Iowa Men's Swimming & Diving Team Travels to Michigan

Sept. 25, 2013

Iowa-Michigan Notes

THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa men’s swimming and diving team opens its regular season with a dual meet against defending NCAA Champion Michigan on Friday afternoon in Ann Arbor, Mich. The dual will be held at Canham Natatorium beginning at 4 p.m. (CT).

LIVE RESULTS
Fans can follow the Iowa-Michigan dual via live results by clicking .

MICHIGAN WATER CARNIVAL
Following the dual meet Friday, the two teams and Oakland return to the Canham Natatorium on Saturday morning for the second annual Michigan Water Carnival. The water carnival is a unique two-hour event designed to celebrate the aquatic sports of swimming, diving and water polo and to increase awareness and exposure to the sports. It features swimming events that are both familiar and unique (i.e. 50-yard underwater dolphin kick, 200-yard freestyle with fins), a diving show, and 3-on-3 water polo games. The carnival begins at 10 a.m.

SCOUTING MICHIGAN
The Wolverines enter this season as the defending national champions, after capturing their 12th national title last spring. In Big Ten competition, Michigan claimed its 37th Big Ten Championship, including its second consecutive title. The program returns 10 swimmers who received at last one NCAA All-America honor last season. Returning to the team, among others, is Connor Jaeger and Bruno Ortiz. Jaeger is the defending national champion in both the 500-yard freestyle and 1,650-yard freestyle, while Ortiz was a member of the 200-yard medley relay team that won a national title.

SEASON RECAP
The Hawkeyes enter the 2013-14 season after a successful 2012-13 campaign. The men’s team posted a 7-3 record in dual meets, while going 2-3 in the Big Ten. Iowa placed 32nd in the country at NCAA Championships with a team score of 14 points. The Hawkeyes earned honorable mention All-America honors in three events. Junior Grant Betulius placed 13th in the 100 back, while teaming up with Andrew Marciniak, Byron Butler, and Jordan Huff to place 16th and 13th in the 200 and 400 medley relay, respectively.

DOMINATING DUALS
Since the 2008-09 athletic year, the UI men’s team has been dominating dual competition. The Hawkeyes have posted a 38-8 dual meet record, which includes a 10-1 mark in 2009-10, the second best record in school history. Last season, the team went 7-3 overall and 2-3 in Big Ten duals, which included a 161-122 win over Northwestern.

RETURNING ALL-AMERICANS
The men’s squad returns junior Grant Betulius and senior Andrew Marciniak who earned All-America recognition last season. Betulius earned honorable mention All-America honors in the 100 back as well as being a part of the 200 and 400 medley relays. Marciniak was also a member of both medley relays. Iowa also returns NCAA qualifers David Ernstsson and Roman Trussov. Ernstsson swam in teh 800-free relay, while Trussov finished 24th in the 200 -breaststroke.

HAWKEYE NEWCOMERS
The men’s team features 11 new members its roster this season. Brandon Farnum, Greg Forster, Kyle Gannon, Josh Gill, Peter Grumhaus, Jackson Halsmer, Brandis Heffner, Andrew Marsh, Kyle Patnode, Jeremy Temprano, and Nick Zito all come to Iowa City after impressive prep careers. This incoming class features seven members from Illinois, two from Iowa, one from Michigan, and one from Wisconsin.

RECORD BREAKING YEAR
The Hawkeyes are coming off a 2012-13 season where nine records were broken. Individually, Grant Betulius (100 back – 46.33), Byron Butler (200 back – 1:43.59, 100 fly – 47.05), Andrew Marciniak (100 breast – 53.59), Roman Trussov (200 breast – 1:55.84), and Tyler Lentz (200 IM – 1:46.15) all captured school records. Jordan Huff, David Ernstsson, Gianni Sesto and Betulius broke the record in the 800 free relay (6:26.79). In the 200 medley relay, the record was broken by Betulius, Korey Schneider, Butler and Huff (1:25.82). The quartet of Betulius, Marciniak, Butler and Huff broke the record in the 400 Medley Relay (3:09.66).

CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON
Ten Hakweyes competed in the U.S. Open Championships this past summer in Irvine Calif. Manuel Belzer, Tyler Lentz, Andrew Marciniak, Dustin Rhoads, Grant Betulius, Brian Donatelli, Matthew Boyd, Mike Nelson, Quillan Oak, and Andrew Parker all competed in the national event. For Betulius and Nelson, it was their second national event of the summer, as both competed at the Phillips 66 National Championships in Indianapolis as well.

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 2013-14roster. Former Hawkeye All-American Paul Gordon is serving as a student assistant coach, while his sister, Haley Gordon, is a UI student-athlete. Iowa also has two Weigands on the current squad in junior Hillary Weigand and sophomore Jennifer Weigand.

2012-2013 MVP
Grant Betulius returns as one of two Hawkeyes named Armbruster/Patton MVP last season. Betulius was a honorable mention All-American in three events in 2013, while also being a school-record holder in four events — 100 back (46.33), 200-medley relay (1:25.82), 400-medley relay (3:09.66) and 800-free relay (6:26.79). He ranks second in school history in the 200 back (1:43.65) and eighth in the 100 butterfly (48.41).

ACADEMIC HONORS
One member from the 2012-13 men’s team was named to the Scholar All-America First Team while two other members were named honorable mention. Byron Butler was named to the first team after being an honorable mention selection in 2011-12. Joining Butler were teammates Dustin Rhoads and Manuel Belzer. For Belzer, it is his second consecutive year earning honorable mention recognition, while Rhoads earned the distinction for the first time. The team was recognized as a CSCAA All-America Team for the third time in program history.

HEAD COACH Marc Long
Marc Long is in his 10th 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, 75 school records have fallen and 112 Hawkeyes have provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships.

COACHING ADDITIONS
Brandon King is in his first season as an assistant coach with the Iowa swimming and diving program. King joins the Hawkeyes out of Naperville, Ill., where he served as a senior assistant coach alongside decorated head coach Dave Krotiak for the Fox Valley Swim Team from 2011-13. During his time with the program, King assisted the Illinois Senior Coach of the Year and coached multiple swimmers competing at the Junior Nationals, Grand Prix meets and Olympic Trials.

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 Oct. 11 in Iowa City, Iowa, for the annual intrasquad meet. The competition is slated to begin at 7 p.m. (ct) at the CRWC, and it begins a stretch of three-straight home meets.