Jan. 19, 2004
Iowa City, IA –
THIS WEEK: The University of Iowa women’s swimming and diving team will take on Ohio State and Illinois on Saturday, January 24. The meet is being held in Columbus, OH, and will start at 1 p.m. The Buckeyes are 7-2 this year, and Illinois comes into the meet with a 5-3 record.
LAST TIME OUT: The Hawkeyes last competed at Iowa State on Dec. 6. The Hawkeyes lost the meet by a score of 124-170, but had an outstanding performance by Jennifer Skolaski, who collected wins in the 1,000-free, 500-free, and 100-back. This marked the third time this year Skolaski has collected three wins in one outing. Also winning for the Hawkeyes were Christie Hooper in the 200-free, and Kelly Werner in the 200-back.
HEAD COACH: Garland O’Keeffe is in her fourth season as head coach of the Hawkeyes. She has a school and career record of 21-19, 8-13 in the Big Ten. O’Keeffe has coached three honorable mention all-Americans, three NCAA qualifiers and a Big Ten champion. The Hawkeyes have also shattered 19 school records in the last two years. O’Keeffe gained US National Team coaching experience over the summer when she was selected as an assistant coach for the National Team Distance Camp at the US Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.
DIVING COACH: Bob Rydze is in his 28th year as diving coach of the men and women’s teams at the University of Iowa, and is the dean of Big Ten swimming and diving coaches. Rydze has coached three Olympians, Randy Ableman (United States), Ricardo Camacho (Spain) and Tomas Rossa (Poland). Rydze came to Iowa in 1975 from the Dad’s Club diving team in Houston, TX. He also coached at Eastern Michigan from 1971-73.