BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – In its first road test of the season, the Wisconsin swimming and diving program fell to Indiana in dual meet action at the Counsilmen-Billingsley Aquatic Center in Bloomington on Friday afternoon.
 
The Hoosiers edged the UW women's team, 182-118, while the Badger men also fell in a 184-116 final.

Head coach Whitney Hite commented on Wisconsin's performance in Bloomington today.

"Indiana is a very good team. They're very well coached and they prepare very well," Hite said.

"We weren't at our best, and if you're not at your best against a really great team, then you're going to come up a little short. That's what we ran into today. I thought we had some pretty good performances by some individuals, but over all we have to be better. Fortunately, we can take this as a learning opportunity and get better."

Despite the losses, the Badgers earned a number of wins across the board to attribute to the team's effort.
 
Chase Kinney and Matt Hutchins led the way for Wisconsin, as each swimmer won two events apiece at Friday's meet.

Kinney claimed her first individual win of the day in the 50-meter freestyle, as the junior finished the long-course event in a time of 25.52 seconds. Kinney also claimed the 100-meter freestyle (56.94).

In the men's distance events, Hutchins led the way with a first-place finish in the 800-meter freestyle with a time of eight minutes, 13.04 seconds. He then came back to win the 400-meter freestyle as well in 3:59.28.

"You're talking about two of best swimmers in the country really," Hite said.

"Chase has made the step up to the next level and so has Matt. They've consistently put in some really great work, and we're seeing the fruits of their labor. They were really good tonight."
 
The UW women won the only relay of the night for the Badgers, as the team of Jess Unicomb, Anna Meinholz, Dana Grindall, and Kinney captured the 200-meter medley relay with a time of 1:54.92, which got UW on the board in the first event of the dual.
 
Following the medley relay, Danielle Valley stepped up to win the women's 800-meter freestyle for Wisconsin in a time of 8:54.85. Jenny Holtzen was third in the event with a time of 9:11.28.
 
Valley also earned second- and third-place finishes in the 200-meter individual medley (2:23.28) and the 400-meter freestyle (4:22.24), respectively.
 
Dana Grindall captured the women's 200-meter butterfly, as she touched the wall in a time of 2:17.44 to beat the second-place finisher by over two seconds. Grindall also competed in the 100-meter butterfly, where she finished second (1:02.74).
 
Freshman standout Jess Unicomb finished second and third in the women's 100- and 200-meter backstroke events, recording times of 1:04.23 and 2:20.36, respectively.
 
On the diving boards, Ashley Peterson led the UW women on both the 1-meter and 3-meter. She finished third on the 1-meter (276 points) and second on the 3-meter (338.48 points). 
 
For the men, Austin Byrd captured the 200-meter backstroke in a time of 2:07.68, while he finished second in the 100-meter backstroke (57.92).  Todd McCarthy was third in the 200-meter event with a time of 2:08.40.
 
Harrison Tran won the 100-meter butterfly for the Badgers with a time of 55.92 seconds. Tran was second in the 200-meter butterfly (2:07.23) as well.
 
Jake Mandli and Chris Wills led the way for Wisconsin in the breaststroke events, as the pair finished second and third in both the 100- and 200-meter events, respectively. Mandli recorded times of 1:05.11 and 2:25, 39, while Wills finished the duo of events in 1:07.63 and 2:30.12.
 
On the diving boards for the men, Carter Clark finished third in both the 1-meter and 3-meter discipline, recording scores of 279.90 and 329.18, respectively.
 
Wisconsin is right back in action Saturday morning, as they travel to Northwestern for a 10:30 a.m. (CT) dual meet against the Wildcats in Evanston, Illinois.

"This will challenge our toughness and see who's ready to go when the gun goes off tomorrow morning," Hite said.

"We're hoping to be a little more aggressive tomorrow and get out there and take it to them. If they're frustrated about the performances today, take it out on them. Get after it."