Jan. 25, 2010
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Complete Release in PDF Format
THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa men’s swimming and diving team (6-1, 3-1) will travel to South Bend, IN to compete in the Shamrock Invite. The Hawkeyes will face Notre Dame, Missouri and Denver. The event will begin Friday and continue through Saturday and take place all day.
HEAD COACH Marc Long
“This weekend’s meet is against outstanding competition. It’s also unique in that we get to swim and dive nearly every Championship Meet event. This combination will help prepare us for the very challenging Big Ten Championships.”
LAST EVENT
Iowa faced Northwestern in a close battle that came down to the last few events. In the end the Hawkeyes finished strong and walked away with a victory, 149.5-144.5.
Sophomore Paul Gordon captured two first-place finishes in the 200 and 100 free. He finished in the top spot in the 200 free with a time of 1:38.53. Gordon earned a collegiate best time of 45.01 in the 100 free. He went on to team up with freshman Jordan Huff, junior Richard Salhus and sophomore Ryan Phelan to win the 400 free relay (3:02.31).
Senior diver Frank Van Dijkhuizen placed second in the 3-meter diving with score of 286.50. Senior Mike Gilligan finished third with a score of 254.85. The two divers went on to compete in the 1-meter diving event. Gilligan claimed first place with a score 314.40 while Van Dijkhuizen earned second with a score of 313.58
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 and women’s teams at the University of Iowa. During his tenure with the Hawkeyes, Rydze has coached 31 all-Americans, nine Big Ten and one NCAA Champion. Rydze served as Team Leader for USA Diving at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China.
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.