Hawkeyes Host Iowa State Friday at CRWC Pool

Dec. 5, 2012

Complete Release in PDF Format

THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa women’s swimming and diving team hosts Iowa State in an Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series matchup Friday at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center Pool. The dual is set to begin at 6 p.m. (CT).

LIVE STATS
For live results from your computer or smart phone, visit: http://livestats.hawkeyesports.com. Free WiFi is available at the CRWC for all students and faculty.

LAST MEET
Iowa finished in third place in a seven team field at the Hawkeye Invitational last weekend in Iowa City, accumulating 559.5 points The Hawkeyes posted NCAA “B” cut times in six swimming events and three divers qualified for NCAA Zone Diving. Freshman Olivia Kabacinski and sophomore Becky Stoughton posted victories in the 200 and 500 free, respectively.

IOWA CORN CY-HAWK SERIES
This is a big week when it comes to the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series, as there are matchups in women’s basketball and men’s basketball, along with women’s swimming. The Cyclones currently hold a 9-4 advantage in the series with victories in volleyball, football and men’s and women’s cross country. Iowa was victorious in soccer and wrestling.

SCOUTING IOWA STATE
The Cyclones enter Friday’s dual with a 2-2 record. Iowa State opened the regular season with a 144-140 loss to Minnesota before collecting its first victory with a 184-102 triumph over South Dakota State on Oct. 20. The Cyclones then split a double dual on Oct. 26, defeating South Dakota (246-53), while dropping a 176.5-122.5 decision to Nebraska.

THE SERIES
Iowa has won the last two duals over the Cyclones, winning 176-124 last season in Ames and 173-108 in 2010 in Iowa City. Overall, the Hawkeyes are 23-11-0 all-time against Iowa State.

NCAA PROVISIONAL CUT TIMES
Iowa posted NCAA “B” cut times in six swimming events at the Hawkeye Invitational. Sophomore Becky Stoughton and freshman Olivia Kabacinski have a pair of qualifying times. Stoughton posted a time of 4:43.20 in her victory in the 500 free, and had a time of 16:22.42 in the 1,650 free. Kabacinski qualified in the 50 free and 100 breast, posting times of 22.88 and 1:02.30, respectively.

The Hawkeyes also got “B” times from junior Lindsay Seemann in the 200 backstroke (2:14.83), and junior Karolina Wartalowicz’s in the 200 breaststroke (2:14.83).

Iowa divers Lauren Kelba, Abby Grilli and Joelle Christy, meanwhile, posted NCAA Zone Diving qualifying scores.

KABACINSKI SPRINTS TO 50 FREE RECORD
Freshman Olivia Kabacinski sprinted to the Iowa school record in the 50 free during the preliminaries of the 2012 Hawkeye Invitational. The LaPorte, Ind., native posted a time of 22.88, becoming the first UI swimmer to break the 23 second mark. Kabacinski broke Stacey Wertz’s record of 23.08, which had stood since 2000.

Kabacinski also ranks second in school history in the 200 free (1:48.32) and 100 breast (1:02.30) and third in the 100 free (50.43). She also swam as a member of the 200 and 400 medley relays and 200, 400 and 800 freestyle relays that rank in the top-four in the UI record books.

HAWKEYE TIMES IN THE DIVISION I RANKINGS
The Hawkeyes have seven times that rank among the top-12 in the NCAAs thus far in the 2012-13 season.

HAWKEYE TRIO DIVES TO ZONE QUALIFIER
Three Iowa divers — juniors Abby Grill and Lauren Kelba and redshirt sophomore Joelle Christy — have advanced to the NCAA Zone Diving qualifier in Houston. Grilli collected a second place finish in the 3-meter springboard at the Hawkeye Invitational, posting a collegiate best score of 328.20. Christy was fifth in the same event with a personal-best 305.95, the eighth highest total in the record books. Kelba advanced courtesy of her fifth place finish in the 1-meter springboard, finishing with 272.95 points.

WARTALOWICZ SWIMS TO 2 PRS
Junior Karolina Wartalowicz swam personal bests in both the 100 and 200 breaststroke during the 2012 Hawkeye Invitational. The Oswego, Ill., native posted the fourth-fastest time in the record books in the 100 breast (1:02.52) and clocked the second-best 200-breast time of 2:14.83, which is an NCAA “B” cut time.

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.

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.

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.

Iowa also added a pair of former Hawkeye All-Americans to the coaching staff in Paul Gordon and Ryan Phelan. Gordon is a student assistant, while Phelan is a volunteer coach.

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 on Dec. 17 when they travel to Colorado Springs to take on Colorado College/Austin College at Schlessman Natatorium. The meet is set to begin at 6 p.m (CT).