IOWA CITY, Iowa – The University of Iowa women’s swimming and diving team concluded the Hawkeye Invitational on Saturday at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center. The Hawkeyes finished fifth overall with 879 points. Iowa tallied a total of 46 personal bests, 24 season bests and seven top-ten records on the weekend.
“I thought we had great energy to finish out the meet tonight,” Iowa head coach Nathan Mundt said. “It was really fun to watch our team come together and rally around each other to wrap up the meet here at home. Just incredible performances. We had multiple NCAA B cuts again tonight, and lifetime-best performances were off the charts throughout the whole weekend. This gives us great momentum going into the second half of our season. We’re looking forward to having the Thanksgiving holiday off, but coming back and getting ready for the CyHawk series, aiming to beat the Cyclones here on December 13th. So let’s get back to the pool and make it rowdy.”
Two Hawkeyes entered the program’s top-10 list in the 1,650 freestyle. Sophomore Olivia Frantum swam a time of 16:39.75, placing fourth and ranking ninth all-time at Iowa. Senior Alix O’Brien followed close behind, coming in fifth with a time of 16:42.33 and setting the tenth-fastest time in school history.
The Iowa divers closed out the weekend on a high note. Junior Geneva Pauly collected a personal record in her preliminary platform dive with a score of 278.65. Pauly finished the night with a score of 271.45, placing third. Freshman Stephanie Avram had a day of her own, placing sixth in the final platform dive with a lifetime best score of 237.85.
“I was really proud of the girls, both Stephanie and Geneva, for making the A finals, especially Stephanie being a freshman,” diving coach Todd Waikel said. “This was her first championship format meet and I know she was exhausted coming into this. So to see her rise to the occasion and get in the A finals was huge. I was also proud of the progress Geneva has been making. She’s been working really hard every day in the pool. She showcased two new, hard dives that she hasn’t done before. She not only did that, but she did them really well and she got a personal record. I’m just really proud of her overall performance.”
University of Iowa women’s swimming and diving faces in-state rival Iowa State for the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series. The meet will take place on Dec.13 at 6 p.m. (CT) in the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center.