The Iowa women’s swimming and diving team dominated Iowa State, 173-108, in the Cy-Hawk dual meet on Dec. 10 in the Campus Recreation & Wellness Center.
The Hawkeyes earned two points towards the overall score of the Hy-Vee Cy-Hawk series for their effort.
Captains Katarina Tour, Daniela Cubelic, Danielle Carty, and freshman Karolina Wartalowicz kicked off the competition in the 200 medley relay, winning the meet’s first event with a time of 1:42.74.
"The 200 medley relay started the dual meet off on a really strong note," said Carty, who contributed to both winning relays. "Winning the first relay is important to us because it gets the ball rolling. We were able to carry off that first win and continue to win races."
Iowa started strong in the meet’s first event and didn’t let up after that, winning all but four of the competition’s 16 events.
Sophomore Lauren Eytalis collected wins in both of the distance swims. She finished the 1,000 freestyle in first place with her college-best time of 10:08.54 — five seconds faster than Iowa State’s Meredith Doran, who took second. Eytalis also won the 500 freestyle, posting a time of 4:59.48.
Tour was another Hawkeye to record more than one win. She won the 100 breaststroke and 100 butterfly, finishing in 1:03.00 and 55.56.
Other impressive performances came in the 100 and 200 freestyle and the 200 butterfly — the Hawkeyes swept all three. Freshman Emily Hovren touched the wall first in both freestyle events.
Freshman Haley Gordon posted the 2:03.35 winning time in the 200 butterfly.
"I can’t say enough about the freshman class," Cubelic said. "We warned the freshmen how fast Iowa State swims against us every year, and they really stepped up and took charge from the start of the meet.
"They’ve had a huge impact this year, and their ability to step up and race well in high-pressure situations shows how bright the future of Hawkeye swimming is."
Freshman Elise Borja also had a first-place finish in the 50 freestyle with a time of 23.74, and fellow first-year Abbey Tuchscherer took second in both the 100 and 200 butterfly.
Although Iowa was in control for most of the dual meet, Iowa State put up some fast times. The Cyclones’ Danielle Harris won the 100 and 200 backstrokes as well as the 200 individual medley.
"Iowa State swam really well," Cubelic said. "They always come in ready to swim fast, but we were prepared for them. We knew what we had to do to win the meet, and we executed that exactly as planned."
The meet concluded on the same high note that it started. Tour, Cubelic, and Carty, along with Hovren, posted a time of 3:28.61 to win the 400 freestyle relay.
"This meet really showed us where we are as a team," Tour said. "This was, in my opinion, the best dual meet we have had this season. Not just times, but the confidence we saw in our performances, our attitudes, and our excitement to swim."