sam Trahin and freshman Steve Schmuhl. The team finished fifth in the overall standings out of nine teams, only two points behind No. 21 Virginia.“We had a very good meet and saw a lot of swimmers get season-best and career-best times,” IU Coach Ray Looze said. “Without our divers competing, I thought we did a fantastic job. That also made the scoring a bit deceiving.”Vavra broke the IU record for the 200-yard individual medley Friday with a time of 1:56.80. The next day, Vavra continued her hot streak, earning the third-fastest time in the 400-yard individual medley in IU history with a time of 4:04.60 in a second place finish. That result also gave her a feat that very few Hoosiers have ever done — earn the top five times in one event in school history at one time. “Getting the record this weekend was really unexpected,” Vavra said. “I went into this meet unrested after a tough week of training, so I thought I’d be tired going in. To be honest, though, having these records is cool, but I really hope to get faster times this season.”Vavra was not the only one who entered the record books for the IU women’s team this weekend — four other Hoosiers put their names in IU history. Senior Margaux Farrell earned the third and fifth all-time best times ever at IU in the 200-yard freestyle, racing a 1:44.47 in preliminaries, and 1:44.52 in the finals. That time was good enough for a third-place finish on the race. Seniors Brittany Strumbel, Courey Schaefer and Nikki White joined her in placing third in the 800-yard freestyle relay in a time of 7:06.97, good for the fifth-best time in Indiana history.“Our depth is starting to show and be apparent, which is fantastic,” Looze said. “That’s the way we build our teams at Indiana — with exceptional depth. We had more and more people in finals than in the recent past, and that’s what you have to do if you want to be a championship-level team.”The Hoosiers are now done for the 2011 portion of the season until IU takes on Michigan in a dual-meet on Jan. 7 in Ann Arbor, Mich. Right now, Looze said the the team will focus on training and continuing its preparation for the Big Ten and NCAA Championships.“We are getting there as a program, but there’s a lot to improve on,” Looze said. “We really have to come back this week, get caught up on our studies and get back into our intense workout routine. We also have to work hard over the holidays when nobody’s looking because that’s what great teams do.”
(12/02/11 5:05am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>In its last meet of the 2011 portion of the season, the IU swimming and diving team will travel to Athens, Ga., this weekend as the Hoosiers participate in the Georgia Invitational, one of the toughest meets in the nation this early in the season.The Hoosiers’ competition will be staunch — on the men’s side, No. 14 IU (4-2) will face four top-10 opponents, including No. 5 Auburn, defending national champion No. 6 California, No. 9 Georgia and No. 7 Florida’s diving team.The women’s team (3-3) will also compete against ranked teams, facing No. 1 Georgia, No. 2 California, No. 6 Auburn and No. 4 Florida’s diving team.“This is probably the highest-level invitational that’s being offered the first semester in the NCAA,” IU Coach Ray Looze said. “It’s going to be a huge challenge, but it’s going to replicate what we’ll face in NCAAs, where we’ll have the best of the best all come together and compete.”The men’s swimming and diving team is coming off a double dual meet sweep of now-No. 21 Virginia and Penn State.It was the first time this season the Hoosiers dominated competition in their meet, winning 13 of the 18 events conducted, including both diving competitions. The Hoosiers hope to impose their will once again. This time, however, it will be against some of the top competition in the nation.IU will meet Virginia again this weekend with UNC-Wilmington and the diving team for Maryland.“Our guys are prepared to swim fast this weekend, and as long as we stay calm under pressure and make the right moves, we’ll get some wins,” sophomore Cody Miller said. “There is no reason we can’t be a top-10 team this year. We’re going to make it happen."On the women’s side two weeks ago, the Hoosiers beat Penn State and lost to now-No. 18 Virginia, splitting the meet. IU garnered only four wins throughout the competition.The IU women’s team will also face Virginia again, UNC-Wilmington, Harvard and the diving teams of No. 19 Maryland.“This meet is really going to give our athletes a good taste of what that’s like and how it can be distracting when you have a lot of fast people around you,” Looze said. “We are going to have to deal with not leading races and we will have to fight through from being behind, potentially.”Despite the tough test, Looze said that what is most important is the experience the team will gain, participating with some of the top competition in the nation.“The teams we are facing are all fantastic programs who are the golden standard in college swimming right now,” Looze said. “Any time that you can go up against them, win or lose, you’re going to be better with the experience.”
(12/01/11 5:42am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Juniors Eric Ress and Ryan Hinshaw will lead a small group of IU swimmers in the 2011 AT&T Winter National Championships today to Saturday in Atlanta. The championships are a lead-up event to the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials June 25 to July 2 in Omaha, Neb. Swimmers who race at a qualifying time during the meet will be entered into the Olympic Trials competition. “It’s always a tremendous honor to be representing IU in these types of competitions,” IU Coach Ray Looze said. “With the athletes we have going trying to qualify for standards, I’m sure they’ll do a great job and come away representing IU successfully.”Other Hoosiers participating in the meet include junior Afton Robiertson and freshman Dorina Szekeres, the current Hungarian 200-meter backstroke champion. IU graduates Ben Hesen, Kevin Swander and Kate Fesenko will also participate in the meet. Ress will not represent IU in the competition, as he is sitting the season out to train for the French Olympic Trials.The remainder of the IU swimming and diving team will participate in the Georgia Invitational this weekend in Athens, Ga. That meet will pit the Hoosiers against, among other teams, the defending men’s and women’s national champions, California, and the women’s current No. 1 team, Georgia.
(11/21/11 3:05am)
After being swept by No. 1 Michigan and No. 2 Texas earlier this month,
the men’s swimming and diving team returned to dominate the pool,
winning 13 of 18 events. The women’s team collected four wins during the two-day meet.
(11/18/11 5:16am)
Both the men’s and women’s teams will travel to State College, Pa., for a
double dual meet Friday and Saturday against Penn State and Virginia.
(11/15/11 2:46am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Now in his 23rd season as the head diving coach for the IU swimming and diving team, Jeff Huber has had a career that few others have attained.During his tenure at IU, Huber has led the Hoosiers to 13 U.S. Diving Combined Team National Championships and has coached divers to 72 All-American individual honors, five NCAA individual titles and 41 individual Big Ten titles.In addition to the success in the pool, Huber has been named the U.S. National Coach of the Year 11 times, was named Big Ten Coach of the Year 13 times and has been a coach on the U.S. Olympic diving team for the last three Olympiads. Most recently, Huber served as a member of the diving coaching staff for the United States during the 2011 Pan American Games.Huber, who dove at Wisconsin and graduated in 1975, said his career successes might never have happened if not for a volunteer coaching position at a community college in California.“I always knew I wanted to be a teacher, but I really decided on becoming a coach full-time after volunteering for two years at Cypress College in Southern California,” Huber said. “Before that, I actually planned to be an English teacher.”Before coming to IU, Huber coached divers at Nebraska for 11 years, where he won Big Eight Coach of the Year five times. He was also the coach for 27 Big Eight individual titles. Since coming to Bloomington, Huber said he cherished every moment as his career continued to bloom.“Being a Hoosier has meant being a part of a very special University and college town,” Huber said. “My wife is an assistant professor at IU. Our daughter graduated from IU, and our son is a senior at IU. We feel like we are a part of something special and really worthwhile here.”Huber has overseen the emergence of many divers during his career at IU, including Olympic gold medalist Mark Lenzi and NCAA Champions Christina Loukas, Kimiko Harai-Soldati and Cassandra Cardinell. He has also overseen national champion divers junior Amy Cozad, sophomore Laura Ryan and graduate Sara Reiling-Hildebrand.However, Huber said some of his greatest successes have come in the development of lesser-known divers, such as junior Zac Nees, who won his first career dual-meet event on the 1-meter springboard competition during the Nov. 4 meet against Michigan and Texas.“Seeing guys like Zac Nees coming into prominence is very intrinsically rewarding,” Huber said. “That is why I got into teaching. I have some very talented divers with big goals, and my challenge is to do my job correctly and help them reach their goals and see their dreams come true.”Huber said it is the untapped potential of such talent that keeps him coming back as he stays committed to bringing out the best in all of his athletes.“The biggest impact Coach Huber has had on me is to set goals and reflect on my progress toward everything I do,” Nees said. “He is also very good at having the staff working together to keep my outlook positive during competition, even after a missed dive.”Huber is now a member of the Indiana Swimming and Diving Wall of Fame and has coached divers from their first steps onto a college campus to the pinnacle of international competition.“All those accolades next to my name really do not mean much to me,” Huber said. “As I told my wife many years ago, if it is just about winning and medals, I don’t want to coach. Fame is fleeting, and medals tarnish. Character is forever.”
(11/07/11 5:03am)
The men’s swimming and diving team (2-2) went in to Ann Arbor, Mich.,
and lost against Michigan and Texas in a double-dual meet. The Hoosiers
fell to Michigan, 216-84 and lost to Texas 217.5-82.5.
(11/04/11 4:01am)
On Saturday, the Hoosiers will compete in Ann Arbor, Mich., as the men’s
team will face Michigan (3-0) and Texas (0-0) in a double-dual meet
beginning at noon.
(11/02/11 1:25am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Two weeks ago, 1,600 miles away and 5,000 feet above sea level in a foreign nation, senior swimmer Allysa Vavra had what she calls a career breakthrough.Competing with fellow Hoosier sophomore Brenna MacLean and junior diver Amy Cozad in the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico, Vavra won the bronze medal in the 400-meter individual medley in a time of 4:48.05, though she led for almost half the race. The Pan-Am Games are the second-largest international sporting games behind the Summer Olympics.It was the first time in her career she had even competed for the United States in such a large, international competition. “Representing Team USA has really been an honor,” Vavra said. “It was really unexpected, too, since I only finished fourth at nationals, and they normally give out invitations to be part of the national team for only the top-two finishers. But at the same time, it has been a dream come true for me.”Now, back in Bloomington and swimming for the IU women’s swimming and diving team, Vavra has some unfinished business she wants to take care of, she said. Last year, she won the 200- and 400-yard individual medley races at the Big Ten Championships and set the Big Ten record for the 400-yard.“The Big Ten meet last year was really special for me but not because I won my events and earned a Big Ten record,” Vavra said. “It was more about having my peers and all of my family there at the same time, being there to support me. Especially since my family lives in Pennsylvania, having all those people there made it that much more special.”Vavra has yet to win an NCAA championship, her goal for the season. When the season ends, her attention will turn to qualifying for the 2012 London Olympics, where she will participate in the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials in from June 25 to July 2, 2012, in Omaha, Neb. Her time in the 400-meter individual medley at the Pan-Am Games eclipsed the U.S. Olympic standard for that race by nearly seven seconds.“I feel like participating in the Pan-Am Games gave me an opportunity to break out on an international level and took me from being on a national-class to a world-class stage,” Vavra said. “It was also a good opportunity to race in front of a lot of people, with the atmosphere and pressure sort of mimicking how it will be at Olympic trials.”Participating in the Pan-Am Games also gave Vavra an opportunity to race against some of the best swimmers in the world, including Brazilian Joanna Maranhao and American Julia Smit, who holds the record in the short-course version of the 400-meter individual medley. However, Vavra said she could be swimming next to Michael Phelps and still not be phased.“I don’t put any other swimmers on a pedestal,” Vavra said. “I really like to look at it like everyone is just any other swimmer, and anyone is beatable any day. I just have to believe in myself.”Along with junior swimmer Eric Ress, who is redshirting the season for training purposes for the French Olympic Trials, Vavra is among a group of Hoosiers that have an opportunity to make the 2012 London Olympics. Though trials are months away and the collegiate season is just underway, the looming events are within reach.“If I were to make the Olympics, it has been one of my dreams from ever since I first started swimming when I was 8 or 9 and watching it on TV,” Vavra said. “I don’t really talk about it that much because I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself, but it’s always in the back of my mind. “I have a unique opportunity this summer to possibly make the team, but all I can do at this point is work hard. I am confident that hard work will take me where I need to go.”
(10/31/11 4:39am)
The women’s swimming and diving team (2-2) traveled to Ann Arbor, Mich.,
on Friday for a double-dual meet against Michigan and Texas, defeating
the Wolverines 178-122 but falling to the Longhorns, last year’s No. 6
team in the nation, 165-133.
(10/28/11 2:00am)
The team will travel to Ann Arbor, Mich., for Friday’s meet against Michigan and Texas, which will begin at 11 a.m.
(10/25/11 4:23am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Attempting to join the ranks of Mark Spitz, Jim Montgomery, Gary Hall and other IU swimming Olympians including his father, junior Eric Ress has a steep hill to climb.After consulting with IU Coach Ray Looze and his family, the swimmer and 2010 French National Champion in the 200-meter backstroke has decided to redshirt the 2011-2012 season in order to train and attempt to qualify for the French national team for the 2012 London Olympics.“How many collegiate athletes have the chance to make an Olympic team and make a final and potentially medal?” Looze asked. “It’s very rare now for collegiate athletes to be in the Olympics conversation, so I am all for it. Eric has that talent, and the opportunity is there. If he didn’t have the talent, we wouldn’t be doing this.”From the start of his competitive swimming career at age 6, Ress knew he had big footsteps to follow. His father, Colin, swam at IU from 1975 to 1979 and competed in the 1976 Olympics in the 800-meter freestyle relay for France. Even with the pressure of his father’s career, Ress blossomed into a backstroke specialist, and by age 14 he was already representing France in international competition. By 2008, Ress had won the 200-yard backstroke in the U.S. Speedo Junior National Championships, finished third in the European Junior Championships in the 200-meter backstroke and sixth in the 100-meter backstroke and was well on his way to succeeding his father’s legacy, committing to be an Indiana Hoosier.“It makes me proud on a daily basis seeing his name up on the banner at the pool,” Ress said. “His involvement as a Hoosier was a large, positive influence on my college decision, and I’ve never been happier to be in Bloomington. All legacy swimmers here feel a big sense of pride to continue the tradition.”During his freshman year at IU, Ress had already broken Michael Phelps’ 17-18-year-old age group record in the 200-yard backstroke at 1:41.35 at the Big Ten Championships, setting a career-best and the then-second best time in IU history. Last season, as a sophomore, Ress won the Big Ten Championship in the 100-yard backstroke and was named Big Ten Swimmer of the Year. He finished runner-up in the NCAA Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships in both the 100- and 200-yard backstroke competitions, and also set the IU record for the 200-yard backstroke at 1:38.96, as well.Now, in his second attempt to make the French Olympic team after falling short in 2008, Ress said he feels he has the experience to get him to his life-long dream.“My chances of making it in 2008 were not nearly as good as they are now, but I’m still kind of the underdog in this situation, which will work to my advantage,” Ress said. “After my collegiate season last year and the training I’m putting in now with my fellow Hoosiers, I’m confident I can rattle some people come March and turn some heads down the road.”Ress’ decision to redshirt was a difficult one, he said. In order to participate in the French Olympic Trials, he would have to miss the NCAA Championships. In addition, since international competition uses long-course pools (meters) instead of the NCAA’s short-course pools (yards), Ress must compete at certain long-course meets and training camps throughout the swimming and diving season in order to prepare for the trials.“(Redshirting this season) was probably one of the hardest decisions I’ve had to make,” Ress said. “I felt a lot of pressure to be there for my team, and I was really concerned on how they would respond. The coaches assured me they’d be supportive, but I was nervous that they’d be upset with me.”Since the decision Ress said not only has his fear been dispelled, but the bond that he has forged with the IU team has grown stronger. In fact, after Saturday’s wins against Kentucky and Tennessee, Ress called the team to congratulate them while they were on the bus on way back from the meet.“The coaches were more than supportive and favored that decision, but my teammates have been great,” Ress said. “They’re the reason I love this program and school so much, and they make me 100 percent comfortable with my decision. They want to help me in any way possible with my dream, and they know I feel the same way toward them.“It is only a matter of months until Ress will be in the pool in France, racing for the accomplishment of his life-long dream. Until then, he said he will be training intensely, preparing for the races of his life as he tries to qualify for the 100- and 200-meter backstroke and the freestyle relay team.“To make the Olympics will mean so much to me,” Ress said. “To represent France at the pinnacle of athletic competition has been a dream of mine since I was 10 years old. Also, if I were to make it, I’d be the same age as my dad when he did.”
(10/24/11 3:57am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The Hoosiers started their 2011-2012 season with a bang as the men swept Tennessee 151-149 and Kentucky 212-88, and the women defeated Kentucky 205-78 but fell to Tennessee 163-120.In their first meet and without junior Eric Ress, who is redshirting the season in order to train for the 2012 Olympics, the depth on the men’s team carried the Hoosiers throughout the competition.Sophomore Cody Miller got off to a fast start, winning both the 100 and 200-yard breaststroke races and finishing second in the 200-yard Individual Medley and the 200-yard Medley Relay with junior Daniel Kanorr, sophomore James Wells and true freshman Steve Schmuhl.In addition to Miller’s successes, junior Jim Barbiere took the 200-yard freestyle win, senior Tyler Shedron prevailed in the 200-yard butterfly event, junior Ryan Hinshaw was victorious in the 500-yard freestyle race and Schmuhl won his first career race in his first college meet in the 200-yard backstroke.“(The depth) was an eye-opener for us,” Miller said. “It shows how much better we are this year compared to last year, and it also shows that we really have potential to be great this year and do great things. We have a strong freshman class and a solid group of men overall. It was a great way to start the season.”Meanwhile, despite the women’s team having key performances by seniors Margaux Farrell and Brittany Strumbel and sophomore Laura Ryan in their effort against their two SEC opponents, the Hoosiers could not overcome Tennessee. Though Farrell won in the 50 and 100-yard freestyle races, Strumbel in the 200 and 500-yard freestyle and Ryan in the 3-meter diving competition, the Volunteers won the 11 other events conductedSaturday.“I was really pleased with how tough our girls swam,” IU coach Ray Looze said. “We were shorthanded with our squad so we had swimmers who don’t normally swim, and it changed the complexion of our relays.Given those challenges, I think we did a great job. Tennessee is a really good team, and you need to bring your ‘A’ game when we go up against them, and I think we did that.”Both the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams will next face Michigan and Texas in Ann Arbor, Mich., Nov. 4 and 5. Last season, both teams in each program finished the season ranked in the top 20.“In order to do well against them, we just have to continue what we have been doing: winning races and exhibiting depth,” Looze said. “Getting the swimmers back, though, from the Pan-Am Games is definitely going to help.”
(10/21/11 4:10am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>With the Hoosiers returning a Pan-American Games bronze medalist on one team and an individual Big Ten champion and record-setting swimmer on the other, both the IU women’s and men’s swimming and diving teams have much to look forward to this coming season. As each team faces high expectations, both teams will open their seasons on Saturday in Knoxville, Tenn., in a dual meet against Tennessee and Kentucky.“They’ve been pretty good about not putting pressure on themselves and not weighing too much on expectations,” IU Coach Ray Looze said. “There’s more excitement than anything else heading into this season. They really can’t wait to get started and continue to build on what we started last year.”After a season culminating in a Big Ten championship and a No. 12 national ranking, the women’s team returns key weapons that will look to contribute to a possible fourth consecutive Big Ten title. Senior Allysa Vavra, who won a bronze medal in the 400-meter Individual Medley at the 2011 Pan American Games in Mexico and has set multiple records as a swimmer at IU, will return for what she hopes to make a historic season. Other key returners for the Hoosiers include 2010 USA Diving National Championship winning divers Amy Cozad and Laura Ryan, along with senior Big Ten champion swimmers Nikki White, Margaux Farrell and Brittany Strumbel.“I would say we have what it takes to be a top-five team this year,” Looze said. “Our goal is always to win the national title, but we’ve been top 10 three out of the last four years, and we want to be well into the top 10. Right now, our best ranking ever is ninth, and any ranking better than that is what we’re shooting for, and we won’t stop until we get there.” Meanwhile, the men’s team, which finished last season ranked No. 12 in the nation and second in the Big Ten, is looking to capture its first Big Ten title in six years. Last year’s Big Ten Swimmer of the Year, junior Eric Ress, returns for the Hoosiers after winning last season’s Big Ten Championship in the 100-meter backstroke and setting IU records in the 800-meter freestyle relay, 200-meter individual medley and 200-meter backstroke. In addition, last year’s Big Ten 100- and 200-meter backstroke champion, sophomore Cody Miller, and junior 100-meter Big Ten runner-up Zac Nees hope to again provide IU with depth. “The depth of the team is what is going to make this team successful,” Ress said. “We are not going to be like the Indianapolis Colts where it is one guy like Peyton Manning carrying the team. Guys are really stepping up their game, and we are really going to rattle some people this year.” While IU had its fair share of success last season, the team will take on a Tennessee squad that finished ninth in the nation. The Hoosiers will also start the season without Vavra and sophomore Brenna MacLean, who are both participating at the Pan-American Games until October 30.However, Looze said that won’t be an excuse this weekend.“I want to see them compete in hard-nosed racing, to go into a hostile environment and compete, win events and score points whenever we can and do so in a junkyard dog fashion,” Looze said. “We are known as a good road team that can go into any environment and make it our own, and we’re going to have to do it without a few good swimmers, but there are no excuses. We have our work cut out for us, but we’re excited for the challenge.”
(09/29/11 5:09am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Former IU diver Kristen Kane will be among Friday’s inductees into the IU AthleticsHall of Fame.Kane, who was relatively ignored coming out of high school but became a USADiving champion, has had an illustrious career that included a U.S. Outdoor DivingChampionship in the one-meter competition in 1992 , three Big Ten championships(three-meter in 1992 and 1994 , 10-meter in 1992) , two Big Ten Diver of the Year awards (1992 and 1994 ), four years of All-American status , two IU Female Athlete of the Year Awards (1992 and 1994) and a selection to be a member of the U.S. delegation for the Pan-American games (1995).Kane got a late start in the sport compared to other divers. When she was in seventh grade, a lifeguard at her neighborhood pool saw her “doing tricks” off the diving board and recommended she join a local diving program. During the next six years, Kane became a competitive diver, eventually joining her high school team in Kingston, Wash. When her senior year of high school arrived, though she was relatively unknown around the national diving community, IU offered her a partial scholarship.“I chose IU because, on top of the top-notch school with a diving program in which I could gain great experiences, they had offered me a partial scholarship,”Kane said. “I was a veritable unknown in the diving world, and most of my successful competitions were high school related, not national. No one else offered me money.”After her sophomore season at IU, Kane was already among the national elite in diving. In addition to winning multiple Big Ten titles and being named an All-American, Kane also finished as NCAA runnerup in the one-meter dive competition and third inthe three-meter.As her junior and senior years approached, she said the pressure she put on herselfto succeed was not to maintain her All-American status or obtain other nationalrecognitions. Instead, the pressure she said she faced was performing at her highest ability, no matter what her results were during the prior season.“I always wanted to do my best regardless of how that compared to others or ranking scales or whatever,” Kane said. “I wanted to win to prove to myself I could. A year, five years, 10 years from today, who will remember who won what? Me. While it’s great to win,the real winning is bettering yourself and striving to achieve your goals.”After her senior season, which ended in a secondplace finish in the 1994 NCAA three-meter competition, Kane’s career was extended when she qualified for the U.S. diving team for the 1995 Pan American Games, She finished sixth in the overall competition, despite a sprained ankle.“To be representing your country in international competition is just an amazing thing,” Kane said. “I felt so much pride — American pride. I also felt anxious because I wanted to represent the USA successfully in international competition.”Seventeen years after her final dive as an Indiana Hoosier, Kane will be enshrinedas a member of the IU Athletics Hall of Fame.It all still comes as a shock to Kane, she said.She will not be able to attend the induction ceremony. Former IU diver Chris Unruh will appear on her behalf.“I feel a bit out of my league and surprised to be acknowledged with such a class of athletes,” Kane said. “All in all, though, I am extremely honored, and this allows me to take a moment of pride to know that my hard work and accomplishments were, and continue to be, recognized by others.”