INDIANAPOLIS – The Greyhounds concluded their mid-season taper at the annual House of Champions Invitational on Sunday as the UIndy swimming & diving teams were the only DII team in a field of DI opponents. The men finished the weekend third overall at the invite out of eight teams, finishing the weekend with a grand total of 1418 points. The women ended Sunday with 1184.5 points, placing them fourth overall in the field of 10 teams.

"We broke 15 school records, and we also qualified several for NCAAs in March," mentioned head coach Jason Hite. "Our team energy was phenomenal throughout the weekend, but we've only just begun on the season."

Edda Skoric led the Greyhounds right out the gate with one of the most impressive performances of the night. The senior dominated the women's 200 back, winning the event by over two and a half seconds. Not only did the swim come with a victory, Skoric punched her ticket to the national championships in March by swimming an automatic qualifying time of 1:57.00. Senior teammate Danielle Wood also placed top eight in the event, earning a B-cut with her 2:01.85 time for sixth in the event. Jake Braumbaugh was the leading Greyhound for the men's team in the 200 back, achieving a top eight finish for seventh overall. Braumbaugh's time of 1:48.63was also under the NCAA DII B-standard.

UIndy continued the quick swims through the next couple events, as two Greyhounds made their way into the top eight finishers with B-cuts in the men's 100 free. Jeron Thompson ended his swim as the runner-up in the event, finishing less than a second under the A-cut on a final time of 44.33. Victor Antonon dropped a 44.62 swim in the event, placing fifth overall. Senior Ante Lucev earned a B-cut in the event as well, finishing ninth on his 44.53 time. The women also excelled in the 100 free, as Leticia Vaselli continued her strong freshman campaign on her 50.18 time. Vaselli touched the wall at third overall for the Greyhounds. Krystal Caylor showed a strong swim as well, coming in on a final time of 50.82, earning a seventh place finish overall in the event.

The Greyhounds dominated the women's 200 fly, taking both the first and second place finishes in the event. Marizel van Jaarsveld took home the victory in the event, finishing the race in a final time of 1:59.44. Senior teammate Darian Murray was right behind her, touching the wall on her final of 2:00.64. Both van Jaarsveld and Murray finished their races under the UIndy school record time. Zuchowicz was the lone UIndy swimmer to earn a B-cut in the men's 200 breast, ending the swim at third overall on a final time of 2:00.29. Zuchowicz also was under the B-cut time standard with his swim.

"No matter what we were ranked before the meet, it was incredible to see everyone throw down big times and dives," described Jan Zuchowicz. "The whole team showed up to perform at a high level and it previews big things coming."

The UIndy teams finished on high notes in the final event, the 400 free relay, as both teams achieved provisional NCAA DII standard times and UIndy school records in the process. The women took home a victory in the event, as Mariia Rezhylo, Vaselli, van Jaarsveld and Caylor touched the wall at a final time of 3:22.02. The men were led off by Thompson, then followed by Lucev, Zuchowicz and Antonon. The squad's final time of 2:56.85 earned them a third place finish overall in the final event of the weekend.

"The energy we had as a team was amazing, and it kept us strong throughout the entire meet," explained Edda Skoric. "Even at the last relay, we were energized as we beat out some high quality teams."

The Greyhounds will take the last couple of weeks in the semester to not only prepare for finals, but to also prepare for a meet on Dec 16. The UIndy swimming & diving teams will invite Toledo and Findlay to the Ruth Lilly Fitness Center, commencing their next meet at 3 p.m. in Indianapolis.