Dec. 8, 2008
THIS WEEK — The Iowa women’s swimming team will return home to host rival Iowa State on Friday evening as part of the Hy-Vee Cy-Hawk series. The meet is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. at the Field House Pool. The Iowa men will have the week off.
ON THE COMPETITION — The Cyclones are 4-1 this season and have a three-meet winning streak as they travel to Iowa City. Iowa State, most recently, knocked-off Northern Iowa last weekend in a decisive 201-88 victory.
Senior Lindsay Wegner has been a powerful leader for the Cyclones. She won the 100 and 200 backstroke events against Northern Iowa. Wegner was also part of the winning 200 medley relay team. Jeli Nixt has also proved to be a strong performer for Iowa State. The sophomore is undefeated in the 100 breastroke this season, taking first place in the event in 1:05.54 against Northern Iowa last weekend.
The last meeting between the squads took place last season in Ames. Iowa State came away with the win in a narrow 152-148 victory over the Hawkeyes.
HY-VEE CY-HAWK SERIES– Iowa leads the fifth annual Hy-Vee Cy-Hawk Series, 11-4, after seven events. The Cyclones beat the Hawkeyes (3-0) in volleyball to earn two points and finished ahead of Iowa at the men’s cross country regional meet. Iowa beat Iowa State 17-5 in football to earn the only three-point event. The Hawkeyes also downed the Cyclones in women’s basketball (66-46), wrestling (20-15), women’s soccer (3-2) and finished ahead of Iowa State at the women’s cross country regional meet. There are six events remaining.
LAST COMPETITION — The Iowa men and women traveled to Columbia, MO, for their first invitational competition of the season. The Hawkeyes competed in the Missouri Invitational after three days of intense competition, both the men and women finished in second place.
Both the men and women came out strong in the relay events of the weekend. Duncan Partridge, Ryan Phelan, Richard Salhus, and Conor Dwyer took first in the 200 free relay in a time of 1:20.95, while Salhus, Paul Gordon, Nick Divan and Dwyer teamed-up to earn the top spot in the 800 free relay, finishing with a time of 6:35.62. Partridge, Gordon, Phelan, and Dwyer also finished first in the 400 free relay in 2:58.98.
The Iowa women were also dominant in relay events last weekend. Danielle Carty, Katarina Tour, Daniela Cubelic, and Julie deBruin finished first in the 200 medley relay in 1:42.43 while Cubelic, DeBruin, Christine Kuczek, and Alison Gschwend took the top spot in the 200 free relay, finishing in 1:33.10. Cubelic, Tour, Laura Mozdzen and Kuczek also took first in the 400 medley relay (3:45.13).
NEXT COMPETITION — The Hawkeye men and women will travel south to Miami, FL, for their winter training trip. Iowa will compete in a multiple team dual-meet hosted by Florida International University on Jan. 10, 2009. The Hawkeyes will also face competition from New York University and Florida Atlantic University.
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.
CAMPUS RECREATION AND WELLNESS CENTER — Ground was broken for the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center in October, 2007. The facility 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.
FIELD HOUSE POOL– Iowa’s Field House 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 & 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.