The Iowa men’s swimming team will send a relay team to the NCAA championships for the first time since 1995.

Head coach Marc Long found out Wednesday that juniors Paul Gordon, Ryan Phelan, Duncan Partridge, and sophomore Jordan Huff will compete in Minneapolis when the NCAA championships are held.

“The importance [of being selected] is outstanding for our program,” Long said. “To even talk about this was far-fetched [a few years ago].

“Everything is pointed in the right direction, and we’re hungry for more.”

The Hawkeyes are looking to compete in the 200-free, 200-medley, 400-free, and 400-medley relays, and Gordon also qualified in the 100 free.

“It’s been really exciting, this whole process,” Gordon said. “We got ranked this year, and that was a big step for us, and now making it to NCAAs is what we wanted to achieve.”

Long is especially proud of this accomplishment for his team because these four swimmers committed to the program at a time when plans for the Campus Recreation & Wellness Centerdidn’t even exist.

“This is a reflection of the entire team, not just these four guys,” Long said.

The Hawkeyes broke school records at last week’s Big Ten championships in the 200- and 400-free relays with times of 1:18.28 and 2:53.50.

Gordon took part in all five relay teams and also set a school record in the 100 free with his time of 43.52 seconds.

“[After Big Tens concluded] I had a good feeling we were in, but I sat at my computer and refreshed it every 10 seconds because I was so anxious [to see if we qualified],” Phelan said. “We’re in, let’s not be satisfied, let’s keep pushing ahead and try to take it to the next level.”

— by Ben Wolfson