Jan. 26, 2004
IOWA CITY, IA –
THIS WEEK – The University of Iowa men’s swimming team will travel to Columbia, MO Friday to face the Missouri Tigers. Competiton will begin at 5 p.m in Brewer Fieldhouse.
LAST COMPETITION – Iowa dropped dual meets to Big Ten opponents Indiana and Minnesota last week in Iowa City. The Hawkeyes fell to the 25th ranked Hoosiers (149-145) after losing the final event of the meet. The Gophers, ranked eighth, won by a 167-133 margin. Iowa was led by junior Timo Klami who came away with victories in both the one and three-meter diving events.
ON MISSOURI – The Tigers are 1-6 this season. Their campaign has been highlighted by third place finishes in the Big 12 Relays and the Indiana Invitational.
Timo Klami – Junior Timo Klami is off to fast start after a long break from competition. The junior from Nodeland, Norway was out of action for two months because of scheduling conflicts.. Klami won two of three events during his November competition and that earned him Big Ten Diver of the Week honors. Last weekend he swept the diving events against Big Ten rivals Indiana and Minnesota. His first place finishes in the one and three meter diving events were his seventh and eighth victories of the season. It also marked the third time this season he swept the diving competition at a meet.
QUOTING COACH DAVEY – “We’re making progress in all areas. I’m not happy about losing last weekend, but I’m seeing improvement in all areas. We need to continue our momentum with a good performance at Missouri. We’re only a month away from the Big Ten meet and that’s what we’re aiming for.”
HEAD COACH John Davey – Former Hawkeye all-American John Davey is in his fifth year as head swim coach. Davey is the only Big Ten athlete in any sport to ever be named conference Athlete of the Year in their sport four consecutive years. While at Iowa, Davey won 10 Big Ten titles and was a 10-time all-American.
DIVING COACH Bob Rydze – Bob Rydze is in his 29th year as diving coach of the men’s 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.