The Iowa women’s swimming and diving team will begin its 36th season today, heading to Kirksville, Mo., for a meet against Truman State at 5 p.m.

The Bulldogs are a Division-II swimming powerhouse, winning the national championship seven of the last eight years.

“It’s a great way to kick off our season,” Iowa head coach Marc Long said. “It’s nice to get on the road, even though it seems early. It will be fun to see our swimmers compete.”

The team beat Truman State in its opener last year, 176-84.

The Aquahawks will return 19 letterwinners from last season, and they are led by its three cocaptains — senior Stacia Johns, junior Verity Hicks, and sophomore Danielle Carty.

“Last year, we went in confident [against Truman State] and wanted to get a win under our belt for our first dual meet,” Carty said. “We really want to do that again this year and get a good win this weekend.”

—by Mitch Smith