The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

Swim intrasquad meet dominated by youngsters

The pool area at the Campus Recreation & Wellness Center was bustling this past weekend as the swimming and diving season began. Iowa’s swimmers competed against one another in the annual Black and Gold intrasquad meet, and though the Gold team swam hard, the Black group dominated the meet in a 136-82 victory.

The 2012-13 captains’ council selected the two teams in a draft and set the lineups for the events.

The council consists of seniors Jordan Huff and Bryon Butler, junior Kyler Noser, and sophomore Mike Vinyard.

“[Being chosen as captain] was a great honor; it shows that they respect my leadership and believe in me,” Huff said.

The competition is a way to practice and prepare for the upcoming season and consists of 11 events, with the men and women competing in alternating heats. The meet also serves as a way to raise awareness about heart disease, and each of the swimmers had special swim caps for the cause. One side featured the usual Tigerhawk, while the other had a heart.

“It was a fun meet. It was a heart-disease-awareness meet, so the whole idea of this was to see racing; it’s early,” head coach Marc Long said. “It’s more of a practice meet, but we saw a lot of competitive races.”

For the women, sophomore Becky Stoughton had a great performance, creating a large lead in her three wins of the afternoon. She took the victory in the 1,000-freestyle at 10:15.58, 500 free at 5:04.48, and the 200 individual medley at 2:06.21.

The Peoria, Ill., native, who last year shattered three school records, was happy with both of her performance and times even though she didn’t swim as fast as she did last winter.

“Last year, I personally had faster times,” she said. “For the amount of training I have done, I’d say where I am is a good sign.”

The energy of the meet is what Stoughton personally likes best.

“The spirit, it’s tough,” she said. “The best is seeing everyone dressed up, ready to race, everyone’s in a good mood. They take it seriously, but it’s definitely light hearted.”

New faces junior Lindsay Seemann and freshman Olivia Kabacinksi also performed well. Seemann, a transfer from Arizona, took three top finishes in the 200 free and 100 backstroke. She also competed with the winning 200-medley relay team, along with junior Karolina Wartalowicz, sophomore Audrey Kumm, and Kabacinksi.

This year, divers also competed in the meet after sitting out last season’s event. For the women, junior Lauren Kelba had two winning dives in the 1 and 3 meters. The men’s team has just one diver in freshman Addison Boschult.

For the men’s team, freshman Roman Trussov had a strong start to his college career. He won the 100 breaststroke at 55:04, the sixth-fastest time in Hawkeye history.

Overall, Huff was happy with how the swimmers fared and their times.

“I hope that it sets the tone that we are ready to get up and compete. I think our times are a good indicator of where we are at,” he said.  “Everyone raced really well, and I’m definitely excited for the season.”

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