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IU Board of Trustees celebrates historic achievements of student athletic teams

Apr 6, 2018

The Indiana University Board of Trustees joined IU President Michael A. McRobbie in extending congratulations to the IU women’s basketball team and IU men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams on their championship seasons and achievements in the classroom at its business meeting today.

The women’s basketball team, coached by Teri Moren, recently won IU’s first WNIT title before a record crowd of 13,007 in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall during the championship game against Virginia Tech. It was the largest attendance at Assembly Hall for any IU women’s game and the sixth most attended championship in WNIT history.

The women’s team won six consecutive WNIT home games, and it closed out the season by winning 15 of its last 17 games.

IU women's basketball team celebrates winning the WNIT
Members of the IU women’s basketball team celebrate winning the WNIT championship.Photo by Craig Bisacre, IU Athletics

The men’s swimming and diving team won the Big Ten Championship for the second consecutive year, the first time since 1985 that the Hoosiers have repeated as Big Ten champions and the 26th conference title in program history. They also finished third in the men’s NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships, their highest finish in 43 years.

The women’s swimming and diving team finished second in the Big Ten Championships and eighth in the NCAA Championships. The women’s team was the top Big Ten finisher at the NCAA Championships for the third consecutive year, and their eighth-place finish was the second best in IU history.

Coach Ray Looze was named Big Ten Men’s Swimming Coach of the Year, and Coach Drew Johansen was named Big Ten Diving Coach of the Year. Both were named as national Coaches of the Year by the College Swimming Coaches Association of America.

IU men's swimming and diving team gathers for a photo with an IU flag
The IU men’s swimming and diving team celebrates winning the Big Ten Championship.Photo by Steven Leonard, IU Athletics

Chair of the Board of Trustees Michael Mirro and McRobbie expressed their pride in the teams’ athletic and academic accomplishments at the meeting, where several student athletes were in attendance.

“You are excellent ambassadors for IU, and all of us at Indiana University are proud of your accomplishments,” Mirro said.

A number of individual basketball team members were recognized at the meeting, including seniors Tyra Buss and Amanda Cahill, who earned All-Big Ten honors and made the All-Tournament team. Buss and Cahill represent the winningest senior class in IU women’s basketball history.

They were also celebrated for their academic achievements. Buss and Cahill along with teammates Grace Withrow, a junior, and Bre Wickware, a sophomore, were Academic All-Big Ten honorees, the Big Ten Conference’s highest academic honor. In June, Cahill was one of 68 IU student athletes who earned GPAs of 3.7 or better and were named 2016-17 Big Ten Distinguished Scholars.

“We join the entire university community in thanking you for a superb season – and we look forward to hanging that banner soon in Assembly Hall,” McRobbie said.

Individual members of IU’s swimming and diving teams were also recognized at the meeting, including junior Ian Finnerty, who was named Big Ten Men’s Swimmer of the Year; junior Vini Lanza, the Swimmer of the Championships for the second straight year; senior Blake Pieroni, an Olympic gold medalist; senior Michael Hixon, an Olympic silver medalist and Big Ten Diver of the Championships; freshman Gabriel Fantoni; and junior Lilly King, an Olympic gold medalist, world champion, Big Ten Swimmer of the Year for the third consecutive year and Big Ten Female Athlete of the Year.

“Just two weeks ago, 48 IU student-athletes across five winter sports were recognized by the Big Ten Conference by being named to the Academic All-Conference team,” McRobbie said.

Student-athletes must be in at least their second academic year and carry a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher to be part of the Academic All-Conference team. Of those 48 student-athletes from IU, 33 were members of the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams.

“Congratulations again to all of you, to your coaches, to the swimming and diving staff, and the staff of the entire Athletics Department,” McRobbie said.

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