Notes: Hawkeye Invitational

THIS WEEK
University of Iowa swimming and diving will host the annual Hawkeye Invitational Tuesday-Friday, Nov. 18-21. Tuesday’s action starts at 6 p.m. (CT). Prelims will begin at 10 a.m. (CT) Wednesday-Friday, with finals beginning at 5 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday. Friday’s evening session will begin at 4 p.m. The meet will take place in the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center.

MEET DETAILS
The Hawkeyes welcome Illinois, Iowa State, Kansas, Miami (FL), Nebraska, Northern Iowa, UConn and Washington State to the pool. Miami (FL), UConn and Washington State are newcomers to the meet. Fans can follow the official Iowa Swimming and Diving YouTube page for the livestream, as well as the ‘X’ account for live updates throughout the meet. Results can be accessed via MeetMobile.

LAST TIME OUT
University of Iowa swimming and diving fell to Purdue, 190-109. The Hawkeyes collected four individual wins and five season bests. Freshman swimmer Payton Flowers tallied wins in the 50 free and 100 fly. Junior Olivia Swalley picked up victories in the 200 breaststroke and 400 individual medley. Senior diver Lainey Woodward was Iowa’s top diver of the meet. Woodward secured bronze in the one-meter dive with 275.93 points.

FLOWERS NAMED B1G FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
Payton Flowers was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week after collecting two of the Hawkeyes’ three individual wins against ranked No. 24 Minnesota. Both wins placed her in the program’s top-10 record book. Flowers sits at ninth (23.02) in the 50 free and eighth (54.20) in the 100 fly. Flowers was also a part of both top relay teams against the Golden Gophers. Iowa’s most recent weekly conference award winners were sophomore Nora Kemp and alum Annie Galvin in December of 2024. The freshman from DeForest, Wisonsin, has claimed six individual wins throughout the first three meets of the season.

A CLOSER LOOK
Illinois, Iowa State, Kansas and UNI return to the annual Hawkeye Invitational meet after attending last season. Miami (FL) received votes in the October top 25 poll. A year ago, Iowa placed fifth out of nine teams and scored 879 points. Olivia Swalley won the 400 IM with a school record 4:10.54 last season. She won the 200 IM title and set Iowa’s second-fastest time. Former diver Makayla Hughbanks won the three-meter dive.

DIVING IN
The Hawkeye divers are making big impacts through the first three meets of the
season. In the season opener, senior Lainey Woodward took gold in both the one-and three-meter dive to start the season strong. Woodward set a personal record of 308.15 points in the three-meter. Against No.24 Minnesota, the team collected seven season bests. Freshman Zita Bernatsky placed second on three-meter, while Woodward clinched silver in one-meter. Sophomore Stephanie Avram notched season bests in both. At Purdue, Woodward and Geneva Pauly were Iowa’s top divers. Woodward secured bronze in the one-meter and Pauly took fifth in the three-meter.

B1G ATHLETES TO WATCH
Diver Geneva Pauly and swimmer Olivia Swalley were named the Big Ten Athletes to Watch before the 25-26 season. Pauly, a senior from Colorado, returns to the diving well after placing 10th at the 2025 NCAA Zone Diving Championships. Pauly’s 278.65 points in the platform dive ranks second all-time in school history. From the 1-meter springboard, Pauly holds Iowa’s ninth-best total (312.95). Swalley returns for her junior year after leading the team in four events a season ago. She is the school record holder in the 400 IM (4:10.54). Swalley is second in the 100 breast and 200 IM, while holding the fourth-fastest time in the 200 breast. In total, Swalley won 21 individual races and was a part of three winning relays during the 2024-25 season.

MAKING MARKS
The Hawkeyes have combined for three top-10 program performances so far in the 2025-26 season.

• 50 Free - Payton Flowers (23.02) - 9th all-time
• 100 Fly - Payton Flowers (54.20) - 8th all-time
• 200 Fly - Olivia Swalley (2:01.21) - 10th all-time

HAWKEYE NEWCOMERS
The Hawkeyes are welcoming eight newcomers to the team, including six freshmen. Rookies Zita Bernatsky from Winnipeg, Canada, and Kamila Swanson from North Liberty, Iowa, join the diving team. Freshmen swimmers Payton Flowers from DeForest, Wisconsin, Faith Frantum from Johnston, Iowa, Willa Hage from Urbandale, Iowa, and Ella Jean Kelly from Western Springs, Illinois round out the incoming freshman class. Two transfers join the Hawkeyes: sophomore swimmer Emilie Mosner from Lititz, Pennsylvania, who previously swam at Monmouth and sophomore swimmer Audrey Olen from Elm Grove, Wisconsin, who previously swam at Auburn.

HAWKEYE RETURNERS
Of the 26-person roster, 18 are returning Hawkeyes. With six seniors and six juniors, the upperclassmen have a strong leading presence. Olivia Swalley returns as the school-record holder in the 400 IM. Geneva Pauly leads the divers. During the Big Ten Championships, three returning Hawkeyes updated the Iowa top-10 list. Junior Hope Schimming in the 200 back prelim notched the 6th-all time, sophomore Rachel Dildine in the 100 free reached 4th all-time, and junior Josie Hood recorded a 10th-best during the 200 fly.

ROSTER BREAKDOWN
This year’s roster includes six freshman, seven sophomores, seven juniors and six seniors. Of those student-athletes, eight are from Iowa, five from Illinois, three from Wisconsin, two from Nebraska, and one from each of the states of Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Nevada, Ohio and Pennsylvania. There are two international Hawkeyes who come from Canada and Turkey.

UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes will be traveling to Los Angeles to take on the UCLA Bruins in their return to the pool Jan. 9-11. The start time is to be announced.