Team looks to overcome deficit

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"