Feb. 2, 2009
IOWA CITY, IA —
THIS WEEK – The Iowa women’s swimming team will conclude regular season competition with a final meet on the road against the Northern Iowa Panthers. The Hawkeye women will travel to Cedar Falls, IA on Thursday to take on the Panthers at the Wellness and Recreation Center. Competition is scheduled to begin at 5p.m. The Iowa men will have the week off and begin to prepare for the Big Ten Championships that begin Feb. 26, 2009. br>
ON THE COMPETITION – The Panther women prepare to host the Hawkeyes after falling to Minnesota State University, Mankato 132-99 at home last Friday evening. Despite the loss, Northern Iowa was able to earn five first place finishes at the dual meet.
Freshman Chelsea Hartman took first place in both the 200 free (1:55.60) and the 500 breast (5:06.80) while sophomore Kelly McCullough triumphed in the 1,000 free with a first place finish in a time of 10:55.42.
The Panthers also took first in the 200 medley relay. Ashley Hunter, Maggie Rickert, Josie Itzen, and Abby Girard teamed up to win the event, finishing the race with a time of 1:39.25. Sophomore Ashley Mangrich took the top spot in the 100 breast with a season best time of 1:08.64.
LAST COMPETITION – The Iowa men and women hosted their final home meet of the season against the Missouri Tigers for Senior Day this past Saturday at the Field House Pool. 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 2-4 record in conference competition.
The Iowa men concluded 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.
The Iowa women opened the meet with a victory in the 200 medley relay. Danielle Carty, Katarina Tour, Daniela Cubelic and Julie deBruin teamed up to win the event in 1:44.98. Tour also earned an individual first place finish in the 100 breast, touching the wall in 1:04.03. Senior Christine Kuczek took first place in the 100 free with a time of 51.70.
The Hawkeye men were victorious in the 400 free relay, with Paul Gordon, Ryan Phelan, Duncan Partridge, and Conor Dwyer taking first in the event with a time of 3:00.82. Dwyer also took home first place finishes in the 100 free (45:45) and the 200 IM (1:53.07). Junior Nick Divan also earned two wins for the Hawkeyes. Divan took the top spot in both the 1,000 free (9:32.67) and the 500 free (4:34.76).
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.
Long is assisted by Kirk Hampleman, Frannie Malone and Nathan Mundt.
DIVING COACH Bob Rydze — Bob Rydze is in his 34th year as diving coach of the Hawkeye men and women’s teams. 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.
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.
NEXT COMPETITION — The Iowa women will return to competition on Feb. 19-21, 2009 at the women’s Big Ten Championships hosted by the University of Michigan. The Iowa men will return to competition Feb. 26-28, 2009 at the men’s Big Ten Championships hosted by Purdue University.