With the Hoosier men’s and women’s teams both taking home the Big Ten titles, these teams enter their respective NCAA Championship meets with targets on their back as they are ranked No. 5/6. With less than a week away from the start of the women’s meet — which runs from March 20-23 in Athens, Georgia — here are some things to look out for as Indiana tries to bring home its first swim and dive championship since James “Doc” Councilman led the men's team to six straight titles between 1968 and 1973.
Both men’s and women’s championships will be streamed for free here.
What to Watch For (Women)
The women's team is a much different story entering nationals than the men’s team. On paper, these teams have a lot of similarities — the men's team is ranked No. 5 while the women’s team is ranked No. 6, both teams won the Big Ten, both teams have a standout diver with women’s diver Skyler Liu’s ascension as one of the NCAA’s best divers, and lastly they both have standout leaders in Brendan Burns and Anna Peplowski.
However this women’s team has a chip on its shoulder and something to prove. While the men’s team went undefeated and steamrolled everyone in front of them on their way to a third straight Big Ten championship, the women's team felt like it had something to prove ever since it fell in the Ohio State Invitational back in November.
As the Hoosier women prepare to head off to nationals in Athens, Georgia, Indiana head coach Ray Looze has to have the utmost confidence in this team as it is coming off one of the most electric finishes in NCAA history to win the Big Ten Championship — where the women won by half a point on the meet’s final relay. The Indiana women are the underdogs and still feel as though they have something to prove even after winning the Big Ten, leading them to be a nightmare matchup for the rest of the NCAA this week at nationals.
The Hoosiers enter the NCAA championships with nine swimmers on the roster: Brearna Crawford (100 breaststroke, 200 breaststroke), Mariah Denigan (500 freestyle, 1,650 freestyle), Anna Freed (200 butterfly, 200 IM, 400 IM), Ching Hwee Gan (500 freestyle, 1650 freestyle), Elyse Heiser (200 freestyle, 500 freestyle, 1650 freestyle), Kacey McKenna (50 freestyle, 100 backstroke, 200 backstroke), Kristina Paegle (50 freestyle, 100 freestyle), Peplowski (100 freestyle, 200 freestyle, 500 freestyle) and Ashley Turak (50 freestyle, 100 freestyle, 100 breaststroke).
Peplowski won three of the six events Indiana won in the Big Ten championship: The 800 free relay, the 200 free and the 200 free relay. Heading into the championship meet, Peplowski is ranked No. 4 for her main event — the 200 free — trailing behind the Florida Gators star duo in Arabella Sims and Isabel Ivy and Southern California’s Minna Abraham.
Outside of Peplowski, Indiana has two more first team all Big Ten swimmers in their studded junior class trying to write their name in history. Kacey McKenna enters the 100 backstroke as the No. 3 seed while Ching Hwee Gan enters the 1650 freestyle also as the No. 3 seed. Lastly, it's impossible to tell the story of this year's Hoosiers without mentioning the most dominant member of the team, Liu. The junior diver won the 3-meter (379.95) and platform diving (342.40) championships on her way to win the Big Ten diver of the championship.
What to Watch For (Men)
The Indiana men get home pool advantage as the national tournament is taking place at the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis from March 27-30. After dominating the regular season and Big Ten championship, the men's team enters the NCAA tournament with 12 qualified swimmers: Toby Barnett (200 breaststroke, 200 IM, 400 IM), Luke Barr (100 freestyle, 100 backstroke, 200 IM), Finn Brooks (50 freestyle, 100 breaststroke, 100 butterfly), Brendan Burns (100 backstroke, 200 backstroke, 200 butterfly), Tristan DeWitt (500 freestyle, 1,650 freestyle), Tomer Frankel (100 butterfly, 200 butterfly), Rafael Miroslaw (100 freestyle, 200 freestyle, 500 freestyle), Josh Matheny (100 breaststroke, 200 breaststroke), Maxwell Reich (100 breaststroke, 200 breaststroke), Armando Vegas (200 butterfly), Kai van Westering (100 backstroke, 200 backstroke) and Jassen Yep (100 breaststroke, 200 breaststroke). It is also worth noting that Indiana accounted for 10 of the 22 Big Ten First-Team honors, with Burns, Frankel, Miroslaw, Matheny and Yep all representing the Hoosiers.
If you are going to watch any swimmer in the nation during nationals you need to keep your eyes on Indiana captain Burns. Burns is entering the NCAA Championships coming off an electric Big Ten Championships performance and taking home first place in the 200 medley relay, 800 free relay, 400 medley relay, 100 backstroke and 200 backstroke events. He fell short of his second straight Swimmer of the Championship award as Michigan’s Gal Cogen Groumi took home this year’s honors.
Burns’ senior tour isn’t the only thing to keep track of during nationals, as Indiana also boasts possibly the best diver in the entire country in Carson Tyler. After winning Co-Diver of the Big Ten Championships last year along with his teammate Andrew Capobianco, Tyler dominated the Big Ten in his junior season and won another Diver of the Championship award during the Big Ten Championships this year. Tyler won the 3-meter dive with a score of 453.90 and platform diving with a score of 462.60.
