IU finishes a surprising 4th place at Big Ten meet

Team erases memory of tough season with strong showing at Championships\nAfter a disappointing regular season in the Big Ten, the Hoosiers performed strongly in their most important meet on the conference schedule -- the Big Ten Championships. \nWith a score of 412.5 points, IU finished in fourth place among the 11 teams participating. They finished behind Minnesota, Michigan and Northwestern, who scored a total of 712.5, 605 and 478 points, respectively, over the course of the weekend. \nThe performance was one not expected by the Hoosiers, as they struggled all season long, succumbing to injury and a limited roster on their way to a 5-7 overall record, finishing 3-4 in the Big Ten. \n"The best-case scenario for us to finish at this meet was fifth, but more likely seventh with the loss of diving," IU coach Ray Looze said. "And we finished fourth. I guess it was just a case of where we swam above our perceived talent, and that is always real nice."\nLooze's mention of the loss of diving refers to the fact that the Hoosiers had only one diver competing in the championships, junior Ryan Fagan, as they have all year. Fagan, who was consistent for the Hoosiers in the 1- and 3-meter diving events throughout the year in dual meet competition, contributed 37 points for the Hoosiers.\nAmong the top performers for the Hoosiers throughout the three-day Championships was junior Murph Halasz. Halasz, who also competes in the IM relays, finished second in the 200-yard butterfly. His time of 1:44.81, which set a school record for the Hoosiers, automatically qualified him for the NCAA Championships. \n"I am pretty excited about (the NCAA automatic time)," Halasz said. "Coach Looze told me this morning to push out sooner. So I kicked out harder off the 75-yard wall. I held on and swam hard the whole way."\n"Automatic times are not easy to get," Looze said of Halasz. "That puts Murph in the elite of the country. He has worked extremely hard. That is the culmination of a kid committed to doing things the right way."\nHalasz's medley relay teammate, sophomore Kevin Swander, also had a banner weekend at the championships. Besides contributing to the relay victory, Swander also finished second overall in the 200-yard breaststroke. \nJust like Halasz, Swander not only set a school record with his time of 1:56.46, but he also automatically qualified for the NCAA's with that time. He fell just short of Purdue's Giordan Pogioli, who just edged out Swander with a time of 1:56.13.\n"I am happy, but not satisfied," Swander said. "You can never be satisfied in swimming. In four weeks, I just have to go out and swim faster. I had a really good race today. Pogioli is a great swimmer. I almost came out on top tonight."\n-- Contact staff writer Scott Lipsky at slipsky@indiana.edu.\nHoosier women capitalize on 'Last Chance' Invitational\nFor the average spectator, Saturday's race between Clarissa Wentworth and Doherty Colgin appeared as if they were racing against each other as they swam side by side in the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center.\nBut, the freshman and sophomore's only real race was against the clock, as they and a host of other IU swimmers looked to qualify for the NCAA Championships by boosting their NCAA cut times and edging into the national competition.\nThe swimmers proved they were up to the task. Colgin and Wentworth, both swimming career and school best times in the 200-meter freestyle, improved on their NCAA B cut times from the first session of the meet. Wentworth set a new IU record with her time of 1:47.91, and Colgin pressured her teammate the entire race, eventually finishing up just behind with a time of 1:47.99. \nThe 200-meter freestyle wasn't the only race in which the Hoosiers achieved success. The 200-yard relay team of freshman Leila Vaziri, senior Greer McGettrick, junior Erin Smith and senior Meghan Medendorp also set a new school record time. After being disqualified from competition in the Big Ten championships, the team put together a stellar performance and finished with a time of 1:41.84, .06 seconds faster than the school record time set in 2002. The performance also earned the team an NCAA provisional cut time.\nProvisional cut times qualify individuals or teams for NCAA competition, although in a limited sense. While the provisional cut time places the individual in consideration for the NCAAs, all of the NCAA automatic cut times, or "A" cut times, earn first bidding at the NCAAs. If for some reason the "A" times do not fill the field, the next best "B" times and provisional cut times are invited to fill the competition. \nIU coach Dorsey Tierney explained the need for the time trial meet. \n"At the NCAAs, there will probably be about 30 selections per event. We wanted to use this meet as a way to get more of our swimmers qualified for those events."\nIn total, the Hoosiers achieved seven NCAA provisional cut times, adding four more people to the possible selections for the NCAA championships.