Longhorns invade Bloomington

Assembling strong team chemistry and maturing as a team through a demanding schedule seems to be the mindset of the IU men's swimming and diving team. \nCoach Ray Looze's squad faces a strong team in the Texas Longhorns today at 1 p.m. in the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center. Last year, the team ended with a 5-7 record and finished fourth in the Big Ten Championships and 17th overall in the NCAA Championships. The young group of IU swimmers and divers say they are not satisfied to settle on last year's successes.\n"I don't regard fourth place as successful. We finished 17th at NCAAs. That means 16 other teams beat us," Looze said. "Success is relevant."\nIU's team is still a very young team with minimal experience in comparison to the powerhouse teams in the country. The Hoosiers' opponent today, the University of Texas, has won nine national titles in the past 15 years. Coach Looze knows the Texas mystique well -- he started his coaching career during the 1990-91 season serving as a graduate assistant under Texas head coach Eddie Reese. It seems, however, competing against Texas this early in the season will be a positive move forward for this very green IU squad.\n"We are hungry for this meet," said junior All-American Kevin Swander. "Hands down, we are the underdog. Competing against Texas is a huge building block for us."\nThe demanding docket Looze has scheduled for the Hoosiers includes six teams that finished last year in the top 25 in the country. The list includes today's opponent, Texas, as well as the University of Tennessee, the University of Kentucky, Michigan, Texas A&M University and Northwestern. The IU coach said he believes through tough competition his team can improve enough to win every team's eventual goal: a national title.\n"We have a young team. That is why we are force-feeding them a tough schedule," Looze explained. "That is, to teach them how they need to train."\nWithin this young and hungry IU team are talented All-Americans. Senior Murph Halasz, Swander and sophomore Colin Russell all earned this distinction following last season. The diving team returns All-Americans senior Marc Carlton and junior Ryan Fagan. Swander brings precious experience and a couple championships into the IU locker room. In the 2004 ConnocoPhillips Summer National Championships in Stanford, Calif., he took first place in the 100-meter breaststroke and third place in the 200-meter breaststroke. Swander also became the first Hoosier to be named Big Ten Swimmer of the Championships at the 2004 Big Ten Meet. His recent success provides valuable leadership to the young Hoosier roster.\n"It was fun to win the national championship over the summer, but I want to take as many guys with me as I can this year," Swander said. "We have a talented group of guys."\nWith today's meet against Texas being the first important dual meet in the Hoosier schedule, getting off to a good start can boost the team's confidence. \nWith a program steeped in rich tradition -- winning six national championships and 23 Big Ten titles -- IU hasn't won a Big Ten title since 1985 or a national title since 1973. However, the Hoosiers believe they have the potential to become a perennial power in the sport, and beating prestigious Texas today would steer them in the right direction.\n"I think we are on the verge of winning. If not this year, then next," Swander said. "We are very close."\n-- Contact staff writer Evan Harris at evharris@indiana.edu.