The Indiana men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams open the 2013-14 season this weekend, with both squads taking out-of-town trips. The men will head west to face California (Oct. 11) and Stanford (Oct. 12), while the women head to Notre Dame to take on the Fighting Irish and Auburn, Oct. 11-12.
Action vs. California gets underway at 4 p.m. ET Friday, with the dual at Stanford set for 3 p.m. ET. Indiana, Notre Dame and Auburn will swim a relay meet on Friday, Oct. 11 beginning at 5 p.m. ET. The teams will take part in a traditional dual meet on Oct. 12 starting at 11 a.m. ET.
Cody Miller, 6-time Big Ten Champions (Courtesy of Tim Binning/theswimpictures)
The Indiana men are coming off their first top-10 finish at the NCAA Championships in more than 30 years, placing ninth. Leading the Hoosiers’ returnees are seniors Cody Miller and Eric Ress. Miller is a six-time Big Ten champion in the 100 and 200 breaststroke and also added the conference 200-yard individual medley title last season. Ress has won Big Ten titles in the 100 and 200 backstroke, and was runner-up in both events at the 2011 NCAA Championships.
Also back is junior Steve Schmuhl. Schmuhl had a breakout sophomore season, placing fifth in the 400 IM at the NCAA Championships. Most recently he and Miller were named to the USA Swimming National Team for 2013-14.
Newcomers to this year’s team include sprint specialist Anze Tavcar, who finished 10th in the 50-meter freestyle at the 2011 World Junior Championships. Bloomington North product Max Irwin was a two-time IHSAA state champion (100 butterfly, 500 freestyle) and a nine-time All-American.
In the diving well the Hoosiers return two-time Big Ten Champion and five-time All-American Darian Schmidt. Schmidt was the 2013 Big Ten Diver of the Year, winning the conference 1-meter title and placing sixth on the 1-meter and third on the 3-meter at the NCAA Championships.
Linsay Vrooman, 2013 Big Ten Swimmer of the Year (courtesy of Tim Binning/theswimpictures)
The women placed 11th at last year’s NCAA Championship and are paced by 2013 Big Ten Swimmer of the Year Lindsay Vrooman. Vrooman, also named to the USA Swimming National Team for 2013-14, won Big Ten titles in the 500 free, 1,650 free and 800 free relay in 2013 and was third in the mile at the NCAA Championships.
Sophomore Brooklynn Snodgrass is back after a splashy start to her IU career, winning individual Big Ten titles in the 100 back and 200 back, and finishing in the top eight in both events at the NCAA Championships. Senior Brenna MacLean is coming off an 11th-place finish in the 200 butterfly at the 2013 NCAA Championships, while junior Dorina Szekeres is the reigning Big Ten Champion in the 400 individual medley and earned All-America honors in the event at the NCAA meet.
Ray Looze, Indiana University Swimming and Diving Head Coach (courtesy of Tim Binning/theswimpictures)
A pair of seniors in Kate Hillman and Cassidy Kahn leads the women’s diving program. Hillman made her first NCAA Championship appearance in 2013 and was third on the 1-meter at the Big Ten Championships. Kahn had a career-best finish on the 1-meter at the Big Ten Championships, placing seventh.
Freshman Jessica Parratto is a strong addition to the IU diving squad, finishing ninth on the platform at the 2012 Olympic Trials and winning a national title in the event at the 2012 AT&T National Diving Championships.
IN THIS VIDEO COACH RAY LOOZE PREVIEWS THE IU SWIM & DIVE WOMEN’S SEASON
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This release was provided to swimswam. The video previews are courtesy of IU Swimming and Diving.