Hoosier swimmers make big waves in Montreal

Spectators, sports fans, and curious Quebecois converged on Montreal during the week of July 17-24 for the largest and most prestigious international swimming and diving competition of the current non-Olympic year -- the 2005 FINA Swimming and Diving World Championships.\n"It really was an impressive event for a post-Olympic year," said IU diving coach Dr. Jeff Huber. "The people of Montreal really outdid themselves."\nAmong the IU diving contingent in Quebec were 2004-05 NCAA platform diving champion, former Hoosier Cassandra Cardinell, and 2004-05 Big Ten Diver of the year, sophomore Christina Loukas. Huber, whose own résumé includes three Olympic coaching positions and 10 Big Ten Coach of the Year awards, attended alongside his divers.\n"We're very pleased with how the Americans performed, and this is the best (that IU divers have done) in the preliminaries or semifinals," Huber said. \nHoosier divers had top-three finishes in the preliminary rounds by Cardinell with partner Laura Wilkinson in the 10-meter synchronized diving, and Loukas, individually, in the 1-meter springboard event.\n"We definitely come to medal," Huber said, "And our performance this year has left us hungry and wanting."\nCardinell, for her part, left Montreal having finished 5th in the 10-meter synchronized event and 15th overall in individual platform diving.\n"There is a lot of potential (for Laura and I)," said Cardinell of her first team effort with Wilkinson, "I would like to have done better individually."\nAlready graduated and working toward a masters in telecommunications, Cardinell will continue to train in Bloomington where, she admits, her competitive heart resides despite new and future stages above international waters.\n"I will always consider myself a Hoosier," Cardinell said. "Even in international competition I represent Indiana University. I owe a lot to IU and Coach Huber for everything I've been able to accomplish here."\nLoukas still has plenty of NCAA pool time ahead of her. After placing 12th in the 3-meter synchronized dive with partner Nancilea Underwood an event in which she hadn't planned to compete, she grabbed sixth place individually in the 1-meter springboard, Loukas is already in training for the World University Games to commence in Turkey Tuesday.\n"I dove well individually and my partner and I did what we could on short notice," said Loukas, "but if I make it back to the World Championships, I would clearly love to medal."\nAs for the IU swimmers Sergiy Fesenko and Colin Russell, the trip to Montreal proved to be a gratifying experience that has left Hoosier head swimming coach Ray Looze hopeful for the season to come.\n"Their performance at this level of competition sets them up to be among the best in the NCAA," said Looze, who was unable to travel to Montreal because of recruiting duties.\nFesenko, who competed as a member of the Ukrainian team, posted impressive showings in the two events in which he swam. Besting his own school record in the 1,500 LCM freestyle, Fesenko finished in 10th place overall with a time of 15:14.67. \nIt was Fesenko's IU teammate Russell, however, who would stand higher upon the medal platform than any other Hoosier in Montreal. Russell, a Barrie, Ontario native who competes internationally for the Canadian team, tore through the water on his leg of the 800 LCM freestyle relay to help secure silver medal honors for his squad. \n"It was amazing. It's difficult to hear the crowd while you're swimming and pulling for your teammates, but I was told afterwards that the crowd had not been as loud during the whole week of competition as they were when we were swimming," Russell said. "I felt very confident about swimming with this group of guys and we intend to compete together in the Olympics."\nRussell will join IU teammates Fesenko, Loukas, Cardinell, Marc Carlton, Susanna Ernst, Kevin Swander and Coach Huber in Turkey for the World University Games. After that, it will be back to Bloomington where practice for the upcoming NCAA season begins Aug. 29.