Oct. 17, 2012
- 2012-13 Iowa Swimming & Diving Media Guide
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THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa women’s swimming and diving team opens its regular season with a dual meet at Michigan State on Friday afternoon in East Lansing, Mich. The dual will be held at McCaffree Pool at IM West beginning at 3 p.m. (CT).
LAST MEET
The “black” squad downed the “gold” squad, 136-82, in the team’s annual Black & Gold intrasquad meet Oct. 13 inside the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center Pool. Returning All-American Becky Stoughton won three events — 200 IM and 500 and 1,000 free, while junior transfer Lindsay Seemann also posted three first place finishes in the 100 back, 200 free and as a part of the 200 medley relay.
SCOUTING MICHIGAN STATE
The Spartans bring an 0-1 record into Friday’s dual after falling 201-91 to Wisconsin on Sept. 28 in East Lansing. Sophomore diver Alison Menzies posted the highlight performance for Michigan State when she qualified for the NCAA Regionals in the 1-and-3 meter diving events. She won the 1-meter and was the runner-up in the 3-meter. Freshman Elizabeth Brown also swam to an event title, touching the wall first in the 200 fly in 2:25.13.
Michigan State is coming off a 2011-12 season where it finished 12th at the 2012 Big Ten Championships with 65 points. The Spartans are led by ninth-year head coach Matt Gianiodis, who is in his 15th overall season with the program.
STOUGHTON PICKS UP WHERE SHE LEFT OFF IN WIN COLUMN
After posting 34 first place finishes as a true freshman, sophomore Becky Stoughton continued where she left off at the Black & Gold intrasquad meet. The Peoria, Iowa, native won three events during the meet, posting the top times in the 500 free (5:04.48), 1,000 free (10:15.58) and 200 IM (2:06.21).
KABACINSKI, FRESHMEN START FAST
Freshman Olivia Kabacinski sprinted to the top times in the 50 and 100 free at the Black & Gold intrasquad meet Oct. 13. The Indiana native finished with a time of 23.45 in the 50-free and 50.73 in the 100-free. Fellow freshmen Maggie Hofstadter and Maddie Bro posted the Hawkeyes’ second and fourth fastest time in the 50 free in 24.34 and 24.85 seconds, respectively.
SEEMANN STEPS IN
Junior Lindsay Seemann, a transfer from Arizona, won three events in her Hawkeye debut. Seemann posted Iowa’s top times in the 200 free (1:51.20) and 100 back (57.66), while swimming the opening leg of the 200 medley relay (1:45.59).
KELBA MAKES CLAIM IN DIVING
Junior Lauren Kelba made claim to being the team’s top diver by finishing first in the 1-and-3 meter springboard events at the Black & Gold intrasquad meet. Kelba won the 1-meter title with 261.70 points and the 3-meter in 272.10.
RETURNING ALL-AMERICAN
The women’s squad returns sophomore All-American Becky Stoughton in 2012-13. The Peoria, Ill., native finished ninth in the 1,650 free (16:03.42) at the NCAA Champoionships last season — the highest Hawkeye NCAA swimming finisher since Jennifer Skolaski placed 14th in the 100 back at the 2005 NCAA Championships. The last swimmer to place higher than ninth place was Skolaski in 2003 when she placed eighth in the 100 back.
2011-2012 MVP
Becky Stoughton returns to lead the Hawkeyes after earning team most valuable player honors as a freshman. Stoughton is the first Iowa swimmer to qualify for the NCAA Championships since Jennifer Skolaski in 2005, also the first Hawkeye freshman to qualify since Skolaski in 2001-2002 season. Stoughton was named 2012 Big Ten Freshman Swimmer of the Year, making her the first Hawkeye to earn the distinction.
HAWKEYE OLYMPIANS
Iowa has two former Olympians on the 2012-13 roster in sophomore Heather Arseth and junior Lindsay Seemann. Arseth competed in the 2012 London Olympics in the 200 free, while Seemann swam for Canada in the 2008 Beijing Olympics at the age of 15, making her the youngest Olympian for Canada in the ’08 games.
THIRD BEST GPA NATIONALLY
The Hawkeyes posted a 3.59 team grade point average during the 2011-12 season, which was tied for the third best mark in the country with fellow Big Ten foe Northwestern. The following swimmers earned CSCAA Scholar All-America honors: Becky Stoughton, Danielle Carty, Daniela Cubelic, Joelle Christy, Abby Grilli and Karolina Wartalowicz.
FAMILY TIES
While most programs cite family team atmospheres, it goes a little bit further for the University of Iowa swimming and diving team. Iowa has two sets of siblings on the 2012-13 roster. Former Hawkeye All-American Paul Gordon is serving as a student assistant coach, while his sister, Haley Gordon, and brother, Jack Gordon, are UI student-athletes. Iowa also has three Weigands on the current squad in senior Patrick Weigand along with sophomore Hillary Weigand and freshman Jennifer Weigand.
HEAD COACH Marc Long
Marc Long is in his ninth season as head coach for the University of Iowa swimming team. It’s his eighth as head coach of the combined program. During his tenure as head coach of both programs, 54 school records have fallen and 93 Hawkeyes have provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships.
COACHING ADDITIONS
Todd Waikel is in his first season as diving coach for the Hawkeyes. Waikel replaces long time UI diving coach Bob Rydze after serving as the assistant diving coach at Indiana for seven years. Kristy Brager joins program as an assistant coach, after coaching two seasons at George Mason University. She helped lead the men’s team to a pair of runner-up finishes in the Colonial Athletic Association.
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 AND DIVING 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.
NEXT EVENT
The Hawkeyes return to action Nov. 2 at Minnesota. The Big Ten dual is set to begin at 5 p.m. in Minneapolis.