Indiana Men Claim Final Home Victory

BLOOMINGTON, Indiana, January 21. THE Indiana men's swimming and diving team swam to a 160-140 Senior Day victory over Missouri on Jan. 20 at Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center.

IU seniors Lee Houchin, Reed Martin, Ryan McNeill, Ryan Millard, Drew Ossakow, Paul Sigfusson and manager Scott Wetzel were honored before the meet. The group has posted a 26-17-1 record over last four years and won the 2006 Big Ten Championship title, ending a 21-year title drought for the Hoosiers.

For the third consecutive meet, Penoyar won the 200-yard medley relay, the 100-yard breaststroke and the 200-yard breaststroke. He teamed with Ben Hesen, Matt Lenton and Walkotten to win the 200 medley relay in 1:30.44, and later claimed the 100 breast in 56.25. Penoyar capped the hat trick with a win the 200 breast in 2:03.19.

Koehler started his day with a win in the 200-yard freestyle in 1:41.11, then added a win in the 500-yard freestyle in 4:31.20. Koehler swam the second leg on the 800-yard freestyle relay (6:44.83) as the Hoosiers closed the meet with their 13th event win.

Walkotten took wins in the 100-yard backstroke and the 100-yard butterfly, in addition to the 200 medley relay. Last season's Big Ten Freshman of the Year won the 100 back in 50.84 and the 100 fly in 50.28.

Freshman Aaron Opell turned in one of the more unexpected performances on the day, knocking more than 10 seconds of his previous career bests in a pair of events. The Newburgh, Ind., native turned in a time of 2:01.08 in the 200 breast, down drastically from his previous career low of 2:11.16. He also posted a mark of 3:57.54 in the 400-yard individual medley, down from the 4:10.00 he earned earlier in the season. Opell swam both events as exhibitions, but had the fastest times in both.

Sophomore Steffan Troxel touched in 15:47.16 to claim the 1,650-yard freestyle, leading the charge for a 1-2-3-4 Hoosier finish. McNeill, Steven Murry and Sigfusson finished second, third and fourth, respectively.

Knocking more than three seconds off his previous season-best time, junior Alec Haley won the 400 IM in 4:03.25. Hesen was a member of two winning relays, the 200 medley and the 800 free, while junior Todd Patrick was part of the 800 free relay and won the 200-yard freestyle in 1:51.05. Sophomore Matt Lenton picked up second-place finishes in both the 50-yard freestyle (20.61) and the 100-yard freestyle (45.78). Freshman Edward Morrison rounded out the 800 free relay team.

"It was a nice last nice home for our seniors," head coach Ray Looze said. "They've had great careers here, both on the women's side and the men's side. We had some nice swims, some surprises, and we're right where we want to be in preparation for Big Tens."

In the dive well, reigning Big Ten Diver of the Week Taylor Roberts won the three-meter with a score of 333.30. Will Bohonyi, David Legler and David Piercy went 2-3-4 to round out the sweep. Legler won the platform for IU, turning in a career-best score of 367.28 for the victory. Bohonyi picked up another second-place finish with his score of 339.23.

"The men again did great," assistant diving coach Todd Waikel said. "Taylor, even having failed a dive, came back and won the meet. And that just goes to show the mental side of the game and how much he's progressed with that side of it. We're very happy with his performance. Will Bohonyi did a good job, too. He's really turned it around. He was out last year with a medical redshirt and I think last week in Michigan was a real breaking point for him, and we're starting to see some great things out of him."

The 15th-ranked Hoosiers (4-3-1, 1-1-1 Big Ten) return to action on Saturday, Jan. 27, when they will take on No. 19 Purdue in West Lafayette.

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