Hawkeyes Travel to Minneapolis

Oct. 30, 2012

THIS WEEK The University Iowa women’s swimming and diving team travels to Minneapolis on Friday to take on the Minnesota Golden Gophers. The meet will take place at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center beginning at 5 p.m (CT).

LAST MEET The Hawkeyes opened their regular season with a 182-117 victory over Michigan State on Oct. 19. The Hawkeyes won 12 events to claim the Big Ten victory over the Spartans.

SCOUTING MINNESOTA Minnesota enters Friday’s competition against Iowa with a 3-0 record and a No. 9 national ranking. The Gophers opened the 2012-13 season with a 196-99 win over Michigan, before posting two more victories against Iowa State (144-140) and Kansas (179-119).

The Gophers swept the Big Ten Conference weekly awards for the third week in a row on Oct. 23. Kierra Smith earned the Swimmer and Freshman of the Week honors, while Sarah McCrady was the Big Ten Diver of the Week for the second time this season.

Last season, Minnesota claimed the 2012 Big Ten Championships and finished 11th at the NCAA Championships.

KABACINSKI BREAKS 18-YEAR OLD POOL RECORD Kabacinski contributed to the Hawkeye victory by claiming two first place finishes in the 50 Free and 200 Free. Kabacinski finished with a time of 1:50.05 in the 200 free. Kabacinski broke an 18-year pool record at the 53-year old facility, touching the wall at 23.23, to break the previous record of 23.29. Kabacinski’s 50 time ranks forth in Iowa history, while the 200 time is eighth all-time. She also has the fifth fastest time in the 100 free (50.73).

3-PRONG ATTACK Three Hawkeye swimmers – freshman Olivia Kabacinski, sophomore Becky Stoughton and junior Lindsay Seemann – combined for seven event titles in the season-opening dual victory at Michigan State. Kabacinski won the 50 and 200 free, individually, while also swimming on the 200 medley and 400 free relays. Seemann claimed the event title in the 200 back and 400 IM, and Stoughton won the 1,000 free.

GRILLI POSTS CAREER-BEST Junior Abby Grilli posted a career-best score of 289.57 in the 3-meter springboard in the regular season opener at Michigan State. Grilli finished as the runner-up in the event, while also finishing fourth in the 1-meter with a score of 212.77.

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 Iowa will return home Nov. 30 to host the Hawkeyes Invitational. The competition will be prelims/finals format, with prelims starting at 10 a.m., and finals beginning at 6 p.m.