B1G Championships Await Iowa Men

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THE SCENE 
The University of Iowa men’s swimming and diving team heads to Columbus, Ohio, for the 2017 Big Ten Championships from Feb. 22-25 at the McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion. Racing begins Wednesday at 5:30  p.m. (CT).  Prelims begin at 10 a.m. on Thursday through Saturday and finals start at 5:30 p.m. each evening.  

38223B1G COVERAGE
The first six sessions of the 2017 Big Ten Championships will be streamed live via BTN Plus on BTN2Go.  BTN will televise Saturday’s finals the week after the meet. 

LIVE RESULTS
Fans can follow the live results of the Big Ten Championships by accessing the link on the swimming and diving schedule page on hawkeyesports.com.  Live diving scores will be provided through DiveMeets.com.

FOLLOW THE HAWKEYES
For an inside look at the Iowa swimming and diving program and access to exclusive coverage, “like” Iowa swimming and diving on Facebook and follow @IowaSwimDive on Twitter and @hawkeyeswimdive on Instagram.

B1G SCORING FORMAT
For a second straight year, the Big Ten Championships will feature a revised scoring format in which qualifiers for the “C” finals of swimming events will account for team points. Divers that finish 17th through 24th in prelims will also count for team points.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Wed., Feb. 22 – Finals – 5:30 p.m. (CT)
200-Medley Relay
800-Freestyle Relay

Thurs., Feb. 23 – Prelims – 10 a.m. (CT)
500 Freestyle
200 Individual Medley
50 Freestyle
1-Meter Diving – Prelims/Consolation Final(1 p.m.)

Finals – 5:30 p.m. (CT)
400 -Medley Relay
500 Freestyle
200 Individual Medley
50 Freestyle
1-Meter Diving

Friday, Feb. 24 – Prelims – 10 a.m.(CT)
400 Individual Medley
100 Butterfly
200 Freestyle
100 Breaststroke
100 Backstroke
3-Meter Diving – Prelims/Consolation Final(2 p.m.)

Finals – 5:30 p.m. (CT)
200-Freestyle Relay
400 Individual Medley
100 Butterfly
200 Freestyle
100 Breaststroke
100 Backstroke
3-Meter Diving

Sat., Feb. 25 – Prelims – 10 a.m. (CT)
200 Backstroke
100 Freestyle
200 Breaststroke
200 Butterfly
Platform Diving – Prelims/Consolation Final(1 p.m.)

Finals – 3:15 p.m. (CT)
1,650 Freestyle – All but last heat

Finals – 5:30 p.m. (CT)
1,650 Freestyle – Last heat of timed final
200 Backstroke
100 Freestyle
200 Breaststroke
200 Butterfly
Platform Diving
400-Freestyle Relay

2016 BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS RECAP
Iowa finished the 2016 Big Ten Championships in seventh place with 551 points; Michigan was the team champion with 1,475.5 points. The Hawkeyes had four top eight and 14 top-16 finishes at the championships, including a silver medal performance from Roman Trussov in the 100 breast.  The Hawkeyes also placed fourth in the 200-medley relay and earned the bronze medal in the 400-medley relay.  

HAWKEYES TO WATCH
• Six Hawkeyes swimmers rank in the top-16 in five events leading into the 2017 Big Ten Championships.  
• Sophomore Kenneth Mende, an NCAA qualifier last season, has top 10 times in two events. He ranks 12th in the 100 back (48.46) and fifth in the 200 back (1:45.23).
• Sophomore Jack Smith enters the meet with the 13th-best time in the 50 free (20.04).
• Junior Jerzy Twarowski  enters the championships with the 12th-best time in the 100 fly (47.87) and 12th-best in 200 fly (1:47.26).

SWIMMING TO NCAA STANDARDS
Four Iowa swimmers have posted NCAA “B” qualifying standards in four events thus far in the 2016-17 season.
• Jack Smith – 50 Free (20.04)
• Will Scott – 50 Free (20.17)
• Kenneth Mende – 100 back (48.46), 200 back (1:45.23)
• Jerzy Twarowski – 100 Fly (47.87), 200 Fly (1:47.26)

DIVING TO NCAA ZONE STANDARDS
Three Hawkeye divers have posted NCAA Zone diving standards this season. 

• Will Brenner – 1-meter (368.00), 3-meter (357.1)
• Brandis Heffner – 1-meter (350.93), 3-meter (361.55)
• Matt Mauser – 1-meter (324.05), 3-meter (357.00)

THE HAWKEYES LAST…
• Big Ten individual champion came in 2000 when Jay Glenn won the 200 freestyle and Ales Abersek won both the 100 and 200 butterfly.  
• Big Ten diving champion came in 2003 when Timo Klami won the 3-meter (596.40).
• Big Ten relay title came in 2012 in the 400-freestyle relay when Duncan Partridge, Ryan Phelan, Jordan Huff, and Paul Gordon posted a time of 2:52.53.  

FRESHMEN SUCCESS
The Hawkeyes have gotten a strong performance from their freshman class in 2016-17 as the newcomers are pacing the team in multiple distance events.  Freshmen Michael Tenney has top times in the 500 and 1,000 free, while Will Scott is just shy of holding the top time on the team in the 50 free.  
    
IOWA BIG TEN WEEKLY HONOREES

• Jack Smith – Big Ten Swimmer of the Week (Oct. 5)
• Brandis Heffner – Big Ten Diver of the Week (Oct. 5)

RETURNING NCAA QUALIFIERS
Iowa returns three NCAA qualifiers from the 2015-16 season. Sophomore Kenneth Mende, sophomore Jack Smith, and junior Jerzy Twarowski swam three parts of both the 200-medley and 400-medley relays. They finished 10th in 200-medley relay (1:26.50) and 21st in 400-medley relay (3:10.06) at NCAA Championships.

IOWA SWIMMING AND DIVING HISTORY
Iowa was one of the first schools in the nation to compete on a collegiate level, and in 1937, the Hawkeyes competed at the first NCAA Championships.  From 1937 to 1960, Iowa placed in the NCAA top 10 a total of 18 times, crowning nine NCAA and 22 Big Ten champions.