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Track and field
IU fares well at Gladstein Invitational

It does not take much to make IU freshman Andy Bayer happy.

“It’s just always fun to run fast,” he said.

At the Gladstein Invitational, Bayer and his IU teammates had plenty of fun, winning 20 events and earning five NCAA provisional qualifying marks.
Some of the Hoosiers’ strongest performances came from their distance runners.

Bayer ran the men’s 3,000 meter invitational in 7:55.25 seconds against some of the top runners in the country, including Butler’s Scott Overall.

This run earned Bayer the first provisional qualifying mark of his career and moved him into No. 2 in IU history, a spot previously held by Olympian Bob Kennedy in 1991.
Bayer’s teammate in the race, sophomore Andrew Poore, posted his first indoor provisional qualifying time, clocking in at 7:57.44 seconds.

Sophomore Chelsea Blanchard continued the Hoosiers’ success on the track, as she ran the women’s 3,000 meter invitational in 9:31.62 seconds, good for her first provisional qualification.

“It’s nice to hit another benchmark, and as a team we’re making lots of those,” Blanchard said. “A couple meets ago, coach was talking about how you have to have heart to be a Hoosier, and I think that is why we’re doing so much as a team right now.”

Achievements by IU were not limited to its distance runners.

Junior Faith Sherrill and senior Jeff Coover earned provisional qualifying marks in the
weight throw and pole vault, respectively. Sophomore Derek Drouin won his first collegiate indoor heptathalon and junior D’Sean Turner ran the second-fastest 600 meter time in IU school history.

“I think it was a great weekend for Indiana track and field,” Helmer said. “These kids are reaching high goals that they set for themselves, and they’re ready to move forward.”

IU’s next meet will be the Indiana Relays on Friday and Saturday at Gladstein Fieldhouse.
– Avi Zaleon

Women's tennis
Hoosiers take first road wins of season to stay undefeated

IU won two matches Saturday to push its record for the spring season to 4-0, but they couldn’t have been more different.

In the first match, the No. 46 Hoosiers faced No. 70 Miami University (Ohio) in their first road match of the season. The doubles team of senior captain Lindsey Stuckey and sophomore Evgeniya Vertesheva stayed unbeaten for the year, but IU’s other two doubles pairs lost.

The Hoosiers took three of the first five singles matches, knotting the score at 3-3 with the matchup of IU’s Megan Matter and Miami’s Cara Wald up next. Matter, playing in her first match of the spring season after coming back from an injury, pulled through 6-4, 6-3 to give IU the win.

“She was feeling a little better, so we gave her some playing time,” IU coach Lin Loring said. “She did a great job.”

The team had little time to savor the victory.

Hours later, the team faced Ball State at Muncie. After their close win over the Redhawks, the Hoosiers dominated the Cardinals in a 7-0 win.

“It was really good to play on the road,” Loring said. “It was the first time for them to play two matches in two different states in one day. They need to learn to play tired, so it was a good experience.

“All in all, with the exception of doubles, which we still need to work at, I was really pleased with the way we played.”
– Max McCombs

Women’s water polo
Hoosiers open spring season with losses

IU kicked off its season-opening weekend in Ann Arbor, Mich., and finished with a victory after a sluggish start.

The No. 19 Hoosiers began Saturday by losing two straight games against N. 6 San Jose State and No. 3 UCLA. They did not find a relief until a victory against Colorado State on Sunday.

IU coach Barry King and his 22 players had their goals set for higher-level performance, and the Hoosiers realized the importance of offseason preparation.

“We have spent a lot of time in the weight room,” King said before the team traveled to Michigan. “I am very glad with the fitness condition we have right now as the season is around the corner, and we have really worked a lot on that.”

The optimism did not turn out as positively, as the Hoosiers lost their debut against UCLA, 12-6. Sophomore attacker Jakie Köhli tied a career-high with 3 second-half goals. Junior attacker Nicole Redder finished the game with a team-high 2 steals.

The Bruins had an 8-3 lead heading into the final period, and the Hoosiers never got a chance to get back.

Against San Jose State, the Hoosiers rallied late in the game but did not make up an early five-goal deficit, losing 8-6.

The Hoosiers closed out the weekend with a 13-7 victory against CSU. Köhli and Redder led the IU jumpstart early and gave the Rams no chance to come back later.
The Hoosiers will start their second road trip Feb. 6 at the Triton Invite in La Jolla, Calif.

- Kevin Wang

Wrestling
IU splits weekend matches

The wrestling team was handed their first dual meet loss of the season at No. 19 Wisconsin on Friday.

The No. 11 Hoosiers started off the dual in familiar fashion at 125 lbs. with senior Angel Escobedo winning a 15-8 decision. Unfortunately for the Hoosiers, they failed to pick up a win in the next three matches.

IU senior Matt Coughlin nearly pulled off the upset of the night, going back and forth with No. 2 ranked Kyle Ruschell. Coughlin held the lead for most of the match but could not get it back in the third period.

The loss at 149 lbs. put the Hoosiers in a 11-3 hole with six matches remaining. However, the big lead for the Badgers vanished thanks to junior Kurt Kinser’s dominance.

Kinser wasted no time against Wisconsin’s Greg Burke, pinning him in the first period. The lefty headlock from Kinser brought the Hoosiers within striking distance at 11-9.
The premiere matchup at 165 lbs. lived up to its billing. Junior Paul Young nearly knocked off No. 1 Andrew Howe but fell short, 6-4.

Despite a pin from Trevor Perry at 174 lbs., the Hoosiers failed to notch a win in the Big Ten opener.

The Hoosiers were able, however, to win their first Big Ten match Sunday in a 31-9 victory against Northwestern. Winning seven of the 10 matches, the Hoosiers held firm control of the meet.

Escobedo got the Hoosiers off to a fast start, pinning Northwestern’s Levi Mele at 3:47. The win improves Escobedo’s record to 24-0.
Kinser also continued his dominance of late, pinning Northwestern’s Kevin Bialka at 6:47.

The two road meets this weekend means that there is only one official road meet left this season. The way the schedule is set up, the Hoosiers will not have an official road meet for nearly a month.

The Hoosiers have done well wrestling at home all season, and the advantage could be pivotal in their pursuit to finish in the top of the Big Ten.

The Hoosiers will get a chance to get over the .500 mark in the Big Ten when they take on Illinois on Friday at University Gym.
- Connor O’Gara

Women's swimming
Hoosiers defeat rival Boilermakers
The No. 14 IU women’s swimming and diving team defeated No. 22 Purdue during Senior Day.

The Hoosiers had nine event wins and several season-best times in their 166.5-133.5 victory against the Boilermakers.

Coach Ray Looze said he was pleased with his girls’ meet.

“It was a really tough meet against a very well-coached Purdue team,” he said. “It pretty much took everything we had to beat them.”

He attributed the win to standout performances from sophomore Marguax Farrell and freshman Taylor Wohrley, who had a season-best time in the 100-backstroke.
Senior Kate Fesenko had another outstanding meet and remained undefeated in the 200-backstroke. 

In her final meet in Bloomington, senior Donna Smailis finished first in the 200 medley relay and the 100-butterfly but was more concerned with enjoying her last time swimming at home.

“We are never going to have a meet here again, so I just wanted to take it all in and have fun with the girls,” she said.

As the Hoosiers prepare for their final dual meet against Louisville, Looze said he hopes his team finishes strong.

“I’d love to get a dominating win,” he said. “We really haven’t had it yet and have kind of squeaked it out.”
— Caitlin Ursini