Notes: at UCLA

THIS WEEK
University of Iowa swimming and diving heads to Los Angeles for its first meet of 2026. The swimmers will compete in a dual against UCLA on Friday beginning at 4 p.m. (CT). The second day of competition will be a quad matchup against UCLA, UC Santa Barbara and Utah on Saturday. The divers will compete Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The meet will take place at the Spieker Aquatics Center. 

FOLLOW ALONG
Results will be accessible via multiple platforms. Follow the official Iowa Swimming and Diving ‘X’ account for live updates of the meet. Fans can also follow along through MeetMobile, with diving results on DiveMeets. 

LAST TIME OUT
University of Iowa swimming and diving clinched third place at the 2025 Hawkeye Invitational. Collecting a total of 1,059 points, the Hawkeyes added 13 record book adjustments over the four-day meet. Freshman Payton Flowers etched her name as the school record holder in the 50 free. On the same day, the 200 free relay team of Flowers, Audrey Olen, Rachel Dildine and Ella Jean Kelly broke the school record with a time of 1:30.21. To close out the Hawkeye Invitational, Flowers, Dildine, Kelly and Jenna Kerr broke another school record touching the wall in 3:18.82 in the 400 free relay.

A B1G LOOK AHEAD
Iowa and UCLA are meeting for the first time. The Bruins are receiving votes in the Top 25 as of December. Following the west coast trip, the Hawkeyes return home to host Illinois and Nebraska in a diving competition. The swimmers will be at Illinois for a tri-meet with the Illini and Nebraska. The Hawkeyes lead the all-time series 20-14 against the Fighting Illini, with the most recent win (151-149) being last season. During this meeting, Iowa collected ten individual wins. Junior Olivia Swalley tallied three in the 100 and 200 breaststroke and 200 IM. Against the Cornhuskers, Iowa trails the series 10-9. Last season, Iowa had one win (170-130) and one loss (223-130). The Hawkeyes collected nine individual wins in their victory meet. Swalley accounted for three of those wins as well (100 and 200 breaststroke and 200 IM). 

HALFWAY HIGHLIGHTS
Payton Flowers earned B1G Freshman of the Week honors after the dual against nationally-ranked Minnesota. Flowers was the first weekly conference award winner of the season. Before Flowers, the most recent weekly conference award winners for the Hawkeyes came in December of 2024. Nora Kemp won freshman of the week and alum Annie Galvin won swimmer of the week. At the mid-point in the season, the Hawkeyes are 1-2 overall with a third-place finish at the Hawkeye Invitational. Iowa’s dual win came against UNI. The team has four more meets (UCLA, Illinois/Nebraska, St. Thomas and Iowa State) before they close out the season with the Big Ten Championships in February and NCAA Zone Diving and NCAA Championships in March. 

DIVING IN
The Hawkeye divers are making big impacts through the first half of the season. In the season opener, senior Lainey Woodward took gold in both the one- and three-meter dives to start the season strong. Woodward set a personal record of 308.15 points in the three-meter. Against No. 24 Minnesota, the group collected seven season bests. Freshman Zita Bernatsky placed second on three-meter, while Woodward clinched silver from the one-meter springboard. Sophomore Stephanie Avram notched season bests in both.  At Purdue, Woodward secured bronze in the one-meter and Pauly took fifth in the three-meter. At the Hawkeye Invitational, Woodward, Bernatsky, Swanson, Avram and Pauly all earned personal records. Pauly, Avram and Bernatsky clinched all-time records in platform, while Woodward updated her best in the 1-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 has updated her best from the platform and now ranks third in school history with 280.55 points. From the 1-meter springboard, Pauly is 10th in school history (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 sixteen top-10 program performances so far in the 2025-26 season.

• 50 Free - Payton Flowers (22.38) - 1st all-time
• 50 Free - Rachel Dildine (22.80) - 7th all-time
• 50 Free - Ella Jean Kelly (23.06) - 10th all-time
• 100 Free - Payton Flowers (49.30) - 2nd all-time
• 100 Free - Rachel Dildine (49.81) - 4th all-time
• 100 Free - Jenna Kerr (50.00) - 6th all-time
• 200 Breast - Emilie Mosner (2:17.65) - 8th all-time
• 100 Fly - Rachel Dildine (53.96) - 6th all-time
• 100 Fly - Payton Flowers (54.20) - 8th all-time
• 200 Fly - Olivia Swalley (2:01.21) - 10th all-time
• 1-Meter - Lainey Woodward (314.65) - 9th all-time
• Platform - Geneva Pauly (280.55) - 3rd all-time
• Platform - Stephanie Avram (240.85) - 6th all-time
• Platform - Zita Bernatsky (227.35) - 9th all-time
• 200 Free Relay - Flowers, Olen, Dildine, Kelly (1:30.21) - 1st all-time
• 400 Free Relay - Flowers, Dildine, Kelly, Kerr (3:18.82) - 1st all-time

UP NEXT 
The swimmers will head to Champaign, Illinois, on Jan. 16-17 for their meet against Illinois and Nebraska. The meet will take place in the Activities and Recreation Center. Action begins at 5 p.m. on Friday and 10 a.m. on Saturday. The divers will stay home for their competition at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center. Diving will begin at 4 p.m. on Jan. 16 before rounding out competition on Saturday morning.