Jan. 31, 2009
IOWA CITY, IA – The Iowa men and women’s swimming and diving teams hosted the Missouri Tigers today for Senior Day in their final home meet of the season. A close competition throughout the meet, the Hawkeye men upset the 24th ranked Tigers 166-134, while the Iowa women fell 188-111.The Hawkeye women are now 6-5 overall this season, with a 2-5 record in conference competition. The Iowa men conclude their regular season competition 7-1 overall and 4-1 in Big Ten competition, which is their best finish since 1990. The Hawkeye men also went undefeated in home meets for the first time since 1996.
Opening the meet with the 200 medley relay, the Hawkeye women earned their first win of the day. Danielle Carty, Katarina Tour, Daniela Cubelic, and Julie deBruin teamed up to take first in the event with a time of 1:44.98. The Iowa men finished second in the men’s 200 medley relay, with Max Dittmer, Matt Ryan, James Dragon and Duncan Partridge finishing the race in 1:32.71.
Following the relays, the Iowa men claimed two more first place finishes right away as competition moved into the individual events. Nick Divan won the 1,000 free in a time of 9:32.67 while sophomore standout Conor Dwyer earned the top spot in the 200 free, touching the wall in 1:32.72. Ashley Dell took third in the 1,000 free for Hawkeye women with a time of 10:20.78 while Verity Hicks finished fifth in the 200 free (1:53.47).
Carty swam an intense race in the women’s 100 back, narrowly finishing second in 56.50 behind Missouri’s Lauren Lavigna’s time of 56.44. Dittmer took the event for the Iowa men, earning a first place finish in 50.55. Tour earned an individual first place in the women’s 100 Breast, winning the event with a time of 1:04.03.
The Iowa women’s next first place finish came from senior Christine Kuczek in the 100 free. Kuczek finished first in the event in 51.70 while teammate Julie deBruin finished fourth in 53.33. The Iowa men were also victorious in the 100 free. Dwyer earned his second win of the day, touching the wall first with a time of 45.45.
Following the 100 free, senior Alison Gschwend took second in the women’s 100 back (2:05.10). Julie Feingold earned a third place finish in the 200 breast (2:22.70) and Hicks finished third in the 500 free (5:02.71) as well. In men’s action Divan and Dwyer both won again in the 500 free and 200 IM. Divan finished first in the 500 free with a time of 4:34.76 while Dwyer took first in the 200 IM for the second meet in a row, posting a time of 1:53.07.
The Hawkeye divers had a successful day on the boards as well, with the Iowa men winning both events. Frank Dijkhuizen took the top spot in the one-meter competition with a score of 330.53 and junior Mike Gilligan earned his first victory of the season with a win in the three-meter competition. Gilligan posted a score of 348.15 to win the event just slightly ahead of Van Dijkhuizen, who posted a 348.58.
At the conclusion of the day’s competition the Iowa men sealed the victory with a first place finish in the 400 medley relay. Paul Gordon, Ryan Phelan, Partridge and Dwyer finished the race in 3:00.82 to take the top spot. The team of Tour, Gschwend, DeBruin and Kuczek finished second in the women’s event with a time of 3:29.91.
“I felt we raced very well,” said Iowa Head Coach Marc Long. “We were able to send the seniors off with some outstanding performances. Its great way to end the dual meet season but we know that championship season is just beginning.”
The Hawkeye women will continue competition this Thursday when they travel to the University of Northern Iowa to take on the Panthers. The meet will be the final dual competition of the season for the Hawkeyes. Competition is scheduled to begin at 5:00 p.m. at the Wellness and Recreation Center. The Iowa men will have the week off and begin to prepare for the Big Ten Championships that begin Feb. 19, 2009.