Iowa women’s swim/dive to compete at SMU Classic
Nine athletes from the Iowa women’s swim/dive team will face off against some of the nation’s best at the SMU Classic.
A Hawkeye swims breaststroke at the swim meet on Friday, October 4. The Iowa men won over Michigan State, 180 to 112. The Iowa women won over Michigan State 183 to 113. The women also won over Northern Iowa. 183 to 113. Michigan State won over Northern Iowa 180 to 120.
October 10, 2019
Select members of the Iowa women’s swim/dive team will face some of the nation’s elite programs at the SMU classic in Dallas, Texas. The event begins at 6:30 p.m tonight at the Robson & Lindley Aquatics Center.
Nine athletes — swimmers Anna Brooker, Hannah Burvill, Kelsey Drake, Allyssa Fluit, Lauren McDougall, Aleksandra Olesiak, Millie Sansome, and Sarah Schemmel, along with diver Sam Tamborski — were chosen by the coaches to compete at the event.
Burvill, Drake, Fluit, and Schemmel all competed in the 2018 SMU Classic, as well.
For Sansome, who has only competed in one official college meet, being picked to travel was a thrill.
“It was an honor to hear my name called in the meeting,” Sansome said. “When I knew I was one of the few that are going. It made my day. I’m looking forward to seeing what I can do and see if I can drop my times when I compete against some of the best people in the country.”
Sansome, an England native, also noted that this will only be the third state she has visited while she has been in the United States, along with Iowa and Illinois.
Sansome and Tamborski both earned Big Ten honors this week after impressive outings in last week’s season-opening meet in Iowa City. The Iowa men’s and women’s teams earned three combined wins overall at the meet against Michigan State and Northern Iowa.
RELATED: Iowa swim/dive handles Michigan State, Northern Iowa
Sansome won two individual races and was part of two winning relay teams, while Tamborski was victorious in the three-meter diving competition and third in the one-meter. Tamborski posted NCAA zone standards in both events. Sansome was named Freshman of the Week and Tamborski captured Diver of the Week across the conference.
In last year’s SMU Classic, the team finished fourth out of six team with a combined score of 236.5 behind strong showings from University of Louisville (358), University of Southern California (312), and University of Virginia (299) and in front of University of Miami (Florida) (227.5) and host Southern Methodist University (226).
The meet provides the Hawkeyes with a good test early in the season — a measuring stick for their team.
“We went last year for the first time, and we liked it, but it’s a tough meet,” head coach Marc Long said. “Last year, they had Olympians there with some high-level competition. It’s early in the season, and that exposure helps these athletes as we go on through the season.
It’s another awesome field of teams and athletes. We can’t match [the competition experience] in practice against that level of competition. It’s a great experience, but at the end of the day, we’re looking at what this type of competition has on our peak meets at the end of the year.”
At the SMU Classic last season, the Hawkeyes were led by third place finishes in the one- and three-meter diving by Jayah Mathews and Drake in the 100-butterfly.
Iowa’s men’s and women’s teams will welcome Minnesota to Iowa City for their next meet on at 11:00 am Oct. 26.
