The Iowa women’s swimming and diving team will take on in-state rival Iowa State as a part of the annual Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk series today. Competition will begin at 6 p.m. at the Beyer Hall Pool in Ames.
Iowa State comes into the meet with a 3-1-1 record, with the tie coming against Nebraska and the loss to TCU. Its roster has some experience and this should be a good test for the Hawkeyes, especially in a venue that is far from friendly.
Recent history shows that Iowa has dominated this meet since its inception — it has won seven of the nine duals. Last year, the Hawkeyes defeated the Cyclones with a very convincing score of 190-108.
“They’re going to be well-prepared and coached for an intense meet,” head coach Marc Long said. “This will be a real battle back and forth. Going on the road to face a really tough Iowa State team.”
The swimmers expect the Cyclones to be a tough matchup and are treating it as such.
“They’re really competitive, they come and swim their fastest times at this meet,” senior Karolina Wartalowicz said. “Most of the time this is where they post their times for the end of the season, for their championship meet and the NCAAs.”
A win would go toward the Cy-Hawk Trophy and is something that is very much in the minds of many of the Hawkeye swimmers.
“The atmosphere is huge; Iowa State-Iowa and the Cy-Hawk trophy is huge for every sport,” Wartalowicz said. “It’s an in-state battle, people are going to be giving it their all in every event, and hopefully, we can pull out a win.”
The magnitude isn’t lost on the Iowa State fans either, and even with a basketball game going on in Hilton, the swimmers still expect a loud Iowa State contingent.
“There stands are always packed with their fans. Sometimes, our boys’ team will come and cheer us on, but they [ISU fans] definitely get pumped up for this meet,” senior Elise Borja said.
With the Black and Gold having won the meet the three years in a row, the rivalry has heated up quite a bit when Iowa State hosts the event.
“You really feel the rivalry, especially in Ames. It’s an important meet for both Iowa and Iowa State; both teams really take it seriously,” Long said. “I think it’s a lot of fun to be battling for that, and it really doesn’t take long for the out-of-state kids to figure out that it means something.”
Iowa needs to rebound after a tough fourth-place finish in the Hawkeye Invitational, and Ames would be the perfect place to do just that. The margin of victory will most likely not be as high as it was last year, but with strong showings in the individual events, the Hawks could pick up a victory here.
“We’re looking forward to another chance to race and, hopefully, post some fast times,” Borja said. “When the meet starts, you have to be ready to step up and be on your game, and when it’s your time on the blocks, you have to be ready.”