Loukas leads No. 16 IU in 177.5 - 122.5 victory

The No. 16 IU women's swimming and diving team emerged with an impressive road win Saturday by defeating the No. 23 Minnesota Golden Gophers 177.5-122.5. The Hoosiers were able to respond appropriately to what IU coach Ray Looze called a "prize fight" between the two talented Big Ten teams. \n"I think the girls did a great job performing in a hostile environment," Looze said. "Even in breaststroke we were able to sweep the 200, an area that's usually a weakness for us."\nBy the end of the meet, IU had captured 12 event titles compared to Minnesota's four, the same number of titles junior Annica Lofstedt captured on her own, leading IU in event titles.\n"I won my events, which was really exciting," Lofstedt said. "I think they gave us a match, but we swam well ... It was a lot of fun."\nFreshmen Abby Cooper and Allison Kay, junior Leila Vaziri and Lofstedt got the Hoosiers off on the right foot by snagging the 200-yard medley relay title with a time of 1:45:51. \nMinnesota countered the early Hoosier attack with some solid finishes of its own in the 1,000-yard and 200-yard freestyle events to pull ahead in total points, but the ensuing one-meter diving event would again launch IU into the lead.\nThe Hoosier divers dominated the Golden Gophers as IU participants accounted for the top four spots in the event. Junior Christina Loukas snagged the title with a 335.55 score. Loukas' mark also broke the IU dual meet school record, which was previously held by Sara Reiling since 2003. \nVaziri posted a time of 56.74 in the 100-yard backstroke to steal another title for IU.\nFreshman Sarah Stockwell led the Hoosiers in the breaststroke with a 1:05:27 first-place finish in the 100-yard race, tying the sixth-fastest time in school history.\nKay continued to show the young Hoosiers' talent by finishing strong with a time of 2:03:44 in the 200-yard butterfly, also good for the event's title. Kay insisted the freshmen are vital to the team's performance during the season.\n"I think all of the freshmen have an important role," Kay said. "There's been a lot of support for us and everyone else on the team that's been brought out more today. We not only conquered the winning part of the meet, but we conquered the cheering and support part too." \nFreshman Kristy Winck also contributed to the team with her title in the 200-yard breaststroke, finishing in 2:20:74, placing her seventh on IU's school record list. \nLofstedt's series of first-place finishes, including the 50-yard freestyle, the 100-yard freestyle and the 100-yard butterfly, helped the Hoosiers secure their lead.\nThe trio of Loukas, junior Lindsay Weigle and sophomore Jade Summerlin solidified the Hoosier victory, filling the top three spots in the three-meter diving event.\nIU capped off the day, clinching another title and the meet with the 10th-fastest time in school history in the 800-yard freestyle relay, which featured senior Doherty Colgin, junior Clarissa Wentworth, Bradley and Vaziri.\nThe Hoosiers will bring their momentum back to Bloomington for the first home meet this season when Louisville, Southern Illinois and Wisconsin visit IU at 1 p.m. Friday.