Final relay pushes IU past Wildcats

The No. 18 IU women's swimming and diving team surged past the Northwestern Wildcats with an emphatic relay win in the final race of the meet to clinch a 159-141 victory Friday in Evanston, Ill. The Hoosiers now boast a 5-2 record (3-1 Big Ten) on the season.\n"The women's meet went down to the last relay," IU coach Ray Looze said. "I was very pleased with our tenacity ... Northwestern is very good in dual meets. I was pleased with the calm under pressure that our team showed."\nIU snatched a total of seven titles during the meet, with freshman Allison Kay, junior Annica Lofstedt and junior Leila Vaziri leading the Hoosiers with three titles each.\nFreshmen Sarah Stockwell, Kay, Lofstedt and Vaziri carried the Hoosiers to an early 13-4 lead as the quartet claimed the 400-yard medley relay title in 3:48:91. Seniors Kristen Bradley and Lauren Torpey kept the wheels turning by capturing first and second place in the 1,000-yard freestyle, respectively, which increased the lead to 28-8.\n"(The race) went really well," Bradley said. "I never swam this race before, so I was able to pace it."\nNorthwestern countered the Hoosier attack by conquering the 200-yard freestyle crown, cutting the lead to 36-19. But Vaziri sped to a 56:89 finish in the ensuing 100-yard backstroke to create a 50-24 gap for IU.\nThe pingpong match would carry on as the Wildcats achieved a 1-2 finish in the 100-yard breaststroke, followed by a personal record-breaking time by Kay in the 200-yard butterfly to establish a 67-45 IU lead. Kay's B-cut finish of 2:01:20 in the event enhanced her eighth-fastest time in school history.\nLofstedt then snagged the 50-yard freestyle crown in 23:58 before touching second in the 100-yard freestyle with a B-cut time of 50:76.\nThe Wildcat threat soon grew more intense as Northwestern trailed only 98-90 at the conclusion of the 200-yard breaststroke. IU rose to the occasion in dramatic fashion as the Hoosiers accounted for the top three spots in the 500-yard freestyle, launching the Hoosiers to a 114-93 lead. Senior Doherty Colgin took the title in 4:59:09, followed by Bradley in second and Torpey rounding out the top three. \n"We held it together," Bradley said. "We have been consistently training hard, and I am proud of how we swam. We kept our heads together."\nAfter the Wildcats demonstrated their stubbornness by stealing the following two event titles, it all came down to the 400-yard freestyle relay to settle the modest 128-117 IU lead.\nIU flexed its muscles and secured its lead -- and eventually the meet -- as Colgin, Kay, Lofstedt and Vaziri contributed to a first place finish in 3:26:09. \n"If (Northwestern) took first and third, they would win," Looze said. "Going into the third leg we were behind in both the A and B relays. We had a really good third leg behind Annica Lofstedt and Allison (Kay) pulled us out of the lead."\nNext, the Hoosiers will journey to Nassau, Bahamas for their winter training trip from Dec. 29 through Jan. 5, where IU will meet Big Ten foe Michigan State on Jan. 1.