Arizona Bound

Jan. 3, 2012

Complete Release in PDF Format

THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa men’s swimming and diving team will travel to Tucson, Ariz., for its winter training trip and competition. The Hawkeyes will face Arizona on Jan. 6 beginning at 2 p.m. (CT).

SCOUTING ARIZONA
As of Dec. 8, Arizona is ranked No.1 in the College Swimming Coaches Association of America Poll. The Wildcats have a 3-1 dual meet record and are coming off a fourth place finish at the Texas Invite.

Eric Hansen was named the new head coach of Arizona swimming and diving in April 2011. He replaced Hall of Fame coach Frank Busch, who is now the USA Swimming’s National Team Director.

Hansen returned to Tucson after serving as the head coach at the University of Wisconsin for 12 seasons. During his time in Madison, Hansen transformed the program into a perennial contender with his women’s team finishing among the top-20 on 10 separate occasions at the NCAA Championships, including an 11th place finish and UW’s first individual national champion at the 2011 NCAA Championships in Austin, Texas. Hansen revitalized the men’s program during his time at Wisconsin, posting a top-12 finish at NCAA’s.

FOLLOW THE HAWKEYES
Become fans of the official Iowa swimming and diving page by going to http://www.facebook.com/IowaSwimmingandDiving to follow the Hawkeyes on Facebook. Fans can also follow the black and gold on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/IowaHawkeyeSwim.

WEEKLY HONORS
Ryan Phelan was named Big Ten Conference Swimmer of the Week on Nov. 1. The honor marked Phelan’s first career honor.

The Cedar Rapids, Iowa, native earned the accolade after recording four first place finishes in Iowa’s dual meet victory over Michigan State on Nov. 29. He tallied individual wins in the 50-yard (20.20) and 100-yard free (45.74). He was also a member of the winning 200-yard medley (1:30.60) and 400-yard freestyle relays (3:03.86).

Phelan is the first Iowa men’s swimming student-athlete to claim Big Ten Swimmer of the Week honor since Conor Dwyer on Jan. 27, 2009.

Paul Gordon was selected as the Division I National Swimmer of the Week by collegeswimming.com on Nov. 8.

Gordon, a senior from Sioux Falls, S.D., earned the male swimmer of the week recognition with his performance in the dual meet victory over Minnesota. He posted NCAA “B” qualifying times in the 100-fly (48.30), 100-free (44.07) and 200-free (1:37.44) before anchoring the winning 400-free relay, which set a pool record.

HAWKEYES CRACK TOP-10
The University of Iowa men’s swimming and diving team is ranked 15th in the most recent College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) top 25 poll.

The Hawkeyes debuted at No. 10 in the dual meet rankings after downing Minnesota on Nov. 4 at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center Pool.

Iowa is one of six Big Ten Conference schools ranked among the top 25, along with Michigan (4), Ohio State (8), Purdue (20), Minnesota (23) and Penn State (23).

The Hawkeyes rank among the top 10 nationally in three events early in the 2011-12 season:

  • 50 Free, Ryan Phelan (19.77), eighth
  • 200 Free Relay (1:18.81), ninth
  • 400 Free Relay (2:54.78), 10th

Iowa finished the 2010-11 season ranked 24th in the final TYP/CSCAA Men’s Division I poll.

DOWNING RECORDS
Last season’s Big Ten runner-up in the 50 free, Ryan Phelan, beat his pool record in the event with a time of 19.88. Phelan previously held the record (19.90), which he set Nov. 4 at Iowa’s win over Minnesota.

Phelan also set the pool record in the event with a time of 20.27 at Wisconsin’s Natatorium. The previous record was held by former Hawkeye and Big Ten champion, Tom Williams, which was set in 1988.

Duncan Partridge, Ryan Phelan, Jordan Huff and Paul Gordon set the pool record in the 400 free relay with a time of 2:57.31 The quartet set the record Nov. 18 when the Hawkeyes beat Purdue 155-145, but fell to Ohio State, 163-137.

RETURNING ALL-AMERICANS
The men’s squad returns all four members of the 400 free relay that earned All-America honors at the 2011 NCAA Championships. Paul Gordon, Jordan Huff, Duncan Partridge and Ryan Phelan placed 15th (2:54.82) in the relay to earn All-America accolades.

DUAL MEET DOMINATION
Since 2008-09, the men’s swimming and diving team has complied 31-5 dual meet record. That mark includes a 10-1 record in 2009-10, which is the program’s best record since finishing 13-1 and placing second at the Big Ten.

LAST EVENT
After three days of competition at the Hawkeye Invitational, Iowa finished second out of seven teams with 723 points. Ranked No. 1 at the time, Michigan won the event with 967 points.

NEXT EVENT
Iowa will travel to Evanston, Ill., to take on Northwestern on Jan. 21. The meet is set to begin at 11 a.m.

BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS
The University of Iowa hosts the 2012 Big Ten Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships on Feb. 22-25 at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center Pool in Iowa City, Iowa.

Visit the official Championship page at hawkeyesports.com/sports/m-swim for information on tickets, travel, parking, results, schedule of events and more.

Iowa previously hosted the 1934, 1941, 1948, 1953, 1958, 1966 and 1982 Big Ten Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships at the UI Field House.

Iowa will also be host to the 2012 Women’s Big Ten Swimming and Diving Championships Feb. 15-18. The same site has not hosted both men and women’s Big Ten meets since 1987 and 1988 when they were held in Indianapolis

HEAD COACH Marc Long
Marc Long is in his eighth season as head coach for the University of Iowa swimming team. It’s his seventh as head coach of the combined program. During his tenure as head coach of both programs, 36 school records have fallen and 74 Hawkeyes have provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships.

DIVING COACH Bob Rydze
Bob Rydze is in his 37th year as diving coach of the men and women’s teams at the University of Iowa. Rydze served as Team Leader for USA Diving at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. During his tenure with the Hawkeyes, Rydze has coached 33 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 opened in August 2010 and is home for the Hawkeyes. It is located at the corner of Burlington and Madison streets and cost approximately $69 million. The facility includes a 50-meter competition pool, a separate diving well, a leisure pool with lap lanes and 24,000 square feet of fitness space.

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 10 18 times, crowning nine NCAA and 22 Big Ten champions.

CAPTAINS COUNCIL
Six student-athletes have been named to the 2011-12 Captains’ Council. Ryan Phelan, Jordan Huff and Kyle Noser will captain the men’s squad, while Daniela Cubelic, Danielle Carty and Haley Gordon will captain the women’s squad. The Captains’ Council was voted on by their peers and coaches.