Hoosiers hope to add more qualifiers

After their best-ever Big Ten conference finish in Ann Arbor, Mich., last weekend, the IU women's swimming team looks to qualify more swimmers for the NCAA Championships this weekend at the Indiana Open.\nSunday's event is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. at the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatics Center. The Hoosiers play host to other competitors in the last-chance meet for swimmers to post qualifying times for the NCAA Championships. The NCAAs will be held March 21-23 in Austin, Texas.\nHoosier swimming head coach Dorsey Tierney looks for at least one of the Hoosier relay squads to post solid NCAA qualifying time.\n"We have a couple of relays in the last couple of spots (to make NCAAs) and there are still a few conference meets this weekend," Tierney said. "I think our 400-yard free relay is really prepared to go fast."\nTierney also hopes for faster times out of senior Erin Rice in the 1650-yard freestyle and freshman Erin Smith in the 100-yard butterfly. Tierney believes both swimmers are on the bubble of making the NCAAs and can do so with fast times this weekend.\nThe Hoosiers have five automatic qualifiers for the NCAA Championships. Their deepest event is the 400-yard individual medley, where they went 1-2-3 at the Big Ten Championships. Both sophomore Brooke Taflinger and junior Tina Gretlund have already qualified in the event. Junior Kristy Martin, in the 200-yard butterfly, and sophomore Sarah Fiden, in the 1650-yard free, also have qualified.\nSenior captain Susan Woessner qualified in two events: the 100- and 200-yard backstroke. Woessner was named Big Ten Swimmer of the Year at last weekend's conference meet but said she is most pleased with the progress the Hoosiers have made since her freshman year.\n"Right now we have five qualified; we have the opportunity to have 10, and that would be great," Woessner said. "My first year we had two, so to have 10 it would be a great improvement. We are looking to get our 400-free relay in, which would give us three more, and to just get as many swimmers as possible to NCAAs."\nKey to the Hoosiers' second place finish at the Big Ten Championships was sophomore Meghan Medendorp who had a break-out weekend, including a third-place finish in the 100-yard freestyle. Medendorp's time of 50.60 in the event was a season-best time and more than two seconds faster than her previous fastest time. Her previous best was the 14th fastest on the team. \nTierney believes Medendorp is another swimmer right on the bubble of qualifying for NCAAs. The quickness of her races at Big Tens surprised even Medendorp, who looks to continue her improvements this weekend.\n"I was surprised at my times when I finished at the wall and looked up," she said. "I fed off of a lot of other swimmers (at Big Tens). I didn't really think about my races, I just thought 'Swim fast and go all out.' This weekend I hope to drop a couple more tenths in the 100-free and to give it all on the 400-free relay."\nTierney admits it took the team a couple of days to overcome the heartbreaking conclusion of the Big Ten Championships, but she is pleased with how her squad has changed its focus to the tasks ahead of them.\n"There is no question that emotionally and physically this is the most exhausted I have seen this group in my three years here," Tierney said. "But they have done an outstanding job of re-focusing and we have set some goals for ourselves this weekend and they know what we need to do.\n"This is a very strong group, and I am pleased with how they have re-focused"