THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa swimming and diving team returns to action Friday and Saturday, competing in a tri-meet against Penn State and Northwestern at the Norris Aquatic Center in Evanston, Illinois. Friday’s competition will begin at 4:30 p.m. (CT), while Saturday’s start time is 10 a.m.
FOLLOW ALONG
- Fans can follow the meet live via Meet Mobile, Dive Meets, and through live results on hawkeyesports.com.
- Follow @IowaSwimDive on Twitter for meet updates.
ORDER OF EVENTS
Friday: 4:30 p.m. (1-meter, 3-meter). 6 p.m. (200-medley relay), 1,000 free)
Saturday: 10 a.m. (200 free, 100 back, 100 breast, 200 fly, 50 free, 100 free, 200 back, 200 breast, 500 free, 100 fly, 400 IM, 400-free relay)
LAST MEET
The Hawkeye women opened the 2021 season with a 170-128 victory over Nebraska on Jan. 15 at the Campus Recreation Wellness Center. Iowa won 10 of the 16 events on the day. Senior Kelsey Drake posted three victories, winning the 100 fly, 200 IM, and as part of the 200-medley relay.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
- The Iowa men’s team is ranked 25th in the preseason CSCAA poll.
- The Hawkeye men return three All-Americans in Daniel Swanepoel, Anze Fers Erzen, and Mohamed Neuman) and 19 letterwinners for the 2021 season.
- The Iowa women boast two returning All-Americans in Kelsey Drake and Sam Tamborski and 19 total letterwinners return.
- The men’s team has its top returnees in 15 of 16 events in 2021.
- The men’s and women’s team earned the CSCAA Scholar All-America Team distinction for the fall semester. It is the 17th straight year the women have been honored.
UNDERCLASSMEN SUCCESS
The Hawkeye underclassmen shined in the opener with the sophomore trio of Julia Koluch, Georgia Clark, and Kennedy Clark taking the top three spots in the 200 back with times of 1:59.11, 2:02.01, and 2:04.40, respectively. Freshman Alyssa Graves had a huge performance in the 1,000 free, posting a time of 9:55.59, which is the second-fastest time in school history.
DRAKE’S SENIOR DEBUT
Senior Kelsey Drake started her final season with a bang, posting two individual wins, a relay win, and a runner-up finish. The Marion, Iowa, native won the 100 fly, 200 IM and was part of the winning 200-medley relay with sophomores Kennedy Gilbertson and Aleksandra Olesiak, and junior Lauren McDougal. Drake was also the runner-up in the 200 fly.
MEN’S TAKE 2
The Iowa men’s team will officially open its season in Evanston on Saturday. The Hawkeyes’ season opener against Wisconsin was canceled because of COVID issues within the Badger program. In its place, Iowa swam a team intrasquad meet.
MEN’S TOP RETURNEES
- Senior Daniel Swanepoel returns after earning All-America honors in the 200 breast. The Cape Town, Africa, native led the team in the 100 and 200 breast as a junior.
- Junior Anze Fers Erzen earned All-America distinction in the 200 back and he was an NCAA qualifier in three events — 200 back, 200 IM and 400 IM. He led the team in all three events.
- Sophomore Mohamed Neuman was an All-American off the 3-meter and platform as a freshman. He led the team in both events.
- Redshirt junior Aleksey Tarasenko was the team’s top sprinter in 2020. He led the team in the 50 free, 100 free, and 200 free with NCAA “B” qualiying times in all three events. Tarasenko was also part of all three of the team-leading freestyle replays.
- Junior Mateusz Arndt led the team in the 500 free and 1,000 free, while junior Andrew Fierke led the team in the 1,650 free.
- Sophomore Ryan Purdy is back as the top 100 backstroker, while sophomore Sergey Kuznetsov is the top returner in the 100 fly.
WOMEN’S TOP RETURNEES
- Kelsey Drake returns after earning All-America honors in the 200 fly as a junior. Drake is the team’s top returner in three events — 100 fly (1:55.89), 200 fly (1:55.41), and 200 IM (1:59.41). She was also a member of the team-leading 200 and 400-medley relays in 2020.
- Sam Tamborski earned All-America distinction off the 3-meter as a sophomore. The Colorado native is the team’s top returnee on both the 1-meter (294.30) and 3-meter springboard (341.55).
- Sophomore Aleksandra Olesiak is the team’s top returnee in the 100 breast (1:02.39) and 200 breast (2:13.92). She posted an NCAA “B” standard in the 200 breast.
BALLARD’S ZONE SCORES
Freshman Sarah Ballard posted NCAA Zone Diving standards off both the 1-meter and 3-meter in her Hawkeye debut against Nebraska. She was runner-up off the 1-meter (277.55) and was third off the 3-meter (301.05).
HAWKEYE SOCIAL MEDIA
Follow the Iowa swimming and diving program on social media on Facebook/IowaSwimmingandDiving, Twitter/@IowaSwimDive, and Instagram/HawkeyeSwimDive.
UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes travel to Minneapolis on Feb. 5-6. The men’s team will face Minnesota, while the women’s team will complete in a tri-meet against Nebraska and Minnesota. It will be the final meet prior to the Big Ten Championships.
