Hawkeye swimming and diving set to finish dual season
Iowa is back in action against Western Illinois and Northern Iowa for the conclusion of its dual season.
Hawkeye Thomas Pederson competes in the Men’s 500 D Final during the Hawkeye Invitational swim meet at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center on Thursday Nov. 15, 2018. Iowa competed against 14 schools across the midwest in a variety of events including free relay, freestyle, and medley relay.
February 1, 2019
Iowa swimming and diving will conclude the dual season today when it hosts Western Illinois and Northern Iowa. The dual will begin at 6 p.m. at the Campus Recreation & Wellness Center.
It’s the final time the Hawkeyes will swim at home until the men host the Big Ten Championship Feb. 27-March 2.
Iowa heads into the meet with a full head of steam, with the Hawkeyes having broken many personal bests last weekend at the Shamrock Invitational.
The swimmers included Aleksey Tarasenko (50 free), Thomas Pederson (100 and 200 free), Andrew Fierke (200 free), Tom Schab (200 free), Jacob Rosenkoetter (200 back), Lauren McDougall (50 and 200 free), Taylor Hartley (1,650 free), Morgan Grout (100 back), Natalie McGovern (200 breast), and Kelsey Maher (200 individual medley).
Freshman Caleb Babb recorded four personal bests: the 100 breast (55.34), 200 breast (2:01.11), 100 fly (49.92), and 200 individual medley (1:01.68).
The diving team was also impressive, as it has been all season, posting more than a dozen first-place finishes. Jayah Mathews leads the pack with seven, followed by Will Brenner and Anton Hoherz with three. Sam Tamborski also had one.
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Mathews and Tamborski both grabbed firsts last weekend. Tamborski dominated the 3-meter springboard (321.05), and Mathews finished second (308.20). Mathews also took first on the 1 meter.
So far this season, the men are 5-2, 3-1 at home. The women, who have been short-staffed all season long, have not posted as impressive a record — they are 4-6, 1-4 at home.
After this meet, the Hawkeyes’ focus will turn to the championship season. The Iowa men will host the Big Ten Championships, and that has been on the team’s mind for a while.
“I’m really looking forward to hosting Big Tens,” senior Jack Smith said. “I’ve known about this since before my freshman year when I was being recruited here, so after waiting nearly four years, it’s right around the corner. It’ll be a great feeling knowing that the majority of the people in the stands will be behind the Iowa boys and wanting us to win.”
With some victories tonight, it could just be the extra motivation the Hawkeyes need to go out and take a shot at being victorious in the championships. But right now, the Hawkeyes’ main focus is on coming out tonight and grabbing victories against Western Illinois and Northern Iowa.
