Swim & Dive Notes: Iowa Hosts Illinois

THIS WEEK
University of Iowa women’s swimming and diving hosts Big Ten opponent Illinois in the CRWC Natatorium on Jan. 13-14. Competition will begin on Friday at 5 p.m. (CT) and follow at 11 a.m. on Saturday, and will be live streamed on B1G+ (subscription required).

FOLLOW LIVE
• Live results for the meet are available on hawkeyesports.com (via the schedule page) and Meet Mobile.
• Fans can also follow the Hawkeyes on Twitter/IowaSwimDive for live meet updates.
• The meet will be live streamed on B1G+ (subscription required).

SENIOR DAY
Iowa will honor seniors Kennedy Gilbertson and Aleksandra Olesiak and graduate student Sheridan Schreiber before events on Saturday at 11 a.m. (CT).

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
• Iowa kicked off the 2022-23 season with a 192-107 victory against UNI.
• Six Iowa athletes performed top-ten marks in program history during the Hawkeye Invitational on Dec. 1-3.
• The Hawkeyes entered the season returning seven athletes and welcoming 14 newcomers, including three transfers.
• Amongst the returners are junior divers Sarah Ballard and Claire Hartley and sophomore Makayla Hughbanks, who all qualified to compete in last season’s NCAA Zone D Diving Championships.

ETCHED IN THE BOOKS
Six performances were added to the Iowa top-10 records during the Hawkeye’s Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series matchup with Iowa State on Dec 9.
200 Free – Sabina Kupcova (1:48.59) – 7th all-time
1000 Free – Alix O’Brien (10:04.70) – 9th all-time
100 Breast – Sheridan Schreiber (1:02.12) – 8th all-time
100 Fly – Scarlet Martin (53.45) – 4th all-time
200 Fly – Scarlet Martin (1:59.93) – 6th all-time
200 Medley Relay – Gilbertson, Schreiber, Martin, Pedersen (1:40.27) – 8th all-time

HIGHLIGHTING HUGHBANKS
Sophomore Makayla Hughbanks came away with a career-best 355.40 total to score 20 points in the 3-meter dive finals during the Hawkeye Invite (Dec. 1-3), ranking fifth all-time in program history. The Bettendorf, Iowa, native also leads the team in the 1-meter dive score, posting a zone-qualifying and career-high 294.17 against Iowa State.

THRIVING NEWCOMERS
Iowa has 21 individual wins amongst its freshmen and transfers. Denison University transfer Alix O’Brien has contributed to four of those victories, her latest coming in the 1000 free against no. 25 Minnesota. Freshman Scarlet Martin has accounted for six wins, including her two (100 ,200 fly) against Iowa State. Both the TCU graduate transfer Sheridan Schreiber and freshman Sabina Kupcova also have added multiple wins as well. Schreiber (100 breast) and Kupcova (100, 200 free) combined for three victories against Iowa State.

REPPING SLOVAKIA
Freshman and Levice, Slovakia, native Sabina Kupcova traveled to the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis to compete in the FINA World Cup. Kupcova raced in the 400 free, 200 free, and 200 individual medley for a chance to qualify for the FINA Championships.

VETERAN PRESENCE
Senior Kennedy Gilbertson took home gold in the 50 free and 100 back against Nebraska, and won the 100 back with a B-cut 53.93 versus Iowa State. Gilbertson has also headed off Iowa’s season-fastest 200 free, 400 free and 200 medley relay squads — all timing top-ten in program history. Senior Aleksandra Olesiak also has a 2022-23 individual victory under her belt. The Colorado native posted first place in 200 back against UNI.

BREAKING RECORDS
The Hawkeyes broke four Glen F. Henry Pool records in the 2022-23 opener at UNI, including Schreiber’s 100 breast (1:04.16) , Martin’s 50 free (23.55) and 100 fly (54.60), and the 400 free relay (Kupcova, Gilbertson, Pedersen, Martin).

READY FOR RELAYS
The Hawkeyes brought back four swimmers, seniors Kennedy Gilbertson and Aleksandra Olesiak and juniors Maddie Black and Anna Pfeiffer, who led the team in all five relay squads during the 2021-22 season. Gilbertson was a part of four top teams, while Olesiak and Pfeiffer competed on three respective quartets.

HAWKEYE COACHING STAFF
• Nathan Mundt returns for his second stint with the Hawkeyes and he is the seventh head coach in program history. The Indiana native served as an Iowa assistant coach and recruiting coordinator from 2008-16 where he coached 33 All-Americans and 42 NCAA qualifiers and helped the Hawkeyes to six top 40 NCAA finishes and 115 school records.
• Diving coach Todd Waikel enters his 10th season with the program. Waikel has coached five All-Americans during his tenure in Iowa City and 15 NCAA Championship qualifiers.
• Mona Groteguth-Garcia also returns for her second season on the Hawkeye coaching staff, joining the Hawkeyes in 2021 following a two-year stint at TCU. She helped the Horned Frogs to back-to-back third-place Big 12 Conference finishes — the best for the program since 2012-13. Groteguth-Garcia also coached at the University of Indianapolis from 2017-19 and she swam collegiately at North Texas.

UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes are back at home in the CRWC Natatorium for a B1G-SEC clash against Vanderbilt on Jan 21 at 11 a.m. (CT).