Iowa Heads to Lincoln

Oct. 29, 2007

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IOWA CITY, IA

THIS WEEK — The Iowa women’s swimming teams will continue its regular season when they head to Lincoln, NE to take on the University of Nebraska and the University of Nebraska-Reno. The meet will begin Saturday at 11 a.m. in the Fieldhouse Pool. The men’s team does not compete this week.

ON NEBRASKA AND NEVADA — The Nebraska women’s swimming team comes into the meet with a 2-0 dual record and a fifth place finish at the Big 12 relays. The Nevada-Reno women’s swimming team has posted a fourth place finish in the Pacific Invitational held in Stockton, CA earlier this month. Both teams will be competing against each other as well as Nebraska-Omaha on Friday, a day before the Hawkeyes come to town. Iowa freshman Katarina Tour will be competing against her sister, Nevada-Reno’s Jeanette Tour, for the first time collegiately. PREVIOUS MEETINGS — The Hawkeyes come in with a 16-11 series lead against Nebraska. The last meeting was in 1997 when the Hawkeyes traveled to Lincoln and took first place in the five team Nebraska Invitational. Iowa has never faced Nevada-Reno.

LAST WEEK — The Iowa men and women’s swimming team faced Michigan State last week. The Hawkeye men won 150.5-149.5 while the women were victorious 178-122. The wins improved both teams to 1-2 (1-2 Big Ten). The men were led by sophomore Wil Whaley who picked up individual victories in the 100 (52.43) and 200 backstroke (1:51.68). Senior Dragos Agache added first place finishes in the 100 (56.78) and 200 (2:06.28) breaststroke. Other first place finishers for Iowa were Brian Farris in the 500 freestyle (4:41.45) and Conor Dwyer in the the 100 freestyle (46.92). Sophomore diver Frank Van Dijkhuizen performed well, a week after winning the Big Ten Diver of the Week honors by winning the one-meter (290.48) and three-meter (335.85) diving competitions.

The women’s swimming team was able to win 13 of 14 swimming events with several hawkeyes picking up mulitple victories. Winning two individual titles were junior Alison Gschwend in the 100 (57.90) and 200 backstroke (2:04.25), sophomore Christine Kuczek in the 100 (52.73) and 200 freestyle (1:54.03), freshman Katarina Tour in the 100 breaststroke (1:06.13) and 200 IM (2:08.00), and sophomore Margie Chamberlin in the 100 (57.46) and 200 butterfly (2:05.29). Other swimmers with first place performances were junior Ashley Dell in the 1,000 freestyle (10:14.21), sophomore Julie deBruin in the 50 freestyle (24.28), and sophomore Julie Feingold in the 200 breaststroke (2:23.55). The women also took home first place in the 200 medley relay (1:47.22) and the 400 freestyle relay (3:31.05).

PREVIOUS MEETINGS — The Hawkeyes come in with an all-time advantage of 16-11 against Nebraska. The last meeting was in 1997 when the Hawkeyes traveled to Lincoln and took first place in the five team Nebraska Invitational. Iowa has never swam against Nevada-Reno. HEAD COACH Marc Long — Marc Long is in his fourth season as head coach for the University of Iowa swimming team. It’s his third year 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.

FIELDHOUSE POOL — Iowa’s Fieldhouse Pool was built in 1927 and was, at the time, the world’s largest indoor swimming pool. In 1979, the pool underwent a $400,000 renovation. Diving platforms were added in 1980. The pool is 150 feet long and 60 feet wide, with eight lanes. Diving facilities include a pair of one and three meter springboards, plus five and ten meter platforms.

IOWA SWIMMING HISTORY AND TRADITION — Iowa was one of the first schools in the nation to compete on a collegiate level and competed at the first NCAA Championship. From 1937 to 1960, Iowa placed in the NCAA top ten 18 times, crowning nine NCAA and 22 Big Ten Champions.

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