By Michael McCurdy
The Iowa men’s swimming and diving team had an action-packed week of competition with dual matches on both Nov. 3 and Nov. 4.
On Nov. 3, the Hawkeyes competed against South Dakota in what was a completely one-sided match.
Although Iowa’s dominance was expected going against a weaker Coyote team, swimming head coach Marc Long said he was very pleased with how his team performed in the home opener and hopes it got his team ready for a tough match the following day.
“I am very happy with the effort the team showed today,” Long said. “Now we can focus on the two great teams coming into town tomorrow. They have some Olympians and are well coached. They’ll be ready to play, so we’re excited for the challenge.”
Junior Logan Samuelson started things off smoothly for the Hawkeyes by winning the 100 freestyle race. Iowa never looked back from there, winning every race throughout the competition.
The diving team also dominated in its field of competition. Sophomore Will Brenner won the 1-meter dive with a score of 368, a new Iowa record. Senior Brandis Heffner placed second with a score of 328 and redshirt sophomore Matt Mauser placed third with a score of 309.90.
Brenner said he was happy to break the record, but was more pleased with how the team performed, especially Mauser, who has come a long way.
“I hope to break the record again, but yeah it was a great meet for me,” Brenner said. “I was just very consistent and level headed. But more importantly today, I was happy to see Matt perform well. He’s probably the hardest worker on the team and has come such a long way.”
The 3-meter dive had about the same results, other than Mauser came soaring out of nowhere with a score of 357, barely behind Brenner who posted a 357.10
The next day, the team consistently performed well again defeating both Missouri State and Purdue.
The Hawkeyes defeated the Boilermakers in a tight contest by a score of 151-149. They also took care of business against a very talented Missouri State squad by a score of 176-118.
Redshirt sophomore Kenneth Mende and sophomore Jack Smith each notched victories in their individual events, helping the Hawkeyes get the overall victory. Smith raced to first place finishes in both the 50 and 100 freestyle. Mende got to the wall first in the 100 and 200 backstroke.
The 200-medley relay team came out with the win as well with a time of 1:30.64. After that event, Smith ended up giving the Hawkeyes the win in a thriller of a 400-free relay race.
`Long said the two wins were a big confidence booster for a team that is trying to improve meet after meet.
“Tonight was a great effort on the boards and in the pool,” Long in a release. “I am proud of the team for stepping up and competing, and of course, for the men for picking up that victory at the end. Tonight was a lot of fun.”
The Hawkeyes will be back in action on Nov. 18 when they travel to Columbus for the Ohio State Invitational.
Follow @MMccurd for more information on the Iowa swimming and diving team