The sophomores on the Iowa women’s swimming and diving have had no trouble being successful in the pool this season.

At the Oct. 18 meet against Michigan State and Northern Iowa, sophomores Maddie Bro, Olivia Kabacinski, and Allie Orvis all notched first-place finishes. Bro and Kabacinski also were part of the winning 200-medley relay, which also placed third at the Sep. 27 meet at Michigan. Between the three of them, they have nine first-place finishes and three seconds through two scored meets, helping to beat the Spartans, 182-117, and the Panthers, 238-61.

“The sophomore class is a really core group of girls,” Kabacinski said. “We are really spread out through all the events, and if we’re all on the same page, then that really affects the team as a whole.”

The team-first atmosphere may surprise the casual observer who only sees swimming as an individual sport.

“We all motivate each other a lot, so we’re really happy to each get a win,” Bro said.

That motivation and moving forward as a team is something that the entire team would like see, including head coach Marc Long.

“This is so early in the season, and we need to keep working and working and getting better and better,” he said. “We have some good young talent but they need experience we will keep preparing for next meet and the rest of the year.”

There have been some major jumps by these sophomores to get to the next level this year and compete at a higher level. Kabacinski was very strong down the stretch last year, while Orvis and Bro have been big up-and-comers this season.

Kabacinski is definitely one to feel the enjoyment that comes with a big win.

“It feels great to have a home meet against a Big Ten rival and win is awesome,” she said.“To swim as well as we did, I think we all should be pretty content.”