Jan. 16, 2010
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Complete Results in PDF Format | Video interview with M. Long
IOWA CITY, IA- The University of Iowa women’s swimming and diving team hosted Big Ten rival Illinois this afternoon. The adrenaline was high as the Hawkeyes battled the Illini every race. Going into the last two events there was an eight-point difference between the teams, every finished mattered. Iowa came out on top, winning the meet 150.5-149.5.
The Hawkeyes started the meet off with a victory. The relay team of sophomore Danielle Carty, junior Katarina Tour, senior Laura Mozdzen, and sophomore Daniela Cubelic touched out Illinois after a close race. It came down to the last 50 yards and Cubelic had a great turn going into the last 25-yards and got the job done for her team. The team posted a time of 1:46.71.
Junior Kelsie Neubauer had the fans on their feet cheering during the 1,000 free. Illinois led most of the race but Neubauer came from behind to steal the lead. She took first-place with a season best time of 10:32.93. Cubelic touched out Illinois for first-place in the 100 back with a winning time of 57.44. She went on to place second in the 200 back (2:05.67).
Senior Christine Kuczek had three individual first-place finishes. In the 200 free she was neck-and-neck with Illinois’ swimmer the entire race but she pulled ahead the last length for the win (1:53.00). Kuczek went on the win the 50 free with a time of 24.00. Not long after the 50 free she got back in the pool to win the 100 free with a season best time of 51.82.
The meet came down to the 400 freestyle relay, which had the Field House crowd on their feet chanting “Let’s Go Hawks” and “Hawkeye relay” before the event started. Senior Verity Hicks, Cubelic, Tour and Kuczek teamed up for an exciting race that ended with a victory for the Hawkeyes. The team recorded a time of 3:28.39.
The lady divers helped contribute to the Hawkeye victory after having a strong day of diving. Junior Veronica Rydze was the top finisher in both the 1-meter and 3-meter diving event. She earned a collegiate best score of 274.96 in the 1-meter. Rydze later went on to capture the top spot in the 3-meter with a score of 296.93. Freshman Mary Sue LeMay took fifth-place in both the 1-meter (215.79) and 3-meter (205.81), while senior Brittany Logan placed sixth in the 1-meter (200.18) and seventh in the 3-meter (172.35).
“This meet was a typical Big Ten meet that came down to the last event,” said Head Coach Marc Long. “There was a lot of exciting races but it’s just another step as we prepare for the Big Ten’s. We have a lot of work to do in the next coming weeks getting ready for the Big Ten’s. We got the win and Illinois had a great meet.”