Seventeen Hoosiers are set to compete in their final home dual-meet as IU men's and women's swim and dive, respectively ranked No. 11 and No. 3, take on University of Louisville at 12:15 p.m. February 1 at Counsilman Billingsley Aquatic Center.
“This is the last little hurdle before the Big Ten tournament, something we’ve been training for this entire year,” IU Head Coach Ray Looze said.
The women’s recent victory over Purdue was their first since defeating University of Kentucky and University of Missouri on October 10. The team won 13 of the meet’s 16 events, including both the 1-meter dive and platform dives.
IU women have defeated No. 16 Louisville in eight of their last nine meets dating back to 2009. Their most recent win against the Cardinals came on the road last season. Then-junior Lilly King achieved three NCAA B cuts on breaststroke events and the 400 IM among other highlights for the team.
The men’s team has not lost a meet against No. 8 Louisville since 2015 and has thoroughly dominated their border state rival ever since.
Coming into this week, the women's Cardinals team stands 4-2 after losing to in-state rival Kentucky on Jan. 26.
Senior Mallory Comerford dominated that meet with victories in the 100 and 200 freestyle. Comerford took first in the 200 free at the NCAA championships last season, making her the second female competitor in history to finish before the 1:40 barrier at 1:39.80.
On the diving side, IU will have to face Louisville junior Michaela Sliney. Sliney owns a handful of dominant 1-meter and 3-meter victories this season, including a NCAA Zone qualifying score of 294.83 on the 3-meter against Kentucky.
Louisville’s male roster is also 4-2 on the year and features sophomore Nicolas Albiero, Atlantic Coast Conference 2017-18 Freshman of the Year recipient. The sophomore took both the 100 and 200 backstrokes in the loss against Kentucky and will pose a strong threat to IU junior Mohamed Samy and senior Ian Finnerty.
Sophomore breaststroker Evgenii Somov won gold in the 100 and 200 breaststrokes during last year’s ACC championships.
In addition to his strong individual outings this season, Somov has contributed to multiple 200 medley and 400 freestyle relay victories for the Cardinals.
Last week’s Big Ten Diver of the Week, sophomore Andrew Capobianco, has had an incredible finish to the season, defeating teammate senior James Connor in both the 1- and 3-meter dives, the only athlete to do so this season. Against Purdue, Capobianco won the 1-meter dive with a NCAA zone qualifying score and personal best 424.95.
“It’s nice to see all his pieces falling into place at the right time,” Connor said. “He has dived incredibly well in training, has been building this whole season, and this is just the tip of the iceberg.”
Looze’s men are gunning for their 30th straight dual-meet win.
For the women, King will defend her undefeated dominance on the breaststroke events while Parratto, who was recently named Big Ten Diver of the Week, defends her recent two-for-two diving success from the Purdue meet against Sliney.
The dual-meet begins at 12:15 p.m. with the men and women’s diving events. The swimming starts at 2 p.m.
