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THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa swimming and diving team closes out its dual season, hosting Northern Iowa and Western Illinois on Friday at 6 p.m. (CT) at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center Natatorium. Admission is free.
FOLLOW LIVE
• The dual will be streamed live on Hawkeye All-Access, a paid subscription service on hawkeyesports.com.
• Follow live results to the dual meets on Meet Mobile or on hawkeyesports.com.
• 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.
CAREER BESTS
The Hawkeyes recorded several personal bests last weekend at the Shamrock Invitational. Aleksey Tarasenko (50 free), Thomas Pederson (100 free, 200 free), Andrew Fierke (200 free), Tom Schab (200 free), Jacob Rosenkoetter (200 back), Lauren McDougall (50 free, 200 free), Taylor Hartley (1,650 free), Morgan Grout (100 back), Natalie McGovern (200 breast), and Kelsey Maher (200 IM) all swam personal-bests. Freshman Caleb Babb recorded four personal bests in the 100 breast (55.34), 200 breast (2:01.11), 100 fly (49.92), and 200 IM (1:01.68).
REGULAR SEASON CONCLUSION
Friday’s meet marks the final dual competition of the 2018-19 season and leads both the men’s and women’s teams into the Big Ten Championships in late February.
The men are 5-2 overall with a 3-1 record at home and can end with a 6-2 record with a victory over Western Illinois on Friday. The women currently have a 4-6 overall record and 1-4 at home.
DIVING IMPRESSES
The Hawkeyes impressed on the springboards at the Shamrock Invitational, showcasing the team’s depth. Freshman Sam Tamborski and sophomore Jayah Mathews dominated the 3-meter springboard with a 1-2 sweep after posting scores of 321.05 and 308.20, respectively. Mathews also dove to a first-place finish off the 1-meter followed by a fourth-place showing from Tamborski (272.25) and sixth-place from Thelma Strandberg (266.75).
Throughout the season, Iowa’s divers have shown their prowess, posting more than a dozen first place finishes. Mathews leads the way with seven-first place podiums, followed by Will Brenner (3), Anton Hoherz (3), and Tamborski (1).
HEARING FROM HANNAH BURVILL
“I’m ready to get out there and race. My goal is to trust everything that I have worked toward this year and put it into my race plans. We’re still fine tuning before we get to Big Tens and will work through this meet and the next few weeks to get there. “
HEARING FROM THOMAS PEDERSON
“I have learned a lot about myself and my teammates this season. We have a great racing atmosphere in practice as well as in meets and my teammates have allowed me to push myself harder than ever. I am confident in my swimming abilities coming off the Shamrock Invite and am excited heading into the meet this week.”
HAWKEYES WELCOME TWO NEWCOMERS
The Hawkeyes have welcomed two new international swimmers to the roster over winter break. Freshman Aleksey Tarasenko of Tashkent, Kasakhstan, and freshman Lauren McDougall of Sydney, Australia, both will compete in the freestyle events for the Hawkeyes and both will be active additions to the roster.
B1G HAWKEYE SWEEP
Iowa swept the Big Ten Conference weekly women’s honors after facing Iowa State on December 7. Kelsey Drake was named the Swimmer of the Week, Jayah Mathews the Diver of the Week, and Sam Tamborski the Freshman of the Week. Drake is a current school record holder in the 100 fly.
NCAA “B” QUALIFYING STANDARDS
Seven Hawkeyes currently boast NCAA ‘B’ qualifying standards. Sophomore Daniel Swanepoel has qualified for the 200 breaststroke with a time of 1:57.56. Senior Kenneth Mende posted a 1:44.25 in the 200 back on day two of the invitational. Joe Myhre holds the 100 free standard with a time of 43.76. Freshman Mateusz Arndt also holds the 500 free standard with a time of 4:23.31. Junior Hannah Burvill holds the 50 free (26.62), 500 free (4:44.24), and 200 free (1:45.97) qualifying standards. Sophomore Kelsey Drake also owns a standard in the 100 fly with a school record time of 53.12.
SCHOOL RECORDS GO DOWN
Three school records fell during the Hawkeye Invitational from both Kelsey Drake and Hannah Burvill. Drake took down the 100 fly record in a time of 53.12 seconds, while Burvill demolished the 50 free record in a time of 22.55 seconds while leading off the 200 free relay. She previously broke the record that same night in 22.62 seconds. Burvill also broke the 500 free record in a time of 4:44.24.
PREVIOUS SUCCESS
• The Hawkeye men posted a third place finish at the Shamrock Invitational, while the women finished fourth among the field.
• The men posted two Big Ten wins over Wisconsin and Northwestern, while the women dropped the pair of duals. The Hawkeyes shared multiple first place finishes in the pool while Will Brenner swept the 1-meter and 3-meter springboards.
• The Hawkeye women defeated the Illinois for their second Big Ten win, but fell to 12th-ranked Notre Dame. The men’s meet against the Fighting Irish was cancelled.
• The Hawkeye men and women placed third respectively among their fields in the Hawkeye Invitational. Daniel Swanepoel, Joe Myhre, Kenneth Mende, Hannah Burvill, and Kelsey Drake all posted NCAA ‘B’ qualifying times.
• The seven Hawkeyes who participated in the ACC/B1G Challenge either tied their season bests or shattered previous, helping the Big Ten Conference to both men’s and women’s team victories. This was the first meet where all team members wore fastskins.
• The Hawkeyes swam to a number of season-bests, but fell to No. 7 Michigan in their double dual on Nov. 2-3 in Iowa City. The men’s team defeated Denver by a landslide, but were overcome by the Wolverines despite the team success. Junior Joe Myhre led the way with two individual wins in the 50 free and 100 free against Michigan.
• The Hawkeye men narrowly lost to No. 21 Minnesota after a near comeback after the 400 IM. Iowa finished the meet just 17 points back in the road loss. Junior Joe Myhre and freshman Anze Fers Erzen powered the comeback effort with individual wins.
• The Hawkeye women also tallied a fourth-place finish at the SMU Classic, finishing behind No. 8 Louisville, No. 11 USC, and No. 10 Virginia.
• Iowa opened its season a pair of dual victories at Michigan State with the men’s team posting a 193-98 win over the Spartans, while the Hawkeye women posted a 160-138 victory.
DIVING TO ZONE STANDARDS
Two men’s divers — Anton Hoherz and Will Brenner — and three women’s divers — Jayah Mathews, Sam Tamborski, and Thelma Strandberg — have posted NCAA Zone Diving Standard times this season. Hoherz has reached zone standards in all three events, Brenner, Mathews, and Tamborski have off the 1-meter and 3-meter, and Strandberg has off the platform.
RETURNING NCAA QUALIFIERS
Iowa returns seven NCAA qualifiers from a season ago. Four members of the men’s 200 and 400-free relays return, including juniors Will Scott and Joe Myhre, and seniors Jack Smith and Matt Kamin. They finished 16th overall in the 200-free relay (1:17.50) to earn All-America honors and placed 23rd in the 400-free relay (2:51.58).
The women also return two NCAA qualifiers in juniors Hannah Burvill and diver Thelma Strandberg. A two-time NCAA Championships qualifier, Strandberg comes off the 2017-18 season with the third-best platform performance in school history (248.80). The Norway native placed 35th at the NCAA Championships with a dive of 221.90. Burvill placed 31st in the 200 free (1:45.70) and 37th in the 100 free with a school record of 48.94.
HOSTING B1GS
The University of Iowa will serve as the host institution for the men’s 2019 Big Ten Championships. This will be the first time Iowa has hosted the meet since 2015. The Hawkeyes will also host the 2020 women’s Big Ten Championships and the 2021 men’s 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.
