BY CSTV.com

The Indiana women's swimming and diving team travels south to Lexington, Ky. to take on the Kentucky Wildcats in a dual meet.
• This will be the final team meet of 2007 for Indiana.
• The divers will travel to Columbus, Ohio for the Ohio State Diving Invitational, Nov. 30-Dec. 2.

NEWS AND NOTES
• Indiana took a break from competition over the Thanksgiving holiday but is back in the pool at No. 25 Kentucky this Friday.
• After a slow start, Indiana finished strong at the three-day Hoosierland Open, Nov. 15-17.
• On the final day of competition, freshman Amanda Smith posted an NCAA "B" cut time of 16:40.09 in the 1,650 freestyle.
• Smith also improved her "B" cut time in the 500 free, touching the wall in 4:50.05 on the first day of the event.
• Brittany Epperson recorded a season-best time of 52.16 in the 100-yard freestyle, while Donna Smailis' time of 2:04.62 in the 200-yard individual medley was a career best.
• Sarah Stockwell hit the NCAA "B" mark in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:03.57, while the 200-yard medley relay team of Presley Bard, Stockwell, Smailis and Epperson recorded a "B" cut of 1:42.36.
• Brittney Feldman took home the 1-meter diving title with a score of 295.55, while Ashley Greene was sixth (245.40).
• Feldman was second in the 3-meter (308.80).
• The Hoosiers are ranked No. 24 in the latest CSCAA Top 25, released on Nov. 7.
• After Friday, the Hoosiers will not return to the pool for a team competition until Jan. 11 when it faces Michigan, Illinois and Notre Dame in a meet in South Bend.

PREVIEWING KENTUCKY
• Kentucky opened the year with a win over South Carolina (183-117), and a loss to No. 12 Tennessee (187-113) in a double dual meet.
• That was followed by a 167.5-132.5 loss to Virginia Tech.
• Kentucky also fell 167-132 to Florida, but bounced back with a 185-115 win at Louisville.
• Lindsay Myhre has posted an NCAA `B' qualifying time of 1:03.08 in the 100-yard breaststroke.
• Megan Pulskamp's time of 55.61 in the 100 butterfly set at the Nike Cup is an NCAA `B' qualifying standard.
• Freshman Lindsay Graessle claimed her first NCAA qualifying cut with a `B' standard time of 1:03.45 in the 100 breast.

NATIONAL RANKINGS
• The Indiana women occupy the No. 24 in the latest rankings from the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Top 25 Coaches Poll, released on Nov. 7.
• IU is one of five Big Ten teams in the top 25, joining No. 9 Minnesota, No. 16 Penn State, No. 17 Michigan, and No. 19 Wisconsin.
• As for upcoming opponents, the Hoosiers will face No. 25 Kentucky (Nov. 30), No. 12 Tennessee (Jan. 19) , No. 23 Notre Dame (Jan. 11-12) and No. 17 Michigan (Jan. 11-12).
LAST TIME OUT
• After a slow start the IU women finished strong at the Hoosierland Open, Nov. 15-17 at the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center.
• On day three, Presley Bard led IU with a 10th-place finish in the 200 backstroke, clocking in at 2:02.57. Amy Harriman was fourth in the consolation final at 2:04.51 and was awarded a game cap for her performance.
• Sarah Stockwell led the Hoosier women in the 200 breast with a fifth-place time of 2:19.25. Abby Cooper was first in the consolation final and ninth overall with her time of 2:19.47. Cooper was also awarded a game cap for her efforts.
• The swimming portion of the meet concluded with the 1,650 freestyle. Amanda Smith recorded an NCAA B cut of 16:46.09 to finish fourth, while Christie Fuchs was ninth (17:12.45).
• On the second day, the night session began with the 200-yard medley relay and the team of Presley Bard, Sarah Stockwell, Donna Smailis and Brittany Epperson got things started right with an NCAA "B" cut of 1:42.36, good for second place.
• In the 400-yard individual medley, Allison Kay represented IU in the championship final where she clocked a time of 4:31.68, finishing eighth. Amanda Smith was first in the consolation final with her time of 4:24.77.
• Sarah Stockwell swam her way to fourth place in the championship final of the 100 breast, coming up with a season-best of 1:03.57.
• On the opening day, Amanda Smith qualified second in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:53.68 in the prelims and placed fourth in the championship final with a season-best and NCAA B time of 4:50.05.

BARD, FELDMAN NAB BIG TEN SWIMMING AND DIVING HONORS
• After helping lead the Indiana women's swimming and diving team to a 163.5-136.5 dual meet victory at Northwestern on Oct. 26, sophomores Presley Bard and Brittney Feldman were the Big Ten Swimmer and Diver of the Week, respectively, the league office announced Oct. 30.
• Presley racked up two individual titles and participated on the winning 400 medley relay team help lead the 23rd-ranked Hoosiers to victory. The 100-yard backstroke was the sophomore's first win of the meet with a NCAA "B" time of 54.54. The next closet competitor to Presley was nearly three seconds behind. The Hoosier swimmer also took first in the 200 backstroke timing in at 2:01.79. In the 400 medley relay, the Californian swam the lead off leg as the quartet posted a time of 3:45.75. She also swam the second leg of the 400 freestyle relay as IU place second clocking in at 3:31.96. Presley was honored with her first career weekly award.
• Feldman swept both diving events this past weekend at Northwestern. Off the one-meter board, Feldman totaled 308.45 points for the win and from the three-meter springboard she posted a winning score of 312.60. The Hoosier sophomore garnered her first career weekly honor.

HOOSIERS SIGN THREE FOR 2008-09
• Nikki White (Austin, Texas), Margaux Farrell (Woodbridge, Conn.) and Brittany Strumbel (North Royalton, Ohio) have signed National Letters of Intent to continue their swimming careers at Indiana University, head coach Ray Looze announced Nov. 26.
• White hails from Bowie High School in Austin, Texas and does her club swimming with Longhorn Aquatics. This past summer she posted Olympic Trials cut times in the 400 free, 800 free and 1500 free. At the 2007 USA Swimming National Championships, White placed fifth in the 1500 free (16:39.93), seventh in the 800 free (8:43.77) and 13th in the 400 free (4:16.08). She holds the Texas state record in the 500 freestyle.
• "Nikki is one of the top middle distance and distance swimmers in the country," Looze said. "She will have an immediate impact at the Big Ten and NCAA levels."
• Farrell, out of Amity Regional High School was crowned Connecticut state champion in the 100 free (51.92) and 200 free (1:54.74) earlier this month. Farrell set Class LL records in the 50 freestyle and the 100 freestyle at last year's meet, set a new record in the 100 with a time of 51.72. She won the 50 freestyle in 23.99, slightly off the record of 23.94 she set last year. In 2006 she was the state "Open" champion in the 50 free and 100 free and was the class LL champion in both events in record-setting time.
Farrell earned SCC. All-Conference honors in the 100 free, 200 free and 200 medley relay. She holds the Amity records in the 50, 100, 200 and 500 free, as well as the 100 back.
• Farrell also has dual citizenship with France and is aiming for a spot on the French Nation Team for the 2012 Olympics.
• "Margaux will bring outstanding sprint and middle distance freestyle range to our team, compete on all relays, and will continue to develop her backstroke," Looze said.
• Strumbel swims with the Lake Erie Silver Dolphins and competed at the 2007 Speedo Junior Nationals in the 100 free, 400 free, 800 free and 200 individual medley. She placed 10th in the 200 IM with a time of 2:20.20, an Olympic Trial cut and a Lake Erie 15-16 and Open record. She helped lead the Hawken School to its eighth consecutive Ohio state championship last season with an individual title in the 200 free. In addition, Strumbel was voted the outstanding performer in Division II swimming. Overall she is a nine-time state champion (200 freestyle, 500 freestyle and relays) and an 11-time All-American.
• "Brittany is a great middle distance freestyler and recently qualified for the Olympic Trials in the 200 IM," Looze said. "She is extremely versatile."

HUBER ADDS THREE TO DIVING ROSTER
• Indiana University head diving coach Dr. Jeff Huber announced Nov. 27 that Nicole Brehm (Middletown, Ohio), Gabriella Agostino (South Bend, Ind.) and Marissa Johnson (Phoenix, Ariz.) will join the IU diving program beginning with the 2008-09 season.
• Brehm hails from Monroe, Ohio and finished as runner-up in the 1-meter springboard and the 2006 and 2007 Ohio State High School Meet. Competing with the Tri-State Diving Club, Brehm placed third in the 1-meter and 11th in the platform at the 2007 AAU Diving Nationals. She was also a first-place finisher in the 3-meter synchronized event at the 2007 USA Diving Zone B National Preliminary and is a three-time high school All-American.
• "Nicole is a strong diver with a lot of athletic talent," Huber said. "She comes from a good program and is already doing some of the more difficult dives that she will need to perform in order to compete for the Hoosiers. I think we were quite lucky in getting her and I know we worked hard, especially Todd Waikel, in the recruiting process to get her to commit to IU. She will be able to contribute to our team effort immediately next season and I look forward to working with her. Like our other incoming recruits, she is not only an outstanding diver, but also a great person and will represent Indiana University and the IU diving program with a lot of class and character."
• Agostino earned all-state honors for South Bend St. Joseph's with a third-place finish in the 1-meter springboard at the 2007 IHSAA Swimming and Diving State Championships. Competing with the Double Dragon Diving Club, Agostino won both the 1-meter and 3-meter titles at the Future Champions Diving Invitational and the National Grassroots Invitational.
• "Gabby is a very talented athlete and has been great to work with at my summer camp," Huber said. "We are really fortunate to have someone of her ability and experience level on the team next season. I enjoy coaching her and I am looking forward to being her coach for the next four years. I am not sure Gabby realizes how good she can become and I look forward to helping her reach her greatest potential."
• Johnson was the 2006 Arizona 5A Division I state champion at Xavier College Prep in Phoenix. She placed third in 2004 and 2005 and was runner-up in 2007. Over the course of her high school career she won all but three dual meet competitions. As team captain she was an National Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association (NISCA) All-American as a freshman, sophomore and junior. Johnson helped lead the Gators to four state titles as well as the NISCA national championship in 2004-05.
• Competing with the Sun Devil Divers, Johnson placed fifth on the 3-meter and seventh on the 1-meter at the 2006 AAU Nationals despite a six-month layoff due to shoulder surgery. She was an AAU All-American in 2006 and 2007.
• "Marissa is a talented and stylish diver with a good amount of junior level experience," Huber said. "I think she will blossom into a exceptional diver for the Hoosiers and her addition to the team gives us a solid women' team with a great deal of depth next season. She was recruited by a number of top programs and we are fortunate that she decided on IU.

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