The Iowa men’s swimming and diving team hopes to defend its early undefeated record during the first home double-dual meet of the season.
Swimming is slated to start at 4 p.m. today, beginning with Michigan State and the Horizon League foe Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The Spartans will open their season in Iowa City; Wisconsin-Milwaukee is 0-1 after falling to Wisconsin, 177.5-64.5.
Following this afternoon’s festivities, the Hawkeyes welcome Missouri State for their first back-to-back competitions of the season on Saturday, beginning at 11 a.m.
Two-straight meets and a schedule with consecutive conference opponents early in the season is something the Hawkeyes have not been familiar with in recent years. However, Iowa head coach Marc Long said, there is a good reason for the scheduling.
Having meets on two days should condition his swimmers to the extra demands placed on them come season’s end.
“We set this up so we will have more experience as the season progresses,” Long said. “In our championship season, we have to go back to back sessions for three or four days. It’s important that they know how to have a great night session and wake right up and have a quality morning session.
“We brought in a good opponent. Missouri State is a great team, so we have to be ready to compete.”
Sophomore Paul Gordon said the scheduling only helps the team prepare for the next premier opponent.
“We raced a good opponent [in Wisconsin last weekend], and it got us excited about the rest of the year,” he said. “I think we had some breakout swims from our freestylers. When we go up against a team such as Michigan State, our freestylers are going to be a lot better and stronger.”
The sophomore understands the tough scheduling will continue, but he believes the Hawks’ best races are still ahead of them.
“I think a lot of us are just starting to improve,” he said. “And I feel like I’m starting to get better. I feel like as the season goes on, you’ll see better and better swims from us.”
An important aspect the Hawkeyes have on their team this year is confidence. The swimmers hope a boost in esteem will help with the hellacious schedule.
“I think we have a really positive attitude in the pool with us,” Gordon said. “Our men’s team is really exciting, and everyone’s improving, and that’s really important as we go on through our season.
“We’ve been training hard, and we’ve been swimming strong times, and that’s motivation for us to keep stepping up to these top opponents.”
Even thought Wisconsin-Milwaukee isn’t a top opponent, Gordon said, he knows what to expect.
“It’s always fun going up against a Big Ten team, and a couple of nonconference teams that are always hungry to beat a Big Ten team,” he said. “It should be an exciting weekend.”