March 12, 2012
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THIS WEEK
Two members of the University of Iowa swimming and diving team — freshman Becky Stoughton and senior Veronica Rydze — will compete at the 2012 NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships on March 15-17 at the James E. Martin Aquatics Center in Auburn, Ala.
Stoughton will compete in the 500 and 1,650 freestyle events, while Rydze will dive in the one and three meter springboard events.
EVENT INFORMATION
For full information on the 2012 NCAA Championships visit the official Championships page, http://www.ncaa.com/championships/swimming-women/d1.
TV COVERAGE
On Friday, March 16 and Saturday, March 17 ESPN3 will air the Championships live online. The coverage is set to begin at 7 p.m. (CT). The entire Championships will be aired on Wednesday, March 21 on ESPNU.
LIVE STATS
For live results from your computer or smart phone, visit: http://results.teamunify.com/nsss/results/NCAA/2012Women/.
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.
FRESHMAN HIGHLIGHTS
Freshman Becky Stoughton is the first Iowa swimmer to qualify for the NCAA Championships since Jennifer Skolaski swam in three events in 2005, earning All-America honors in the 100 back. Stoughton is also the first Hawkeye freshman to qualify since Skolaski in 2001-02.
RYDZE LOOKS FOR SECOND ALL-AMERICA ACCOLADE
Senior Veronica Rydze will make a repeat appearance at the NCAA Championships after advancing through the NCAA Zone D Diving Championships last weekend at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center Pool. The Iowa City, Iowa, native finished fifth in the three meters with a total of 614.90 points to advance.
Last season, Rydze was an All-American on the one-meter board after placing 13th overall at the NCAA Championships. Rydze would be the third UI diver to earn All-America honors in consecutive seasons along with Nancilea Underwood and Katy Ketoff.
STOUGHTON’S FRESHMAN RESUME
Becky Stoughton was named Freshman Swimmer of the Year by Big Ten swimming coaches at the 2012 Big Ten Championships. During the Championships, she set school records in the 200 (1:47.09), 500 (4:40.82) and 1,650 free (9:39.44) and 400 IM (4:12.34). Her times in the 500 (4:40.82) and 1,650 free (9:39.44) met qualifying times to compete at the NCAA Championships.
Stoughton has set 20 records thus far in her freshman season. She holds the school record in the 200 (1:47.09), 500 (4:40.82), 1,000 (9:39.44) and 1,650 free (16:14.14) and 400 IM (4:12.34).
The Peoria, Ill., native earned three Freshman of the Week honors during the 2011-12 season and was named Big Ten Swimmer of the Week once. She also was selected as the Division I National Swimmer of the Week by collegeswimming.com earlier in the season.
SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT
Becky Stoughton owns school and pool records in the 200 (1:47.09), 500 (4:40.82) 1,000 (9:39.44), 1,650 (16:14.14)free and 400 IM (4:12.34). All of her times surpass the NCAA provisional cut times.
She crushed her previous school record time in the 1,000 free by over 11 seconds with a time of 9:39.44 against Minnesota on Nov. 4. She bested her previous record (9:51.32), which she set against Wisconsin on Oct. 20.
Stoughton broke her previous school and pool record in the 400 IM and 500 free at the Iowa Hawkeye Invitational on Dec. 2-4.
The Peoria, Ill., native also set the pool record in the 1,000 free at the University of Wisconsin’s Natatorium with a time of 9:51.32.
Stoughton posted a pool record in the 200 IM with her time of 2:03.70. Stoughton’s time beat the previous record, which was held by former Iowa swimmer Katarina Tour (2:03.74) in 2009.
Senior diver Veronica Rydze complied a collegiate best score of 312.90 on the one-meter springboard to set a pool record.
On Jan. 27, Stoughton set the pool record in the 500 free with a time of 4:47.28 at the Rolfs Aquatics Center on the campus of Notre Dame. The previous record was set in 2008 with a time of 4:47.67.
WEEKLY HONORS
Becky Stoughton was selected as the Division I National Swimmer of the Week by collegeswimming.com and Big Ten Conference Swimmer of the Week on Nov. 8 for her efforts against Minnesota.
Senior Veronica Rydze was named the Big Ten Diver of the Week on Dec. 6 after claiming the 1 and 3-meter diving titles at the Hawkeye Invitational.
Stoughton was named the Big Ten Freshman Swimmer of the Week on Dec. 10 after recording first place finishes in the 500 and 1,000 free at No. 5 Arizona. She was also tabbed Big Ten Conference Freshman of the week on Jan. 24 for her performance against Northwestern.
U.S. DIVING SELECTS RYDZE
Senior diver Veronica Rydze has been selected to represent the USA Diving National Team at the 2012 Canada Cup – Fina Grand Prix. The competition will be held on May 3-5 in Montreal.
Rydze will be competing in the 3-meter synchronized diving event alongside former Hawkeye diver Deidre Freeman. The duo finished fifth in the event at the 2012 USA Diving Winter National Championships and World Cup Trials in December, finishing with 519.30 points.
UI diving coach Bob Rydze has also been chosen as one of three coaches for the USA Diving National Team at the Canada Cup.
RETURNING ALL-AMERICANS
The women’s squad returns All-America diver Veronica Rydze. She earned the accolade after finishing 13th on the 1-meter board (296.35) at the NCAA Championships.
HEAD COACH Marc Long
Marc Long is in his eighth season as head coach of 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.
IOWA SWIMMING HISTORY & TRADITION
Iowa was one of the first schools in the nation to compete on the 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.