Springing Into The Books

Predictability flooded the final night of the Big Ten Championships.\nFirst-place honors already were assured to Penn State. Senior swimmers and divers were culminating their careers. IU diving lived up to its esteemed reputation in the Big Ten.\nBut for a young freshman diver, the night was a little less predictable.\nIU freshman diver Christina Loukas spent the last week finishing first in the one-meter, second in the three-meter and fourth in the platform diving competitions. By the end of the weekend, the Big Ten named her Diver of the Championships and Diver of the Year.\n"For me, it went better than expected," Loukas said. "I wasn't really expecting to do that well. I was really just focusing on staying calm in each event."\nLoukas, a freshman from Riverwoods, Ill., surpassed all of her expectations with her performance at the Big Ten Championships. She claimed her first Big Ten Championship on the one-meter dive, shattering records along the way. During the preliminaries for the one-meter, she broke pool and school records with her tally of 325.20. That performance also broke the conference record set by Purdue's Carrie McCambridge last year. \nGoing into the finals the second night of the Big Tens, Loukas' main competitors were seasoned veterans McCambridge and IU senior diver Cassandra Cardinell. But by the end of the night, Loukas outdid even herself with an extraordinary score of 332.70, breaking every record she set during the afternoon. \n"It's the best meet I have had," said Loukas. "I was nervous coming into the meet and throughout the meet. I tried to not let my nerves get the best of me."\nIU diving coach Jeff Huber, who garnered the Diving Coach of the Year award, saw a practiced and veteran diver in Loukas the night of her title win.\n"She showed a lot of composure out there," Huber said. "To lead start to finish shows the heart of a real champion, and to have the ability to handle it is impressive, too."\nThe excitement of seizing her first Big Ten Championship in her first championship event did not carry over into the next day. Loukas remained headstrong and finished second in the three-meter championship. In the final night, she finished fourth in platform diving, giving way to Cardinell, who took first, and IU sophomore Lindsay Weigle, who finished third overall.\n"I love having my competitors be my teammates. There is nothing better than that," Cardinell said.\nLoukas didn't just elevate her game for the Big Ten Championship -- she's been consistent all year. She claimed five event titles during the dual-meet season and broke the school dual-meet record in the three-meter dive. \n"Coming to IU, I was very nervous because I was a freshman," she said. "But everyone on the team has helped. (Cardinell) has helped me a lot and took me under her wing. (Dr. Huber) has also been a great help."\nDespite her quiet demeanor, Loukas commands the respect of her coaches and teammates, Huber said.\n"She's got it all," he said. "She is one of the great divers at IU. In a couple of years, she will be a top diver in the country."\nAlong with her records and newly obtained Big Ten title, Loukas' night was capped off with the presentation of her awards. She received All-Big Ten First Team in conjunction with her individual honors. When she was asked what the awards meant to her, Loukas was speechless. \nBut for the freshman diver, she didn't need words. Her actions spoke louder than any sentence she would be able to formulate. She accomplished more in one weekend than many have done over the course of their careers. With all the success of her first collegiate season, IU's most prominent diving coach has become Loukas' biggest fan.\n"(Christina Loukas) is terrific," Huber said. "I think she's going to have a very successful career."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Evan \nHarris at evharris@indiana.edu