2006-07 Season Outlook

July 18, 2006

As Head Coach Marc Long prepares for his second season at the helm of the combined men and women’s swimming team, he expects continued improvement and big things from his squad. In addition to returning a combined 26 letterwinners, a talented recruiting class provides high hopes for Long.

“We are excited about who we have coming back and about our incoming class from both a leadership and performance standpoint,” said Long.

In his first season as head coach of the combined program, Long guided the women to an 8-6 record, with wins over in-state rivals Iowa State and Northern Iowa. The men finished the year at 3-6, scoring wins over Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Truman State and Nazareth. Both the men and women’s team qualified participants for the NCAA Championships, with the women finishing 27th. The Hawkeyes set five school records and one Fieldhouse Pool record.

Long is assisted by third-year coaches Frannie DeBord and Robert Pinter, and first-year coach Kirk Hampleman.

Butterfly
The butterfly will be anchored by junior Nathan Keeling, who led the team in both the 100 (48.89) and 200 (1:49.12), and finished 18th in the 100 and 13th in the 200 at the Big Ten Championships. His 100 and 200 times at the Big Ten Championships were both collegiate bests and rank seventh and 10th, respectively, on Iowa’s all-time top performers list. Keeling recorded 11 top-five finishes in 2005-06 for the Hawkeyes.

The return of sophomore James Dragon will strengthen the Hawkeye butterfly events. Dragon’s 100 time (49.31) was second on the team, behind only Keeling, and his 200 time (1:52.21) was third. Dragon set collegiate bests in both the 100 and 200, and his time in the 100 ranks 10th on Iowa’s all-time top performers list. He placed 21st in the 100 at Big Ten Championships and recorded 17 top-five finishes in 2005-06. Freshmen Joshua Schubert and Seth Wessels are also expected to contribute in the butterfly.

The women are losing their 100 fly school-record holder Kelly Werner but incoming recruit Laura Mozdzen, a former Arizona state champion, has already topped that time. Incoming freshman Margie Chamberlain was a two-time all-American in the 100 fly, winning the Florida state title her senior year.

Senior Erin Petty and junior Mindy Schulte will provide depth and strength in this event. Petty recorded a collegiate best in the 200 fly (2:09.47) at Wisconsin, won the 200 fly at Northern Iowa, and placed in the top-five nine times. Schulte swam a collegiate-best in the 100 (57.60) at the Big Ten Championships. Freshman Katie Michelau, of Mundelein, IL, set her high school 100 fly record of 56.88 and posted a career-best 2:05.10 in the 200 fly.

Backstroke
New Hawkeye captain, junior Andrej Lenert, returns looking to improve on last year. He led the team in both the 100 (51.28) and 200 (1:50.19) backstroke in 2006. Lenert finished 18th in the 100 and 24th in the 200 at the Big Ten Championships. He swept the backstroke events in Iowa’s victory over Truman State and notched 13 top-five finishes on the year.

Lenert will get support in the backstroke from Wil Whaley, a freshman from Homeland, CA. Whaley was an all-American in the 100 back, with a best time of 51.13.

The women will be led by sophomore Alison Gschwend, while sophomore Leah Schwartz and freshmen Nicki Wex and Katie Osborne will provide depth. In 2005-06, Gschwend cracked the top-10 all time performers list. She ranks third with a 56.53 in the 100 back and 10th with 2:04.78 in the 200 back. She also placed 11th in the 100 back at the Big Ten Championships and recorded 22 top-five finishes on the year.

Wex, of Nashotah, WI, was a two-time all-American, won the state and conference 100 back titles as a freshman, and set the 100 back school record (56.26). She recorded a best time of 2:04.52 in the 200 back. Osborne was a 10-time all-American, a three-time state champion, all-state and all-conference, and swam at Junior and Senior National Championships.

Breaststroke
The Hawkeyes return NCAA competitor Dragos Agache, who qualified with 53.94 in the 100 breast and 2:00.31 in the 200. His 100 breast time set a new school record, crushing the old record of 54.80 set by Marco Minonne in 1998. Agache swam a collegiate best in the 200 breast at the Big Ten Championships with 1:59.67, which ranks third on Iowa’s all-time top performers list. He placed fourth in the 100 breast and seventh in the 200 breast at the Big Ten meet and was named the Armbuster/Patton men’s swimming MVP.

Senior Paul Divan returns to give the Hawkeye men experience. He placed 23rd in the 100 breast and 24th in the 200 breast at the Big Ten Championships, and recorded 15 top-five finishes. Freshman Matthew Ryan, an Illinois state finalist, will provide depth for the Hawkeyes in the breaststroke.

Senior Emmy Haeger will lead the Hawkeye women in the breaststroke and tutor freshmen Julie Feingold and Stacia Johns. Haeger won the 100 (1:05.20) and 200 (2:21.24) vs. Minnesota with collegiate bests, which rank eighth and ninth respectively, on Iowa’s all-time top performers list. She recorded six individual victories and 17 top-five finishes in 2005-06.

Feingold, a Munster, IN, native, was a seven-time all-American and all-state, and a four-time conference champion. She was a three-time state runner-up in the 100 breast, two-time team MVP, and set a school record in the 100 breast (1:04.23). Johns, of Williamsburg, IA, was an Iowa state runner-up in the 100 breast, a two-time first team all-state and team captain, and was named team MVP as a senior. She set the school record in the 100 breast (1:07.56).

Individual Medley
Freshman Seth Wessels is expected to lead the Hawkeyes in the IM. Wessels, a Cedar Falls, IA, native was an Iowa state champion.

Feingold will take the reins as the women’s IM leader. While competing at Munster (IN) High School, she set a school record in the 200 IM (2:05.69) and placed fourth in the 400 IM (4:32.92) at the senior state meet, with a personal best time.

Freestyle
The Hawkeye freestyle core looks to be very strong. Sophomore Nick Divan hopes to improve on a remarkable freshman year, in which he led the team in the 500 (4:29.41), 1,000 (9:30.24) and 1,650 (15:46.17) events, and notched 11 individual victories.

Senior Seth Tweedy led the team in the 100 free and swam on team-leading 200, 400 and 800 free relays. He swam collegiate bests in the 50 (21.06) and 100 (46.08) at the Big Ten meet. Dragon is expected to compete in freestyle events as well. He ended the year strong, setting collegiate bests in the 50 (21.55), 100 (46.85) and 200 (1:45.10) at the Iowa Senior Championships.

Freshmen Brian Farris, Brad Jones and Wil Whaley are all expected to compete and strengthen the Hawkeye freestyle events. Farris was a two-time all-American and team MVP at Normal (IL) High School. He placed fourth in the 200 (1:42.91) and 500 (4:38.12) free at the state meet, winning conference titles in both events. He also set school records in the 100 (47.20), 200 (1:42.91) and 500 (4:38.12). Jones won Tennessee state titles in the 50 (21.20) and 100 (46.67) while competing at Farragut High School in Knoxville. He set school records in the 50, 100 and 200 free. Whaley earned all-America status in the 200 free while swimming for the E.A.S.T Elite Club.

Sophomore Ashley Dell cracked the top 10 all-time top performers list last season, leading the team in the 1,000 (10:15.73) and 1,650 (17:10.50), which both rank seventh. Dell finished 24th in 1,650 free at the Big Ten Championships and recorded 14 top-five finishes. Sophomore Heather Hall is also expected to contribute in the distance events. She won the 1,000 free with a collegiate best (10:29.67) at Truman State. Long expects freshman Jamie Engan (Carson City, NV) to make significant contributions to the distance events. Engan won the state 500 free title as a junior, posting a time of 4:52.81, which would rank fifth on Iowa’s all-time best performers list.

The Hawkeye freestyle sprinters will be led by team captain Robin Samples and Schulte. Schulte led the team in the 50 free with a 23.62, which ranks eighth on Iowa’s all-time top performers list. She set collegiate bests in the 50 (23.62) and 100 (52.86) at the Big Ten Championships. Freshmen Julie deBruin (Naperville, IL) and Christine Kuczek (Deerfield, IL) will add depth to the sprint events. deBruin is a four-time all-American and has the fastest 50 free time of the Hawkeye newcomers. Kuczek, was a four-time all-conference and team MVP, three-time all-state and conference champion, along with being a two-time team captain. She set the school record in the 100 free with a 51.55.

Diving
Sophomore Drew DeLashmutt returns to lead the Hawkeyes in one- and three-meter diving, while freshman Michael Gilligan will take on platform diving responsibilities for the Hawkeyes. DeLashmutt led the team in one-meter diving (253.58), winning that event at Wisconsin and vs. Missouri State. Gilligan was a platform gold medalist at the 2005 AAU National Championships. He was the three-meter springboard gold medalist at the 2004 Region I Summer Junior Olympics. Gilligan, a six-time Junior Olympic winter national qualifier and four-time summer national qualifier, and was named the 2006 New Jersey top performer.

Sophomore Meghan Sievertsen will attempt to fill the void left by five-time all-American and World Champion Nancilea Underwood. Last season Sievertsen set collegiate bests in both the one-meter (258.60) and three-meter (247.88), and placed third three times. Senior Nicole Nemmers, sophomore Aimee Moylan and freshman Deidre Freeman will add depth to the diving duties.