Iowa swim and dive finishes off regular season in Minneapolis

The women fell to Minnesota, 192-107, while the men’ also fell to the Minnesota, 153-147.

The+mens+medley+relay+is+underway+during+a+swim+meet+at+the+Campus+Recreation+and+Wellness+Center+on+Saturday%2C+Jan.+16%2C+2021.+The+womens+team+hosted+Nebraska+while+the+mens+team+had+an+intrasquad+scrimmage.+

Shivansh Ahuja

The men’s medley relay is underway during a swim meet at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center on Saturday, Jan. 16, 2021. The women’s team hosted Nebraska while the men’s team had an intrasquad scrimmage.

Evan Bruner, Sports Reporter


Both Iowa swimming and diving teams closed out their regular season in Minneapolis on Saturday. The women’s team competed against Nebraska in a non-scored dual and fell to Minnesota, 192-107, while the men’s team lost its dual meet against Minnesota, 153-147.

On the women’s side, Alyssa Graves continued her impressive freshman campaign, taking first place in the 1000 free for the second meet in a row with a time of 9:50.78. Graves would also finish in third place in the 200 fly as well as the 500 free.

Mallory Jump delivered a winning performance for the Hawkeyes in the 100 fly. The Purdue transfer finished with a 53.05, which was good for her first “B-cut” time of the year. Kelsey Drake followed Jump in the 100 fly, finishing second with a 54.21. Drake would also take second place in the 200 fly, recording a 1:59.69.

The women’s team finished off the day taking third place in the 200 free relay which featured Lauren McDougall, Kennedy Gilbertson, Macy Rink, and Maddie Zeigert with a 1:33.12 time.

On the men’s side, Mateusz Ardnt finished in first place in the 200 free with a 1:36.60, followed by teammates Andrew Fierke and Jackson Allmonto, who finished second and third, respectively, to sweep the podium. Arndt would go on to win his second race of the day in the 500 free and was once again, followed by Fierke in second.

After recording three “B-cut” times in the last meet, returning College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America All-American Anze Fers Erzen stayed hot, winning three individual races on Saturday with wins in the 200 IM, as well as the 200 and 100 back.

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Fers Erzen was also a part of the winning relay team in the 200 medley relay along with Will Myhre, Sergey Kuznetsov, and Aleksey Tarasenko. The four combined for a time of 1:26.66. The team won the 200 free relay as well, with the combination of Tarasenko, Miller, Kuznestov, and Will Myhre with a time of 1:20.00.

Tarasenko also recorded wins for the Hawkeyes in both the 50 and 100 frees for the second straight meet. The Kazakhstan native narrowly beat his season-best in the 100, putting up a time of 43.69.

Kuznetsov was the final Hawkeye to secure a win in the meet, taking first place in the 100 fly with a time of 47.43. Kuznetsov currently holds the second fastest time in program history for the event with a 46.60 from last season.

The men’s team finishes the abbreviated regular season at 1-2, and the women’s team goes into the conference championships sitting at 1-3.

The teams will now prepare for the upcoming Big Ten Championships. The men and women’s diving teams will compete on Feb. 24-27 in West Lafayette, Indiana. The men’s and women’s swimming teams will have their conference championships held on March 3-6.

The women’s swimming team will compete in Minneapolis, while the men’s team will compete at a site to be determined.

After the Big Ten Championships, the NCAA Championships will take place from March 17-20 in Greensboro, North Carolina, for the women, and from March 24-27 for the men at the same location.

The University of Iowa plans to discontinue both programs at the end of the academic year, though a U.S. District Court Judge issued a preliminary injunction in December 2020 that temporarily prevents the university from cutting the women’s swimming and diving teams.