By Michael McCurdy
The Iowa men’s swimming and diving team will head to Minneapolis to take on the Gophers today at 6:30 p.m. in a dual meet. The Gophers are currently ranked No. 12 in the nation, a stat line that makes Minnesota the toughest match so far for the Hawkeyes.Iowa fans should not worry though, because the Hawkeyes return 20 letterwinners from last season, including top performers in 10 out of the 14 swimming events and two out of the three diving events. This season, keep an eye out for junior Jerzy Twarowski, a two-time NCAA qualifier.
Twarowski is not the only Hawkeye fans should be excited about — sophomores Jack Smith and Kenneth Mende seek to improve upon last season’s success in the 200- and 400-medley relays. Last season the two, along with the help of Twarowski, took 10th place in the 200-medley relay and 21st in the 400-medley relay at NCAAs.
The divers also return some key members this year; senior Brandis Heffner was the leader last season in the 3-meter and placed second in the 1-meter right behind sophomore sensation Will Brenner. Brenner is coming off of a fantastic freshman season in which he broke the school’s 1-meter record at the Hawkeye Invitational.
With all the returning swimmers and divers, the team also is welcoming 10 newcomers this year from three states: Iowa, Illinois, and California.
One diver to watch closely this year is redshirt sophomore Matt Mauser. The Denver native was sidelined all of last season because of an injury he received cliff diving in the summer. As a freshman, Mauser placed fifth in the Iowa record books for diving off the platform with a score of 291.55. That was only as a freshman, so fans and diving coach Todd Waikel can expect even bigger and better things from a healthy Mauser this season.
The way this season looks, there are three main areas of the men’s swimming and diving team fans should pay attention to: how the seniors close out their Hawkeye careers and help guide the incoming batch of freshmen; how the underclassmen improve from last year and if any will take the next step in becoming stars; and if any freshmen will make an immediate impact for the team.
Follow @MMccurd for more information on the Iowa men’s swimming and diving team.