Blake Pieroni, Hellen Moffitt Win Three As Indiana Hosts North Carolina, Kentucky and Tennessee

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Photo Courtesy: Andy Ringgold/Aringo

Today’s quad meet at the University of Indiana pitted the Hoosier men’s and women’s swimming and diving team against Kentucky, North Carolina and Tennessee. North Carolina, ranked fifth in the CSCAA poll, won nine of 14 women’s swimming events to dominate in Bloomington. On the men’s side, Tennessee and Indiana won all but one event, as the Volunteers and Hoosiers fought to add to their win columns.

Indiana/Kentucky/North Carolina/Tennessee Men’s Quad Meet

After a very tough meet yesterday against Louisville that resulted in a 150-150 tie, Tennessee was in the throes of another intense battle with host Indiana. The result was an eight-point victory for Indiana over Tennessee, 156-144.

Though the Tar Heels only won two events in the meet, North Carolina was doing its best to get a couple of team victories. By winning a few more races over Indiana, the Tar Heels beat the Hoosiers 152-146.

Other men’s team scores:
North Carolina 166, Tennessee 134
North Carolina 236, Kentucky 64
Tennessee 212, Kentucky 88
Indiana 233, Kentucky 67

Indiana’s Blake Pieroni was the standout on the men’s side, taking three events and posting times that challenged his season bests. He started off with a 1:35.91 in the 200 free, not far off his nation-leasing best of 1:35.10 from two weeks ago. His 43.64 in the 100 free – using a 20.82 split – also falls a bit short of his 43.09 that also leads the collegiate standings. Later in the meet, Pieroni stepped up for the 200 IM, outsplitting Tennessee’s Sam McHugh by a few tenths in each stroke to hold on and win with a 1:48.38 to McHugh’s 1:49.52.

Tanner Kurz was another major contributor for Indiana, winning both breaststroke events. He was in a tight battle with Tennessee’s Peter Stevens in the 100 breast, and Stevens’ disqualification hurt Tennessee’s chances to win the meet. Stevens won with a 54.52, as second place finisher Kurt Wohlrab of North Carolina was a full second back with a 55.66. Kurz had little opposition in the 200 breast, winning with a 1:59.67 for the only sub-2:00 swim.

Ali Khalafalla almost cracked 20 seconds with a 20.05 to win the 50 free for the Hoosiers. He’s been under 20 this season, posting a 19.89 in the meet against Texas and Florida that ranks him fourth in the nation. Khalafalla was a big part of Indiana’s 2:55.85 in the 400 free relay, where Pieroni put the icing on the cake with a 42.76 anchor leg split.

Tennessee was on a roll in the first two events, winning the 200 medley relay with a 1:27.40 by 13 hundredths of a second over Indiana. Evan Pinion followed it up with a 9:06.03 in the 1000 free, using a 24.96 in the final 50 to overtake Indiana’s Jackson Miller. Pinion would have another close race in the 500 free, beating North Carolina’s Henry Campbell by just .14, 4:23.08-4:23.22.

Sean Lehane was another double winner for Tennessee, winning both backstroke events. His times of 47.65 in the 100 back and 1:43.23 in the 200 back helped him win by a substantial margin in each race, and his 200 back time gives him the top two performances in the event so far this season.

Though North Carolina wasn’t able to win the majority of events, they had a couple of big moments in the men’s meet, including a 1-2-3 sweep of the 100 butterfly. It was the only event in the men’s meet where one team took the top three places.

Sam Lewis led the way with a 47.20, followed closely by a 47.61 from Ben Colley. Zu Pigot completed the sweep with a 48.29.

Colley gave the Tar Heels a win in the 200 butterfly as well, hitting the wall at 1:45.20 to win by a second over Tennessee’s Sam McHugh.

Photo Courtesy: David Farr

Indiana/Kentucky/North Carolina/Tennessee Women’s Quad Meet

North Carolina’s dominance in today’s women’s quad meet was exemplified by Hellen Moffitt, who won three events for the Tar Heels as they rolled over the competition. The Tar Heels won all three team victories, beating Indiana 180-120, trouncing Tennessee 184-116 and crushing Kentucky 218-82.

Other women’s team scores:
Tennessee 193, Kentucky 107
Tennessee 153, Indiana 145
Indiana 230, Kentucky 70

Moffitt’s day started with a 53.48 in the 100 back, followed by a 1:55.94 in the 200 back that was three seconds ahead of the field. Her 200 back time is just two tenths off her season best, which currently ranks her fourth in the nation. A 52.85 in the 100 fly for Moffitt helped her win by almost a full second over Tennessee’s Madeline Banic.

Ally Hardesty was part of two wins for North Carolina. In addition to her 1:47.06 to win the 200 free by a tenth over teammate Lauren Earp, Hardesty led a 1-2-3 finish for the Tar Heels in the 100 free. Placing second was Caroline Baldwin with a 50.03, while Earp took third with a 50.09 to give North Carolina 16 big points in the event.

Baldwin did earn a win in the meet, posting a 22.65 in the 50 free ahead of Tennessee sprinters Banic (23.00) and Faith Johnson (23.05). North Carolina’s other win of the day came in the 1000 free, where Emma Nunn cruised to a 9:53.08.

North Carolina couldn’t be touched in the 400 free relay, beating Tennessee by 2.5 seconds with a 3:18.31.

Indiana won four events on the women’s side to keep the meet close, particularly in their battle with Tennessee. Miranda Tucker and Lilly King went 1-2 in the breaststroke events. Tucker won the 100 with a 1:01.75 to King’s 1:01.85, while Tucker was more dominant in the 200 breast with a 2:12.54 to King’s 2:14.96.

Though North Carolina’s Sara Koucheki was leading the 200 butterfly field at the 150-yard mark, Indiana’s Gia Dalesandro had enough in the tank to pass Koucheki in the final 50 and win by more than a second with a 1:58.26.

Indiana enjoyed a 1-2 finish in the 500 free, with Kennedy Goss holding off a very fast closing charge from Haley Lips. Goss posted a 4:49.84 to Goss’ 4:50.36.

In addition to winning the 200 medley relay with a 1:39.97 to start the meet, Tennessee celebrated a 1-2-3 finish in the 200 IM. Micah Bohon led the way with a 2:01.76, overtaking Amanda Carver on the breaststroke leg. Carver settled for second with a 2:02.27, while Lauren Driscoll’s 2:02.52 wrapped up the big sweep for the Volunteers.

2015 Indiana vs Kentucky North Carolina Tennessee Quad Meet – Results

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