No. 21 Hoosiers ‘overachieve,’ place in Ohio 10th in NCAA Championships

IU coach Ray Looze calls it “overachieving.” For the women’s swimming and diving team, that might be an understatement.\nThe No. 21 Hoosiers – who opened the season 1-4 in dual meets and fell out of the top 25 – finished their season this past weekend with a 10th-place finish at the NCAA Championships in Columbus, Ohio. The team finished with 128 points, the second-most points scored at the NCAA meet in school history. \nLooze, who is in his 11th season with the Hoosiers, said this is the most he’s ever seen a team improve throughout a season.\n“It was people just getting the most out of themselves,” he said. “They were overachieving, having a great time and just really poised under great pressure. They were having such a great time, I don’t know if they felt that pressure.”\nSophomore transfer Kate Zubkova, who became eligible this semester, earned All-America honors in all five events in which she competed and was instrumental in the Hoosiers’ top-10 finish over the weekend.\nShe almost became the first Hoosier ever to claim an individual NCAA title, finishing second in the 200-yard backstroke Saturday with a school-record time of 1:53.17. That time eclipsed her previous mark of 1:53.62 at the Big Ten Championships last month. \nOn Friday, Zubkova finished third in the 100-yard backstroke and sophomore Presley Bard finished seventh. It was the first time in school history that two swimmers advanced to the championship final in the same event. Bard’s qualifying time of 53.33 was a personal best.\nThe relay team of Zubkova, Bard, junior Sarah Stockwell and sophomore Donna Smailis also contributed to the scoring, earning All-America honors in the 200-yard and 400-yard medley relays. The relay team finished sixth and eighth in those events, respectively. This year’s finish was the best ever for the Hoosiers in the 200-yard medley relay, bettering their 11th-place finishes in 1981 and 1982. \nIn her final event, Zubkova earned a surprising 16th-place finish and All-America honors in the 100-yard butterfly.\n“I am really happy with my finishes and I?was really happy with my time in the 200 back(stroke),” Zubkova said in a statement. “I wasn’t really happy with my time in the 100 back, but third place isn’t too bad. I am looking forward to next year already.”\nLooze was impressed with Zubkova’s all-around performance, citing her finish in the 100-yard butterfly as an example of his team picking up points from all across the board.\n“She just did a fantastic job,” he said. “She definitely got tired, but it was a new experience for her. I obviously couldn’t be more proud of her or this team.”\nBefore the meet, Looze said his goal was to finish higher than last year’s 11th-place finish. He qualified the statement because last year’s squad, as Big Ten champions, was expected to do well at the end of the year meet.\n“It’s just great to be top 10,” Looze said. “Not a lot of people thought we could do that.”