Iowa to Host Illinois

Jan. 12, 2010

THIS WEEK The University of Iowa women’s swimming and diving team will host Big Ten rivial Illinois. The event will be held at the Field House Pool Saturday, Jan. 16 at 11 am.

HEAD COACH Marc Long “No men, it will be a traditional women’s only meet. Illinois is always very well coached and it’s a hard fought meet and we expect them to come here and be ready to swim fast. Last year it came down to the last event, the last individual on the relay and thats pretty typical of this meet between Iowa and Illinois. We are expecting some great racing and diving, so it will be nice to race after a week training trip.”

LAST EVENT The Hawkeyes competed at the Tampa Relays during their winter training trip on Jan. 6 at the UT Swimming Complex in Tampa, FL. Iowa teamed up for some fun relays that they do not regularly get to compete in during the season and earned 226 points for first-place.

There were 10 relay events at the competition and Iowa captured first-place in nine of the events. The Hawkeyes took first and second-place in the 300-yard breaststroke relay, which was the only event that Iowa finished first and second. The team of junior Katarina Tour, senior Julie Feingold and sophomore Dana Davidsen took the top spot with a time of 3:28.85.

HEAD COACH Marc Long Marc Long is in his sixth season as head coach for the University of Iowa swimming team. It’s his fifth as head coach of the combined program. 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 35th year as diving coach of the men’s and women’s teams at the University of Iowa. Rydze served as Team Leader for USA Diving at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China, where he served as the 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 spring of 2010. 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.