IOWA TRAVELS NORTH FOR REGULAR SEASON FINALE

THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa swimming and diving team closes out the regular season Saturday in Minneapolis, facing Minnesota and Nebraska in a Big Ten Conference tri-meet at the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center.  Action begins at 10 a.m. (CT).

The Hawkeye women will compete against Minnesota and Nebraska (although the Nebraska meet will not be scored), while the Iowa men will face off against the Golden Gophers.

FOLLOW ALONG
Saturday’s meet will be streamed live on BTN+.
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.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
• 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 200-medley relay (Fers Erzen, Will Myhre, Sergey Kuznetsov, Aleksey Tarasenko) swam a time of 1:26.63 at Northwestern. The time is sixth-best in program history.
• Fers Erzen also moved to fourth all-time in the 100 back, swimming a 47.83 in his first competition of 2021.

LAST MEET
The Iowa men opened its season with a 206-94 victory over Penn State on Jan. 23 in Evanston, Illinois, while the Hawkeye women dropped both legs of the meet against Northwestern (75-225) and Penn State (146-153).   Iowa won seven events in the competition, as it got victories from Alyssa Graves (1,000 free), Mateusz Arndt (200 free, 500 free), Aleksey Tarasenko (50 free, 100 free), Sergey Kuznetsov (100 fly), Anze Fers Erzen (400 IM)

CAN SHE KEEP DROPPING?
Freshman Alyssa Graves has come out of the gates hot in the first two meets of the season, swimming two of the fastest 1,000 freestyle times in school history. Graves improved from 9:55.59 to a 9:48.33 from Week 1 to Week 2.

• Graves also has the fifth-best 200 fly time (2:00.19) and the eight-fastest 500 free (4:50.21) time in program history.

HAWKEYE “B” CUTS
The Hawkeyes hauled in 10 NCAA “B” qualifying times by five different individuals in their season-opening meet against Northwestern and Penn State. Junior Anze Fers Erzen posted a team-best three NCAA “B” times in the 100 back, 200 back, and 400 IM, while Mateusz Arndt (200 free, 500 free), Daniel Swanepoel (100 and 200 breast) and Aleksey Tarasenko (50 free, 100 free) all posted multiple “B” cuts.

Below is a list of Hawkeyes with “B” cuts:
• Mateusz Arndt – 200 free (1:36.20), 500 free (4:22.05)
• Anze Fers Erzen – 100 back (47.36), 200 back (1:44.58), 400 IM (3:47.95)
• Will Myhre – 100 breast (53.08)
• Daniel Swanepoel – 100 breast (54.07), 200 breast (1:57.56)
• Aleksey Tarasenko: 50 free (20.07), 100 free (43.54)

DIVING TO ZONES
• Junior Sam Tambroski posted an NCAA Zone Diving standard in Evanston, posting a 298.25 to finish as runner-up on 3-meter.  Tamborski was an All-American on the 3-meter as a sophomore.

• 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).

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.

FOLLOW ALONG
Follow the Iowa swimming and diving program on social media on Facebook/IowaSwimmingandDiving, Twitter/@IowaSwimDive, and Instagram/HawkeyeSwimDive.

UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes begin championship season later this month.  The Hawkeye women will compete in the Big Ten Swimming Championships from Feb. 24-27 in Minneapolis, while the Iowa divers will head to West Lafayette, Indiana, for the Big Ten Diving Championships from Feb. 24-27.  The men’s Big Ten Swimming Championships will be held March 3-6 at a TBA location.