BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Indiana University men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams will host Kentucky, North Carolina and Tennessee in a quad meet on Friday afternoon at the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center in Bloomington, Ind.
The meet will be broadcast live online on BTN Plus starting at 1 p.m. Live stats for the meet can be found at IUHoosiers.com. Admission to the meet is free.
The meet will get underway with the 1,000 freestyle at 12 p.m., with two diving events to follow at 1 p.m. The swimming portion of the meet gets underway in full at 2 p.m. At the end of the quad meet, each men’s and women’s team will have three dual meet scores against the other participating teams.
Fans are encouraged to park in the Sunrise Lot off 10th Street, directly south of the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center. Parking in that lot is free. Spectators may also park in the pay lot directly east of the CBAC, but the normal parking charges will apply.
Scouting the Hoosiers
Indiana enters Friday’s quad meet coming off a successful tri-meet in Austin, Texas two weeks ago against Texas and Florida. The Hoosier women defeated the Gators twice, while the IU men swam well against two top programs.
Entering Friday’s meet, the Hoosier men’s team is ranked ninth in the country, while the IU women are 14th in CollegeSwimming.com’s Team Rankings. In the first Collegiate Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) TYR Top 25, the Hoosier men are ranked ninth, while the Indiana women are ranked 11th in the nation.
“It’s a great opportunity for the Hoosiers to go up against UNC, Tennessee, and Kentucky this Friday here at the CBAC,” IU head swimming coach Ray Looze said. “All four teams were top-20 last year which means every race will be contested at the highest of levels. Our coaches expect our swimmers and divers to be ready, passionate, focused and fine-tuned as we welcome three great programs to Bloomington.”
The IU divers also had a tremendous showing down in Texas. For the men, Joshua Arndt finished second in the 3-meter and third in the 1-meter, while on the women’s side, Michal Bower finished third in the 1-meter dive and sixth in the 3-meter.
“We are looking forward to hosting UK, UT and UNC this weekend,” head diving coach Drew Johansen remarked. “Top schools from the SEC and ACC in one meet will be a great challenge for us this early in the year.”
Scouting the Opponents
The Hoosiers will be facing three opponents who all rank in the top-30 in CollegeSwimming.com’s Team Rankings this week.
For the Tar Heels, the men’s team is ranked 10th in the nation, while the women are ranked No. 4 in the country by CollegeSwimming.com. In the CSCAA rankings, the women are ranked fifth, while the men are ranked 12th. Last year, the UNC men placed 18th at the NCAA Championships, while the women finished 19th.
For the Volunteers, the men’s squad is ranked 11th in the CSCAA poll and 14th in the CollegeaSwimming.com rankings, while the women are ranked ninth and 10th, respectively, by CollegeSwimming.com and the CSCAA. Last year, the Tennessee men placed 14th at the NCAA’s while the women came in 11th.
Finally, for the Wildcats, the men’s team enters this Friday’s meet ranked 14th in the nation by CollegeSwimming.com, while the women are ranked 28th by CollegeSwimming.com. Last year, the Kentucky women placed 16th at the NCAA Championships.
Pieroni, Tucker Earn Weekly Big Ten Swimming Honors
After stellar performances against Texas and Florida, IU swimmers Blake Pieroni and Miranda Tucker earned weekly honors from the Big Ten on Oct. 21. Pieroni was named Big Ten Swimmer of the Week, while Tucker was named the conference’s Co-Freshman of the Week.
Miller, Grothe Named to U.S. Team for Duel in the Pool
Former Indiana University swimming standout Cody Miller was named to the U.S. Duel in the Pool National Team last week. Miller will be joined on the U.S. team by Zane Grothe, a 12-time All-American and U.S. Olympic qualifier at Auburn who is training with the Indiana coaching staff in Bloomington.
Hoosiers on the National Team
When USA Swimming announced the members of the 2015-16 National Team in early September, there was a strong contingent of swimmers that had ties to Indiana University.
The current members of IU team that were named to the national team include Lilly King in the 100 breaststroke, and Blake Pieroni in the 200 freestyle. Former IU standouts that made the cut are Cody Miller in the 100 breaststroke and 200 breaststroke along with Lindsay Vrooman in the 400 freestyle and 800 freestyle.
Joining the U.S. National Team coaching staff are current Indiana head coach Ray Looze, associate head coach Mike Westphal and former IU swimmer Logan Schaefer.
Zane Grothe, a graduate of Auburn University, is currently training with the IU coaches and staff in Bloomington and he was named to the team in the 200 freestyle and 400 freestyle. Groth ranks ninth in the 400 free and 26th in the world in the 200 free.
Swimming news courtesy of Indiana Swimming & Diving.