Hoosiers to compete in Vegas

This weekend the IU men's swimming and diving team will send a group of swimmers to compete in the U.S. Open Invitational at the Boilermaker Aquatic Center in West Lafayette. The competition will take place Nov. 30 to Dec. 2 and will feature swimmers from colleges around the country, along with 20 U.S. Olympians. There will be preliminaries for each event in the morning session with the finals in the night session. Representing IU will be juniors John Kevin Koehler and Pat Penoyar, senior Ryan McNeill and sophomore Steffan Troxel. \nThe IU swimming and diving team holds a record of 2-3 and is coming off a strong showing at the IU Open Invitational. Juniors Todd Patrick and Ben Hesen led the Hoosiers with impressive overall performances. Patrick won three events, winning the 200-yard individual medley, the 100-yard freestyle and the 100-yard butterfly event. Hesen continued his brilliance in the 100-yard backstroke, taking first place with a meet record time of 48.63 seconds. Hesen also took second place in the 200-yard backstroke event. \nThe Hoosiers also had good showings in the relay events anchored by Patrick and Hesen. The IU relay teams finished in second place in the 200- and 400-yard individual medley relays, along with the 400- and 800-yard freestyle relays.\nThe competition will be highlighted by the participation of U.S. Olympians Michael Phelps and Lenny Krazyleburg. Phelps won eight medals at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, including six golds. Krazyleburg has four Olympic gold medals to his name. Phelps will swim in six events, including three events in which he currently holds the world's fastest time. Krazyleburg will swim in the 100-yard backstroke.\nIU will travel to Florida for a training trip during winter break before the team returns to action against Big Ten opponent Ohio. State Jan. 16 in Columbus, Ohio.