One Final Lap for Hawkeye Seniors

Feb. 2, 2010

Complete Release in PDF Format

THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa men’s swimming and diving team (9-1, 3-1) will host Western Illinois in its final home meet of the season. Iowa will recognize nine seniors prior to the meet, which will start at 5 p.m. Friday. The meet is also the final intercollegiate competition that will be held at the Field House Pool. The Iowa swimming and diving program will begin competing at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center next season.

FAREWELL PROMOTIONS
*The Hawkeye swimming and diving program will honor seniors Nick Divan, Brian Farris, Michael Gilligan, Brad Jones, Jacob Moore, Matt Ryan, Josh Schubert, Frank Van Dijkhuizen and Jeff Funcke (mgr.) prior to Friday’s dual.
*Iowa Swimming Clubs are invited to attend the final intercollegiate meet at the Field House Pool.
*Every fan in attendance will receive a free “Field House Final Season” poster.
*Fans will have the opportunity to register to win a free Nintendo Wii console.

Marc Long ON HOME FINALE
“It’ll be a great opportunity to race and dive against an exciting Division I opponent in a unique format. The men’s team has a chance to complete the dual season with one of the best dual meet records in the history of our program. In addition, it’s the final collegiate dual meet, besides the April Alumni Meet, in the Field House Pool. We’ll be honoring our senior men before the meet, and getting ready to say goodbye to one of the legendary pools in America.”

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.

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.

LAST EVENT
The Hawkeyes faced Notre Dame, Missouri and Denver at the Shamrock Invite in South Bend, IN. After two days of competition, Iowa swept all three teams, beating Notre Dame (197-171), Missouri (184-183.5) and Denver (236-125).

Iowa had many races that stood out during the event that helped the team with its three victories. The race that seemed to stand out the most was the 400 free relay. Iowa had to win the race in-order to beat Missouri overall in the competition. The team of freshman Jordan Huff, sophomores Ryan Phelan, Duncan Partridge and Paul Gordon came together and won the event with a time of 2:59.68.

Senior diver Mike Gilligan was Iowa’s only diver at the competition. He placed third in the 1-meter diving event with a score of 323.40 and went on to place fifth in 3-meter diving (312.50).

Senior Josh Schubert and the Hawkeyes bid farewell to the Field House Pool Friday night.

HEAD COACH Marc Long
Marc Long is in his sixth season as head coach of the University of Iowa swimming team. It’s his fifth year 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.

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 Championships. From 1937 to 1960, Iowa placed in the NCAA top ten 18 times, crowning nine NCAA and 22 Big Ten Champions.