Three Hawkeyes, Karly Stuenkel, Rose Ripslinger, and Natalie Winters, were named to the Big Ten Preseason Honors List on Aug. 14.

“It’s a huge accomplishment for me and for my team,” sophomore defender Winters said. “It gets our program out there, and we were picked with a great group of girls. It’s just an honor to be recognized.”

Winters earned Iowa’s Newcomer of the Year award last year, along with being named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team.

The Michigan native was third on the team last season with 1,437 minutes last season and started all 19 games.

Ripslinger, a junior forward from Davenport, played in 16 games last year, scoring 2 goals while also acquiring 2 assists.

Stuenkel is a senior midfielder, and was the Hawkeyes’ Offensive Player of the Year and Co-MVP last season; she netted the second most goals on the team with five, while also nabbing 4 assists.

Iowa head coach Dave DiIani thinks that this preseason recognition is proof of the soccer program’s continued growth.

“I think that it shows that our program is ascending to a higher level every year,” he said. “I think that it also shows they’ve put in the work and improved every day from year to year, and somebody else is noticing that they’re improving.”

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While getting a preseason honor is great, it also provides expectations to live up to, and along with expectations comes a little added pressure.

“It’s an accolade that they don’t take lightly,” DiIani said. “They know they have to perform because at the end of the day, it’s how they look at the end of the year versus at the beginning.”

But Ripslinger doesn’t mind the extra pressure; she hopes to use it as motivation this year.

“I think that [preseason honor] puts a target on peoples’ back right from the start,” Ripslinger said. “But I think it’s a good pressure just to keep me motivated when things are getting hard.”

After finishing last season with a disappointing 8-11 (2-9) record, having three players get this honor gives the Hawkeyes hope that they can improve their record from last year.

“I think regardless of those named on the list we have we had a lot of girls that were very deserving,” Ripslinger said. “I think that we’ve become such a strong unit this year that three players being named is insignificant.”

Despite the three players being recognized by the Big Ten, Iowa was still picked to finish 12th in the conference, according to the preseason coaches’ poll.

The Iowa women kicked off their season on Sunday in Richmond, Virginia, against the Richmond Spiders. They won, 5-1.

Winters assisted on three of the goals; Ripslinger and Stuenkel also recorded assists.

The Hawkeyes’ home-opener will be Friday at the Iowa Soccer Complex. They will take on Iowa State, hoping to win their third straight against the Cyclones.