IOWA CITY, Iowa – University of Iowa women’s swimming and diving opened 2023 against Big Ten opponent Illinois on Friday night at the CRWC Natatorium.
Freshman Geneva Pauly scored a career-best 266.05 off the platforms in Friday’s dive event. The Arvada, Colorado, native bettered her position as the third highest platform scorer in program history. Junior Claire Hartley also had a career night with her second-place 246.00, putting her fifth all-time on the Iowa leaderboards.
The Hawkeyes began its home two-day event with the 200 free relay. Senior Kennedy Gilbertson, freshman Scarlet Martin, sophomore Molly Pedersen, and junior Maddie Black combined to take gold, spotting Iowa 11 points. Freshmen Leslie Wendel, Madison Stone, and Olivia Asay teamed up with junior Anna Pfeiffer to score two points in a respective third place finish.
Sophomore Alix O’Brien placed fourth in the 1650 free, tacking on two points to Iowa’s total score. Freshmen Sila Ozkazanc and Meredith O’Malley both swam their career-best times in the same race.
Iowa also scored in the 200 IM with fourth and fifth place finishes from senior Aleskandra Olesiak and freshman Sabina Kupcova.
The night capped off with another Iowa relay victory, this time in the 400 medley. Gilbertson, graduate student Sheridan Schreiber, Martin and Kupcova scored 11 points for the Hawkeyes.
The Hawkeyes head into day two of events, trailing 46-45. Competition resumes at 11 a.m. (CT) in the CRWC Natatorium.
