Hoosiers compete at Counsilman Classic

A pack of Hoosier swimmers swarmed the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis Friday through Sunday for the FINIS Counsilman Classic. The event served as summer practice for the IU athletes in preparation for the national and international competitions coming at the end of the summer.\nParticipants in the event included five-time Olympic medal winner Natalie Coughlin on the women's side, while the men's featured six-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps.\nIU coach Ray Looze said he was excited to have top flight competition within driving distance.\n"This weekend provides good racing experience against world-class athletes," he said. "It's a high level tune-up. Normally, we have to hop on a plane to see competition like this. To have this in one of our facilities is terrific."\nThe first preliminary session on day one of the Classic saw IU swimmers snag five championship final spots and three consolation spots. Friday, junior Kevin Swander advanced to the final, posting a time of 1 minute, 5.80 seconds in the men's 100-meter breaststroke, good for the fifth best qualifying time. In the men's 400-meter IM, sophomore Matt Jensen and freshman Todd Patrick finished fifth and sixth respectively to move on to the finals. Nick Walkotten boasted the top finish of any Hoosier on Friday's qualifying session with a fourth place finish in the 100-meter butterfly with a time of 56.49.\nDuring the finals day one, IU swimmers achieved three top-five performances. Walkotten recorded the third fastest time in the 100-meter butterfly in IU history, finishing in third place in the event just behind Phelps. \n"I did pretty well," he said. "I had a goal of just going into the finals and swimming fast."\nWalkotten is almost fully recovered from a shoulder injury he suffered in the winter. He said he's been feeling much better and that he is almost back to 100 percent strength in training.\nThe other two top-five finishes in the day one finals included Swander, ending up in fourth place in the men's 100-meter breaststroke, and Jensen, who took fifth place in the 400 IM.\n"I would have liked to have finished first," said Swander. "It's a long weekend, but I'm glad I'm getting the practice because I'll be racing with these same guys later on."\nIn day two of the Counsilman Classic, IU was well represented as Hoosier athletes gained ten championship swims, nine consolations swims, and three bonus consolation swims in the finals after the second preliminary session on Saturday.\nSophomore Ryan McNeilladvanced to the championship final with the fifth fastest qualifying time in the men's 200-meter butterfly. In the men's 100-meter backstroke, Walkotten finished third while Patrick and junior Mike Jones posted sixth and seventh finishes respectively. Alec Haley darted into second place in the men's 200 breaststroke, followed by Swander in third.\nIn the women's 50-meter freestyle, sophomores Leila Vaziri, finishing in third place, and Annica Lofstedt, finishing sixth, advanced to the championship final.\n"It was a good day," Vaziri said. "I'm happy with my time and I felt good being in the water again. Swimming at college during the year is exciting, but there's a different atmosphere here that I really love."\nCollectively, IU snatched three medals and five top-five finishes in the day two finals. Walkotten added another medal Saturday to boost his total on the weekend to two, while Swander and Haley acquired their first medals of the Classic. Walkotten ended his 100-meter backstroke in third place with a time of 57.18 to surpass the cut for the Olympic trial in the event. In the 200-meter breaststroke Swander finished second to post the highest placement of any Hoosier at the meet. \nSunday's preliminary sessions featured advancements to the championship final by Todd Patrick, Mike Jones and Leila Vaziri, as the Hoosiers had five swimmers advance to the final, nine to the consolation and two to the bonus consolation.\nPatrick finished third in the 200-meter IM while Jones squeezed into the championship final eighth place finish at 2:11.80. Junior Kristen Bradley placed fifth in the 200-meter IM in a time of 2:23.99, advancing to the final.\nLooze said he was happy with the way the Hoosier lineup was performing over the course of the weekend. \n"We're right where we want to be," he said. "We're really making a splash at the international level"