Sitting pretty after day one

The first race of the finals in the 2001 Big Ten Swimming and Diving Championships might serve as an omen for the Hoosiers. Or at least they hope.\nThe Hoosiers won two events, putting them behind only Michigan after day one of the three-day event at Counsilman Billingsley Aquatic Center. Penn State sits third.\nThe Hoosier 200-yard freestyle relay team raced to a first-place finish, edging out Michigan by nine hundredths of a second to claim the first victory of the meet. The time was a new IU school record. Senior Jenn Cristy, who came back three events later to set a conference meet record in -- and win -- the 50-yard freestyle, led off the relay team and swam the quickest leg.\n"We may not be seeded first, but we have the most heart and spirit," Cristy said. "If we all want it, we all get it. But we're taking it one session at a time."\nJunior Susan Woessner swam the final leg, nudging out the Wolverines. She hit the pool deck feeling good.\n"I came out of the pool shaking," Woessner said. "We talked about (winning) it, and we did it."\nJust after IU's relay win, Wisconsin senior Ellen Stonebraker claimed the first individual victory of the night, winning the 500-yard freestyle with a Counsilman pool-record time of 4:44.96. IU freshman Sarah Fiden, in her first Big Ten Championship meet, snapped the IU record, but was a shade off Stonebraker, finishing two seconds back in third place. Her time broke a school record that hadn't been touched in 20 years.\nThe Hoosiers went silent in the 200 individual medley, while Michigan and Penn State both earned scoring spots. But IU bounced back in the 50 free behind Cristy, who beat out Michigan senior Jennifer Crisman by two-tenths of a second to capture the victory. Michigan placed four swimmers in the top eight.\nIn diving, IU's Erin Quinn surprised the field by finishing second, sandwiched between a pair of Michigan State divers. Quinn was seeded first after the preliminaries with 289.50 points, 12 more than her nearest competitor. Quinn will be back on the boards again today, this time in the 3-meter competition. \nThe Wolverines increased their lead over the Hoosiers, and Penn State made up ground in the day's final event, the 400-yards medley relay. Michigan, bolstered by Crisman and freshman Samantha Aresenault, who finished two, three in the 50-free, topped Penn State by two seconds. IU finished fourth, just behind Purdue. \n"It was a good night," said IU coach Dorsey Tierney, who instilled a "Hear Nothing, See Nothing," frame of mind into her Hoosiers. "The 200-free relay was a real team relay. That really gets us fired up"