Energetic start marks 1st meet for No. 25 Hoosiers

The No. 25 women's swimming and diving program is off to a busy start this winter. \nIn the first weekend of December the Hoosiers took on Big Ten rival Illinois in Champaign. IU pulled out a victory beating the Fighting Illini 155-145. Though the meet ended in close numbers, the Lady Hoosiers never lost their poise. The cream and crimson only lost the lead once when Illinois took all three top finishes in the 100-yard breaststroke.\nJunior Laura Torpey grabbed first place in the 1,000-yard and 500-yard freestyle. Sophomore Leila Vaziri came in first in the 200-yard medley relay, 100-yard backstroke and 200-yard backstroke, and freshman diver Christina Loukas took first in both the one-meter and three-meter diving.\n After a nail biter of a finish, the Lady Hoosiers announced the recruits that will be joining the program next year. IU coach Dorsey Tierney signed 11 new student-athletes from in-state cities Newburgh and Yorktown, with the others ranging from Encino, Calif., to Wichita, Kan. Tierney gave nothing but praise to her new student-athletes, speaking highly of all the new women. \nAfter classes ended and a short break to visit home, the swimming team began the new year by taking on the Mexican National Team Jan. 4 in San Luis Potosi in an exhibition meet.\nThe meet did not take very long because of the lack of participation from the Mexican National Team, and the Hoosiers came out with the victory. The official results will be available on iuhoosiers.com today. \nNext up for the cream and crimson is a dual meet against Big Ten rival Ohio State University Buckeyes in Columbus, Ohio. The Lady Hoosiers will be taking on the Buckeyes at 1 p.m. Saturday.\nStandout IU diver Lindsay Weigle said she is "pretty excited" about the upcoming meet and also looks forward to seeing some old friends who now swim for the Buckeyes. Weigle, a Bloomington native, views this meet as "just another meet" and does not see it being a problem that she must compete against her friends. The Hoosiers will look to carry their recent success into Columbus, Weigle said.