No. 5 Indiana men’s swim and dive remained undefeated after a 205-95 win over No. 11 University of Louisville on Friday afternoon at Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center.
After a long break of training, head diving coach Drew Johansen remarked on the early success in the new year in front of the home crowd.
“The whole team was happy to be back competing,” Johansen said. “The work they did in our training camp over break is starting to pay off.”
With the win, Indiana’s men have won 13 straight dual meets, dating back to 2019.
The Hoosiers started the competition off with an early win in the 200-yard medley relay. The men’s A squad, consisting of seniors Gabriel Fantoni, Van Mathias, Bruno Blaskovic and sophomore Tomer Frankel secured the victory with a time of 1:24.70.
Blaskovic, Frankel and Mathias also took first place in the 400-yard freestyle relay alongside freshman Rafael Miroslaw with a time of 2:51.06.
Miroslaw also found success in the 100-yard and 200-yard freestyles, placing first in both events with times of 43.10 and 1:33.39, respectively.
Head swimming coach Ray Looze emphasized the importance of the team’s win against a strong opponent like Louisville.
“I thought our men took care of business against a good team,” Looze said. “Across the board, I was proud of them.”
Junior Brendan Burns, who’s won weekly recognitions from the Big Ten three times this season, captured three wins in Friday’s competition. In the 200-yard butterfly, he posted a time of 1:40.72, won the 200-yard backstroke marking a 1:41.18 and clocked in at 45.49 in the 100-yard butterfly. Burns has improved his times in all events throughout the season.
Indiana swept the 200-yard breaststroke event with freshman Josh Matheny taking first with a time of 1:57.06, sophomore Jassen Yep following in second with a 1:57.16 mark and sophomore Maxwell Reich grasping onto third at 1:57.35. The trio earned NCAA Division I Championships B cuts with their times.
Junior Michael Brinegar competed in the 1,000-yard freestyle, ultimately winning the race with an 8:51.20 time and setting a season-best time in the event for the Hoosiers. His time in the 1,000-yard freestyle was good for the second-best time in program history. Indiana secured another clean sweep in the event with senior Mikey Calvillo placing second and sophomore Warren Briggs coming in third.
Johansen praised Indiana’s diving performance at Friday’s meet following freshman diver Carson Tyler’s first-place marks in both the 1-meter and 3-meter dive. Tyler posted scores of 441.83 and 387.60, respectively, earning himself NCAA Zone Qualifying Scores for the postseason.
Indiana will try to keep its successful start to the new year going when it hosts in-state rival Purdue at 10 a.m. Jan. 22 at Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center for senior night.
