Swim team struggles against ranked Big Ten opponents

The No. 15 IU women's swimming and diving team split a two-day double dual meet with No. 14 Penn State and \nOhio State. \nThe Nittany Lions toppled the Hoosiers 197.5-152.5, while IU defeated host Ohio State 199-151. The split moves the Hoosiers to 7-3 overall and 5-2 in Big Ten play. \n"When we look back at the results, we need to show improvement on our finishes, starts, relays and that kind of thing," said IU coach Ray Looze. "We're going back to the drawing board." \nJunior Annica Lofstedt paced the Hoosiers with four event titles during the two-day meet. She was part of the quartet that got the Hoosiers off to a good start, placing second in the 400-yard medley relay. Along with Lofstedt, junior Leila Vaziri and freshmen Sarah Stockwell and Allison Kay swam to the sixth-fastest time in the event with a time of 3:44.77.\nThe Hoosiers ended the swimming portion of day one on a high note as the contingent of Vaziri, Lofstedt, junior Clarissa Wentworth and freshman Kristin Cihoski touched first in the 200-yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:34.19.\nThe Hoosier diving team was the brightest spot for IU on day one. Sophomore Christina Loukas swept the event's titles, helping IU dominate with a top-five sweep in the one-meter and a top-two finish in the \nthree-meter.\nIn the one-meter competition, Loukas won with a 322.20 tally, setting the pool record in the event. Junior Lindsay Weigle took second with a 289.58 while senior Heather Chapman rounded out the top three with a 265.50. Sophomore Ashley Greene and classmate Jade Summerlin closed out the top-five sweep.\n"It felt pretty good," Loukas said. "I was feeling confident coming into the meet, so everything was good." \nIU closed day one of the meet trailing Penn State 100.5-85.5, but dominating Ohio \nState 136-50.\nIU was unable to make up the needed ground on day two of the meet as the team only picked up two titles while Penn State clinched the meet with seven event titles. \nLofstedt again picked up two titles on day two, providing the only bright spot for the \nHoosiers. \nIn the 50-yard freestyle, Lofstedt posted a time of 23.48 to win the event. She also teamed up with Vaziri, Wentworth and Cihoski to win the 400-yard freestyle relay with a time of 3:24.70. The quartet's performance now resides as the eighth-fastest time in school history. \nThe Hoosiers placed second in several of the events throughout the course of the meet, but failed to register any victories. \nAlthough the outcome was not in IU's favor, the team was still able to take advantage of its final tune-up for the Big Ten Championships, which are Feb. 15 to 18.\n"I realized the little things I have to improve on, such as better reaction and faster turns," said Vaziri. "The focus going into the Big Ten Championships is that it comes down to the \nlittle things."\nNext up, the Hoosiers return to Columbus, Ohio, for the 2006 Big Ten Championships, Feb. 15 to 18.