No. 13 Indiana Men Prepare for Showdowns With No. 11 Tennessee and Conference Rival Ohio State

BLOOMINGTON, IN, January 4. – THE No. 13 Indiana men's swimming and diving squad returns to action Jan. 7 for a high-noon showdown between top-15 teams as No. 11 Tennessee heads into the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center in Bloomington, Ind.

The meet will mark the final home appearance for IU seniors Richard Bryant, Alex Burns, Marc Carlton, Brian Ellsworth, Murph Halasz, Niles Madison, Brian Metzler and David Winck.

The Hoosiers then travel to Columbus, Ohio on Jan. 8 for a Big Ten battle with Ohio State at 1 p.m.

The Hoosiers also reported a recap of their fall season. Indiana has eight NCAA provisional qualifying marks so far this season. Freshman Todd Patrick and junior Kevin Swander both cleared their marks against Northwestern on Nov. 5. Patrick took second in 1:38.41 in the 200-yard freestyle, while Swander took second in the 100-yard breaststroke in 55.30.

At the IU Invitational, freshman Alex Brunfeldt took second place with a 15:28.65 in the 1,650-yard freestyle, while junior Sergiy Fesenko won the 1,650y free in 15:25.85 and placed second in the 500-yard freestyle with a 4:24.93.

Additionally, senior Murph Halasz finished in second in the 200-yard butterfly with a 1:47.47, while Patrick added an event-winning 1:48.87 in the 200-yard IM. Sophomore Colin Russell joined his teammates with a B-cut of his own by clocking a second-place 1:37.68 in the 200-yard freestyle.

At the Orange Bowl Classic, Patrick, sophomore Drew Ossakow, junior Hank Baldwin and freshman John Kevin Koehler concluded the day in a big way with an NCAA provisional qualifier in the 200 SCM freestyle relay with a first-place time of 1:29.81.

IU’s divers also qualified for the first step toward the NCAA Championships. Six Indiana divers (Alex Burns, Marc Carlton, Ryan Fagan, Brian Metzler, Jesse Rappaport and Taylor Roberts) have posted NCAA zone qualifying marks this season.

There have also been milestones this fall for Head Coach Ray Looze, including several milestones in dual-meet victories.

With Indiana's big win over then-No. 19 Texas A&M on Oct. 29, Head Coach Ray Looze achieved his 50th career dual-meet victory. Looze's 40th career dual-meet triumph came against Kentucky on Feb. 2, 2003 with a 133-88 taming of the Wildcats.

Meanwhile, Looze reached his 20th victory as a Hoosier with a 156-131 triumph over Southern Illinois on Dec. 4, 2004, as well as notched his 10th win under the Cream and Crimson banner versus the same Salukis on Jan. 10, 2004 with a 175-67 conquest of SIU.

Freshman Taylor Roberts ended the fall on the top of the Big Ten diving heap. After helping No. 13 Indiana to a pair of dual-meet victories over Southern Illinois (156-131) and Iowa (185.50-93.50) on Dec. 4 at the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis, Ind., he was named the Big Ten Diver of the Week for the week of Dec. 6.

Looze and diving coach Jeff Huber also expressed happiness with their fall recruiting results. Head Coach Ray Looze announced the signing of two student-athletes for the 2005-06 academic year. A.J. Miller (Middlebury, Ind./Northridge) and Steven Murry (Memphis, Tenn./Gateway Christian) will look to impact Indiana beginning with the 2005-06 campaign. Head Diving Coach Dr. Jeff Huber announced the signing of Max Weyermann (Katy, Texas/James E. Taylor) who he expects to impact Indiana beginning with the 2005-06 campaign.

Huber’s charges have had some remarkable results this fall. The three-meter springboard and platform events of the Northwestern meet witnessed an incredible amount of execution as seven NCAA zone qualifying marks were posted and one IU record went down. Carlton won the 3m title with a 366.97, while junior Ryan Fagan took second with a career-high 327.90. Both marks cleared the zone cut standard for the event. IU senior Alex Burns took third with a 297.37, while freshman Will Bohonyi notched a personal-best 168.60 in a non-scoring effort. After the event, IU was ahead in the meet, 156-125.

Carlton completed his diving dominance on the tower in front of an astonished crowd. The Webster, N.Y., native shattered the IU dual-meet mark by more than 150 points with a 460.50 string of dives to win the title. Fagan took second with a 336.37, while NU's Mike Oxman finished in third with a 331.35. Burns took fourth with a 315.15, while NU's Ryan McIntosh placed fifth with a 302.32. All marks were above the NCAA zone qualifying mark. The incredible effort closed out IU's 171-129 conquest of the Wildcats.

GOLDEN TONES MIKE JONES
Junior Mike Jones offers a special treat to fans that attend Indiana swim meets as he sings the national anthem before each home competition.

NEXT UP
The Hoosiers head to the Great Lake State for a pair of Big Ten dual meets. IU opens the road-swing on Jan. 21 with a tilt against Michigan State in East Lansing at 3 p.m., before rolling into Ann Arbor for a battle with No. 9 Michigan at 1 p.m.

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