Oct. 1, 2007
IOWA CITY, IA –
THIS WEEK — The Iowa men and women’s swimming team will host the annual Black and Gold Intrasquad Meet Saturday. The exhibition will take place at the Fieldhouse Pool beginning at 10 A.M. SEASON PREVIEW — As Head Coach Marc Long prepares for his third season leading the men and women’s combined swimming program, he looks for continued progress.
“We set a lot of career bests [last] year and we want to continue to build on that and take our program to the next level. We are excited about the direction the program is headed and the commitment that has been made with the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center.”
The men will be led by senior Dragos Agache who was an NCAA qualifier and set collegiate bests and school records in the 100 (53.77) and 200 (1:58.40) breaststroke at last year’s Big Ten Championships. Last year’s team leader in the 100 (48.89) and 200 (1:48.74) butterfly is Nate Keeling and he returns for his senior season.
The women will be led by Alison Gschwend in the backstroke where she won the 100 three times and 200 two times a year ago. Her best 200 time (2:02.23) ranks fourth in school history and her best 100 time (56.53) is good for third best. Sophomore Christine Kuczek will look for continued success after her freshman season where she led the team in the 50 (23.53), 100 (50.74), and 200 (1:50.98) freestyle. Junior Ashley Dell is set to lead Iowa’s distance freestyle where she has won the 1,000 four times and the 500 two times.
HEAD COACH Marc Long — Marc Long is in his fourth season as head coach for the University of Iowa swimming team, and his third as head coach of the combined program. In his first two seasons at the helm of both programs, Long has seen six school records broken and 13 student-athletes qualify for the NCAA Championships.
DIVING COACH Bob Rydze — Bob Rydze is in his 33rd year as diving coach of the men and women’s teams at the University of Iowa. Rydze will serve as Team Leader for USA Diving at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China. During his tenure with the Hawkeyes, Rydze has coached 31 all-Americans, nine Big Ten and one NCAA Champion.
CAMPUS RECREATION AND WELLNESS CENTER — With groundbreaking scheduled for October, 2007, the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center will serve as the new home for Iowa Swimming and Diving upon completion in the fall of 2009. The facility will be at the corner of Burlington and Madison streets and is expected to cost $69 million.
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