By Blake Dawson and Jake Mosbach
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The Iowa men’s and women’s swimming teams both picked up wins in the Hawkeye Invitational held this past weekend in the Campus Recreation & Wellness Center.
Each team edged out Denver for the title.
After a slow start on the first day of competition, the Hawkeyes stepped up in a big way on Dec. 5 and took the lead for good against the Pioneers.
“It was nice to have an opportunity in a championship-meet format,” head coach Marc Long said. “All of the guys put in hard work this fall. It was important to get this win tonight, and then another meet this next week, and then focus on finals.”
Iowa picked up a Dec. 5 victory in the 200-medley relay with the team of freshman Kenneth Mende, senior Roman Trussov, sophomore Jerzy Twarowski, and freshman Jack Smith.
Twarowski picked up another win and an NCAA “B” qualifying time in the 100 fly, pacing the field with a time of 46.97. Senior Jackson Allen also picked up an NCAA “B” qualifying time in the event with a 47.78.
The Hawkeyes also earned NCAA “B” qualifying times on Dec. 5 from Mende in the 100 back, Trussov and senior Mike Nelson in the 100 breaststroke, and freshman Will Brenner in the 1-meter springboard.
On the final day of competition, Iowa picked up a win by Twarowski in the 200-fly final and Trussov in the 200-breaststroke final.
Smith had a successful weekend as well, picking up an NCAA “B” qualifying mark in the 50 and 100 free.
“This meet was great for me personally,” Smith said. “It was the first time wearing the suit and not the briefs, so that was nice. And we got a bit of rest before the meet, so I was feeling good. The morning swims were tough, but I was really happy with my night swims.”
The Hawkeye women demonstrated they could dominate throughout the weekend, earning 900 team points. Second-place Denver put up 802 points. The Hawks never trailed in the meet.
The event featured several school records being broken, including Emma Sougstad in the 50 freestyle split (22.63) and the 400-medley relay team of Sougstad, Olivia Kabacinski, Kelly McNamara, and Meghan Lavelle (3:38.62).
Sougstad said that the impressive performances didn’t come as a surprise to her or her teammates.
“We should always expect to race like that,” she said. “We aim for the highest level, and we can accomplish some really cool things when we get there.”
Long agreed with Sougstad, saying those type of performances should become the standard for the squad.
“We want them going out there and racing to win, and at night moving on up,” Long said. “We’re a work in progress, but I’m proud of the team for the way they fought, swimmers and divers. I think they can really build on this.”
The women will return to action on Friday night as they head to Ames to battle for Cy-Hawk bragging rights.
With not a lot of time to prepare, Long wants his team to celebrate the invitational win, while being mindful of the challenge ahead.
“It’s never easy when we go to Ames,” Long said. “It doesn’t matter what time you get, just touch the wall first and get a win on the board. But now, it’s about enjoying this tonight, then really focusing on racing.”
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