Team optimistic after halfway point

After defeating Ohio State for the first time in two years this past weekend, the IU men's swimming and diving team is heading in the right direction as they enter the toughest part of the season. \n"We hadn't beaten Ohio State for some time," swim coach Ray Looze said. "I was pretty pleased. I think we're on track towards what we want to accomplish."\nDuring winter break, the swimmers traveled to Miami for their winter training trip. The Hoosiers trained at a higher intensity while in Florida. Looze said it seems to have paid off against the Buckeyes. \n"We really focused on what we needed to do," junior Matt Leach said. "We did a lot of team building activities, and it was a positive experience for everyone there."\nBut Looze said he feels the team still has not been tested to the fullest. Looze said he believes his team has yet to completely finish off an opponent. In the Ohio State meet, the Hoosiers won seven of the 11 events, but lost a couple that Looze said they should have won, which kept the meet close. \nThe Hoosiers will face No. 1 Michigan this week, and Looze said his team will have to bring nothing but their highest level of intensity. Purdue and Kentucky still remain in their schedule before the Big Ten and NCAA championships begin, which should both be close dual meets. \nThe diving team had a busy weekend competing in the America's Cup meet and at Ohio State. The America's Cup Diving meet was held at the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center, and it featured nationally and internationally ranked divers. \nJunior All-American Marc Carlton qualified for the quarterfinals, but lost in that round to Tennessee sophomore Phillip Jones. But Carlton did qualify for the World trials and the Olympic trials on both the 10-meter and three-meter dives. Freshman Brian Mariano qualified for the World trials on the 10 and three-meter dives, and senior Adam Hazes also qualified on the three-meter. At Ohio State, Carlton placed first on both the one and three-meter, and Hazes took third in both events.\nDiving coach Jeff Huber said he was pleased with the team's performance during the weekend. \n"We got in there and mixed it up with some national and international divers at the America's Cup," Huber said. "The team feels really good about their progress. And at Ohio State Marc did an outstanding job. He gave one of the best performances anyone has done at Ohio State." \nHuber said his team still has a couple skills they need to fine-tune. He said that the team mainly just needs to become more comfortable and aggressive in their dives.