Nov. 4, 2008
THIS WEEK — The Iowa men and women’s swimming and diving team will travel to Minneapolis, MN Friday to face Minnesota. The meet is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. at the University Aquatic Center.
ON MINNESOTA — The Minnesota men and women’s teams both boast top-twenty credentials and are both currently undefeated. The 10th ranked Gopher men prepare to host Iowa following a season-opening win over No. 12 North Carolina (220-146) last weekend. The Minnesota men went undefeated in relay events and sophomore Kevin Baseheart claimed three victories to lead the Gophers.
The No. 12 Gopher women also defeated North Carolina last weekend, (217-151) bringing their season record to 3-0. Stacy Busack claimed five event wins for the Gophers. Christine Jennings and Jillian Tyler posted provisional qualifying times for Minnesota at the meet.
LAST WEEK — The Iowa women hosted Nebraska at home, while the men’s team had the week off. The Hawkeye women had a standout performance, defeating the Huskers 192-107 and taking first place in every event except two. Senior Ashley Dell had a big night, leading the Hawkeyes with individual first place finishs in the 500 free (5:04.04) and the 1,000 free (10:23.72).
Iowa opened the meet with a strong performance in the 400 medley relay, taking first and second in the event. Danielle Carty, Katarina Tour, Laura Mozdzen, and Christine Kuczek won with a time of 3:52.14, while Hilary Leigh, Julie Feingold, Sophie Borchers, and Julie deBruin finished second (3:55.43).
Iowa secured the win over Nebraska and concluded the meet by taking first in the 400 freestyle relay. Daniela Cubelic, Alison Gschwend, Carty and Kuczek finished in 3:30.96 to take first place in the event.
The Hawkeye divers claimed first, second, and fifth place in the one meter event. Deidre Freeman earned first (263.10) while Veronica Rydze finished second (246.60). Freeman concluded a strong day of competition by also taking first in the three meter competition (310.50).
NEXT COMPETITION — The Iowa men and women will return to competition at the Missouri Invite Dec. 5-7. The three day competition will take place at the Mizzou Aquatics Center and will be the first invitational of the season for the Hawkeyes.
HEAD COACH Marc Long — Marc Long is in his fifth season as head coach for the University of Iowa swimming program. It’s his fourth year as head coach of the combined programs. During his tenure as head coach of both programs, 10 school records have fallen and 39 Hawkeyes have provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships.
DIVING COACH Bob Rydze — Bob Rydze is in his 34th year as diving coach of the Hawkeye men and women’s teams at Iowa. Rydze returns to Iowa this season fresh from the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China where he served as Team Leader for USA Diving. During his tenure with the Hawkeyes, Rydze has coached 31 all-Americans, nine Big Ten and one NCAA Champion.