Cy-Hawk showdown awaits women’s swimming and diving.
By Jake Mosbach
In-state bragging rights are on the line for the Hawkeye women’s swimming and diving team tonight as they head to Ames to face Iowa State as part of the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series.
The meet will kick off at 6 p.m. at the Beyer Hall pool.
The Hawks head to Cyclone country after earning the team title in last weekend’s Hawkeye Invitational. They hold a 3-2 (1-2 Big Ten) record;Iowa State is 3-1.
Iowa associate head coach Frannie Malone said she and the staff have had no problem getting the squad ready for the annual rivalry meet.
“It’s hard to be a Hawkeye and not understand what the Cy-Hawk rivalry means,” she said. “It’s fun to have an in-state rivalry like this in swimming and diving. Not every school is that lucky. We get excited for it, and we love that extra passion that goes with it.”
Senior Olivia Kabacinski, who will compete in the freestyle events, will compete in Ames for the second time in her college career.
She’ll never forget the first time she visited Beyer Hall, either.
“My sophomore year was the first time I had ever been to Ames,” she said. “The stands were absolutely packed. People were actually booing us. That’s when I knew how serious the rivalry was and how badly we needed to beat the Cyclones.”
Though they’re in the thick of their 2015-16 schedule, the team hasn’t competed in a Big Ten meet in more than a month. One might think that it would be easy to overlook these midseason nonconference meets.
But Kabacinski believes that these meets are valuable for other reasons, such as continued preparation for the remaining Big Ten schedule, as well as the Big Ten meet and the NCAAs.
“This time is definitely primarily used to focus on training,” Kabacinski said. “It’s our last big training phase before we start to rest for the big meets.”
Freshman Kelly McNamara, whom Kabacinski praised earlier in the week for her impressive performances and leadership qualities early in her career, will experience her first Cy-Hawk meet tonight.
The Villa Park, Illinois, native is confident that she’ll be able to withstand the harsh environment in Ames.
“It won’t be easy at all,” she said. “I saw how fierce [the rivalry] was during football season. It was crazy. But I think I can block that out, and just go out there, and keep doing what I’ve done so far.”
Malone knows after the team’s scouting that the Cyclones will no doubt present challenges for the Hawkeyes.
Of those challenges, perhaps the biggest will come in the backstroke, as well as the breaststroke.
But those are nothing that the Hawks can’t overcome.
“Iowa State’s staff really does a great job, and they’re always ready when we come to Ames,” Malone said. “But we’re excited for it, and we’re prepared.”
