Hoosiers claim 16th place and 24 All-Americans at NCAAs

The No. 13-ranked Hoosiers may have seemed to take a small step back with a 16th-place finish in the 2005 NCAA Championships.\nBut ask the team and the members will tell you their finish in Minneapolis was certainly a small step forward toward a brighter future.\n"I am proud of how hard my guys fought," said IU coach Ray Looze. "There was no lack of effort from any of them. We had just hoped to place higher here."\nWith 76 points accumulated, the Hoosiers reached their highest finish in the NCAAs since 1991, when the cream and crimson grabbed 15th place.\nNo. 1 Auburn topped all with their third consecutive NCAA title. Three Big Ten schools finished ahead of IU, two breaking the top five -- Michigan finished sixth, Northwestern eighth and Big Ten Champion Minnesota finished 11th overall.\n"Our goal for next year is going to be top 10 and that journey starts now," Looze said. "Just looking at the points, we are not that far off."\nThe Hoosiers grabbed 24 All-American certificates throughout the three-day event -- the most by IU since 1976, when legendary coach James "Doc" Counsilman's squad reeled in 29 citations. \nJunior swimmer Sergiy Fesenko amassed the most points individually with 12 points from a 10th-place finish in the 500-yard freestyle and a 12th-place finish in the 1,650-yard freestyle.\n"I know that I can be much better in the future and am not in the best shape right now," Fesenko said. "My goal is to win a medal at next year's NCAA Championship and I know that I am capable of that."\nThe swimming contingent of junior Kevin Swander, sophomore Colin Russell and freshman Todd Patrick each took home the most certificates out of any Hoosier with four. Swander finished 11th in the 200-yard breaststroke and teamed with Russell, Patrick and sophomore Lee Houchin for citations in the 200-yard freestyle and 400-yard freestyle relays\n"We will have a lot of hard work in the spring, while some of our guys prepare for the World Championships," Looze said.\nThe Hoosiers brought three divers to Minneapolis with the hope to garner more point totals than usual. All three divers were named All-Americans, but IU diving fell short of its high expectations.\nSenior Marc Carlton hoped to end his fantastic career with a national title, but failed to crack the top ten in any event. He took All-American citations from his 11th place finish in the platform dive and 13th place finish in the three-meter dive. The Big Ten Diver of the Year ended his last NCAA with a total of five career All-American honors. Junior Ryan Fagan earned a certificate finishing 15th in the one-meter dive, and sophomore Brian Mariano took home his first career All-American certificate with a 13th place finish in the platform dive.\n"We could have done better, but that is my fault for not getting them as ready as they needed to be," Huber said. "This is the only meet that we were not prepared for all year. We will start working on next year right now."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Evan Harris at evharris@indiana.edu.