Hoosiers fall short in showdown with Michigan

Senior Sergiy Fesenko and sophomore Ben Hesen broke school records as the No. 11 IU men's swimming and diving team took No. 6 Michigan to the final event in a 160-140 loss Sunday at the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatics Center in Bloomington.\nSophomore Todd Patrick led the Hoosiers with three event titles while senior Ryan Fagan swept the diving events. The loss drops IU to 6-3 on the season and 3-2 in Big Ten action. \n"I'm proud of the fellas in general," said Indiana coach Ray Looze. "That's a pretty close score. It wasn't in doubt until that last relay."\nThe Hoosier quartet of Hesen, seniors Kevin Swander and Thomas Clavier and Patrick got the Hoosiers out to a quick lead by turning in the fourth-fastest time in school history with a time of 1:28.30.\nThe Wolverines jumped ahead 43-31 as senior Chris DeJong touched first in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 47.67. Hesen broke the school record in the event with a 47.98 for second. \n"It is just an honor to have my name up on the board," Hesen said. "Right now, I just want to make sure that it is not a highlight of my season. I still have a lot of time left in the season where everything matters. I really wanted to beat DeJong. Hopefully, this meet sets us up for something special."\nThe Hoosier diving team helped IU take the lead 79-71 as it finished first, second and fourth in the one-meter dive event. Defending Big Ten Diver of the Week Fagan moved into sixth all-time in the event with a score of 348.83. Jesse Rappaport recorded a 348.60 for second place, while sophomore Taylor Roberts took third with a 308.48 for the Hoosiers. \nIU extended its lead to 90-79 when Patrick placed first in 44.48 and junior Lee Houchin finished fourth in 45.09. \nThe Wolverines rattled off four straight event titles to take a 128-117 lead. The lone bright spot in Michigan's run was Fesenko breaking his own school record set at last year's Big Tens with a 4:17.84 to take second in the 500-yard freestyle. \n"It was a situation where I didn't care about my time," Fesenko said. "I wanted to win and I did not. I am surprised about my time."\nAgain, the diving team responded with a top-five sweep in the three-meter dive to push the Hoosiers into the lead, 133-131. \nThen Michigan dominated the 400-yard IM with a top-three sweep, pushing the Wolverines back into the lead 147-136. \nSo the Big Ten showdown between two highly ranked teams came down to the final event. The crowd sensed the tension and rose to its feet to chant "IU relay" along with the entire Hoosier squad. But the Wolverines withstood the pressure from the home crowd as they clinched their victory in the 800-yard relay. \n"We've got some more work to do in the next three to four weeks," Looze said. "Purdue is going to be very dangerous, but they're catching us at the wrong time. We're not real happy. We wanted to beat these guys"