Swim & Dive Notes: Iowa at Big Ten Championships

THIS WEEK
University of Iowa women’s swimming and diving travels to Columbus, Ohio, to compete in the Big Ten Championships on Feb. 19-22 inside McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion. Competition begins at 4 p.m. (CT) on Wednesday. Prelims on Thursday-Saturday begin at 9 a.m. (CT) each day and finals will begin at 4 p.m. (CT). The Big Ten Championships will be streamed on B1G+ ($).

LAST TIME OUT
Iowa finished out it’s regular season with a split on Jan. 31-Feb. 1 inside the Werblin Recreation Center, defeating Rutgers 182.50-170.50 and falling to Nebraska 223-130. The Hawkeyes collected nine personal bests and four season bests on the weekend. Makayla Hughbanks collected an individual for Iowa in the 1-meter dive with a score of 317.65. This score was a new career high for Hughbanks and placed her seventh all-time at Iowa. 

2024 B1G CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Hawkeyes scored 303 points at the 2024 Big Ten Championships, an over-100-point improvement from the year before. Iowa had 14 individual performances in the finals session and reached the podium with an eighth-place finish in the 400-freestyle relay. 

B1G WEEKLY AWARDS
Senior Annie Galvin was named the Big Ten Swimmer of the Week and freshman Nora Kemp was tabbed as the Big Ten Freshman of the Week, for their performances against Iowa State on Dec. 13. On her senior day, Galvin swam a time of 54.30 in the 100 back to place herself eighth all-time at Iowa, before finishing out with a time of 1:58.66 to win the 200 back. Kemp collected a personal best in her 100 free with a time of 50.73 before collecting a winning time of 1:49.12 in the 200 free. Kemp swam the third leg in Iowa’s 200 free relay, finishing out the night to secure the Hawkeye victory. This was a first time award for both Galvin and Kemp.

CY-HAWK BATTLE
Iowa took gold in the annual Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Dual, defeating Iowa State 215-84. In total, the Hawkeyes collected 15 event wins, 10 lifetime bests and four updates to the program’s top-10 lists on the night. Makayla Hughbanks took the 3-meter dive title with a score of 351.85. Junior Geneva Pauly set a new personal best in the 1-meter dive with a score of 312.95, setting the eighth-best mark in school history. 

2024 HAWKEYE INVITATIONAL
Iowa hosted eight schools in its meet on Nov. 21-23. The Hawkeyes placed fifth, collecting a final score of 879. Sophomore Olivia Swalley took the 400 IM all-time title at Iowa with her time of 4:10.54, topping the previous record by almost two seconds. Senior Makayla Hughbanks clinched first in the three-meter dive finals with a career best score of 358.10. The score also bettered Hughbank’s fifth all-time record at Iowa. Iowa tallied a total of 46 personal bests, 24 season bests and seven top-ten records on the weekend.

B1G DIVER OF THE WEEK
Makayla Hughbanks was named the Big Ten Diver of the Week after her dominanting performance in the one-meter and three-meter dives at UNI on Oct. 4. It is the third time in her career that Hughbanks has earned the honor, previously winning in December of 2022 and 2023. She was Iowa’s first honoree of a weekly Big Ten award since junior Scarlet Martin and sophomore Olivia Swalley took home conference awards last January.

MAKING MARKS
The Hawkeyes have combined for 16 top-10 program performances and counting throughout the course of the 2024-25 season.  
50 Free - Rachel Dildine (22.90) - 6th all-time
100 Back - Annie Galvin (54.30) - 8th all-time
200 Free - Nora Kemp (1:48.46) - 9th all-time
200 Breast - Olivia Swalley (2:12.42) - 4th all-time
200 IM - Olivia Swalley (1:57.89) - 2nd all-time
400 IM - Olivia Swalley (4:10.54) - 1st all-time
500 Free - Alix O’Brien (4:48.53) - 9th all-time
1000 Free - Alix O’Brien (9:59.10) - 7th all-time
1000 Free - Olivia Frantum (10:01.75) - 9th all-time
1650 Free - Olivia Frantum (16:39.75) - 8th all-time
1650 Free - Alix O’Brien (16:42.33) - T-10th all-time
1-Meter Dive - Makayla Hughbanks (317.65) - 7th all-time
1-Meter Dive - Geneva Pauly (312.95) - 9th all-time
3-Meter Dive - Makayla Hughbanks (358.10) - 5th all-time
Platform Dive - Geneva Pauly (278.65) - 2nd all-time
Platform Dive - Stephanie Avram (237.85) - 7th all-time

UP NEXT 
University of Iowa women’s diving hosts the NCAA Zone Diving Championships on Mar. 10-12 inside the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center.