Momentum key in win

Women's swimming coach Dorsey Tierney didn't expect her Hoosier squad to get off to a great start in its dual competition against in-state rival No. 22 Purdue. So when the No. 19 Hoosiers stole the 200-yard medley relay in the first event of the day, momentum was on IU's side.\nThat momentum translated into a 183.5-114.5 Hoosier victory.\n"Purdue historically has a very good 200-medley relay," Tierney said. "I knew we were going to have to be the best we have been all year to even be competitive with their best relay. We wiped out the deficit with the relay, and I felt that Purdue was going to expect to win that relay and that if we were to sneak in there and get it that the momentum would certainly be in our favor."\nThe Hoosiers' time in the 200-yard medley relay of 1:44.16 edged Purdue by only 12 hundredths of a second and was a new season-best time by more than two and a half seconds. The time was also the fourth fastest in school history.\nIU went on to place 1-2-3 in the next two events, setting the tone for the entire meet. Junior Jenny Bechem led the Hoosier contingent in the 1000-yard freestyle, with a new season-best time of 10:08.15. In the 200-yard freestyle, freshman Erin Smith finished first with a 1:51.82 time.\nThe diving portion of the competition was completed the previous weekend, and IU trailed Purdue coming into the swimming events 20-18. IU thought it was important to get out to a quick start to overcome the deficit.\n"The first relay was big, because they always expect to start off the meet with a win," junior Brooke Taflinger said. "It was great because it showed them that we weren't going to let them have their best race. After that race, we just kept feeding off each other, and everybody swam great."\nIU (4-0-1, 3-0-1 Big Ten) gained a valuable point in the Titan Series with the victory. IU now leads 4-2.5 over the Boilermakers.\nTaflinger helped the Hoosiers' cause, winning the 200-yard breaststroke with a new school-record time of 2:18.99. She also swam to victory in the 400-yard individual medley, with a time of 4:21.81.\nModest about her personal achievement, Taflinger said she was glad she could contribute to the victory.\n"We were so pumped up for this meet and to have a chance to show them that they can't come into our pool and take over," Taflinger said. "I'm just glad that I had the opportunity to swim against them because they have a pretty good breaststroker. It was nice to be able to compete and to help my team out."\nIn what were billed as the marquee match-ups of the event, senior Susan Woessner and Purdue swimmer Lisa Dolansky squared off in both the 100- and 200-yard backstroke events. Dolansky is a two-time Big Ten Swimmer of the Week award winner this year, but Woessner dominated both events.\nWoessner, who had already qualified for the NCAAs in the 100-back, swam a new season-best time in the event with a 54.46. With a minimal margin after the 50-yard mark, Woessner pulled away from Dolansky, who finished with a time of 56.01. The 200-back ran much the same way, with Woessner pulling away in the final 50 yards to claim a victory with a time of 2:00.19 over Dolansky's 2:03.02.\nIn all, the Hoosiers claimed victories in 12 of the 14 swimming events and set six new season-best times.\nSmith also won the 100-yard butterfly with a season-best time of 55.84 and placed second in the 100-yard freestyle, only two hundredths of a second behind teammate Anne Williams. As a freshman, Smith said the meet allowed her to see the excitement behind a big time competition.\n"I wasn't a part of Big Tens last year, where everyone says it was the most amazing meet ever," Smith said. "But I felt like the team came together so much this meet, and it was amazing.\n"I have never really had this experience before where everyone was so pumped to go. I felt like I had to be a part of it and do awesome, too"