The University of Iowa men’s swimming and diving team swam to two school records, one NCAA ‘A’ cut time, and six NCAA ‘B’ cut times in day-two competition of the Hawkeye Invite on Saturday in the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center Natatorium.
“We did well today and we’re expecting to have an even better day tomorrow,” said UI head coach Marc Long. “We’re getting excited for the men and the women as the season continues and we’re looking forward to competing at the NCAAs. We’ve got one more day to compete and we’re expecting to see our best performances of the weekend tomorrow.”
The Hawkeyes stole the show early in the 100 fly taking four of the top five spots, and six of the top eight overall. Freshman Jerzy Twarowski led the pack touching in with an NCAA ‘B’ cut and school record-setting time of 46.70. Iowa’s top-four finishers -- Twarowski, Jackson Allen (45.57), Kyle Patnode (48.27), and Chris Freeman (48.50) all recorded NCAA ‘B’ cut times.
Junior Roman Trussov had a strong showing in the 100 breaststroke swimming to a school record and an NCAA ‘B’ cut time. The Ust-Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan, native finished second touching in with a time of 52.98.
UI senior Grant Betulius shined on senior night dominating in the 100 backstroke. The Naperville, Illinois, native -- coming off of a record-setting and NCAA ‘A’ cut-performance in Friday night’s finals -- took first place with an NCAA ‘A’ cut time of 45.60.
In the diving well the Hawkeyes landed two divers in the finals for the second-straight night. Sophomore Addison Boschult claimed a seventh place finish in the finals with score of 310.25 and junior Brandis Heffner’s 306.30 was good for eighth.
“Both men outperformed their preliminary scores when they dove in the finals, which was great,” said Waikel. “We like to see those numbers increase. All in all we did pretty well and I was happy with our performances tonight.”
Sunday’s competition in the diving well will be off the platform, an opportunity Waikel wants the Hawkeyes to take advantage of.
“In head-to-head meets we usually just dive off the 1 and 3-meter, so tomorrow is a great opportunity for our platform divers to perform well.”
Iowa currently sits in first place with 634.5 points, leading second-place Notre Dame (593), Denver 560.5), UW-Milwaukee (184), and Ohio State (111).
The Hawkeyes conclude the three-day competition Sunday morning, beginning at 10 a.m. (CT).
The University of Iowa women’s swimming and diving team swam to two school records and four NCAA ‘B’ cut times in day-two competition of the Hawkeye Invite on Saturday in the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center Natatorium.
“We did well today and we’re expecting to have an even better day tomorrow,” said UI head coach Marc Long. “We’re getting excited for the men and the women as the season continues and we’re looking forward to competing at the NCAAs. We’ve got one more day to compete and we’re expecting to see our best performances of the weekend tomorrow.”
In the 100 breaststroke prelims, UI sophomore Emma Sougstad touched in with an NCAA ‘B’ cut and school record-setting time of 1:00.41. Later in the finals, the Forest City, Iowa, native took first place with a time of 1:00.42.
Sougstad also picked up a second-place finish as a member of the 200 medley relay quartet. The foursome of Sougstad, Summer Campbell, Meghan Lavelle, and Olivia Kabacinski swam to a time of 1:40.99 -- the seventh-fastest 200 medley relay in UI history.
The records continued to fall as junior Olivia Kabacinski entered the pool in the 200 free. The La Porte, Indiana, native touched in with a time of 1:46.68 -- an NCAA ‘B’ cut and the second school record for the Hawkeyes.
Becky Stoughton added to the list of ‘B’ cut times posted tonight with a strong showing in the 400 individual medley. The senior native of Peoria, Illinois, swam to a second-place finish and an NCAA ‘B’ cut time of 4:18.32.
Freshman Rowan Hauber captured the Hawkeyes final NCAA ‘B’ cut in Saturday’s finals session in the 100 backstroke. Hauber finished third in the event after posting a time of 54.94 -- the sixth-fastest 100 backstroke in UI history.
In the diving well, Joelle Christy and Lydia Lehnert made the A final and scored 26 combined points for the Hawkeyes. Christy placed fifth, diving to a score of 299.60 and Lehnert finished seventh, with a score of 280.90.
“We dove well in the prelims, and finished a little shy of those scores in the finals,” said UI diving coach Todd Waikel. “We’d like to see those numbers increase. All in all we did pretty well and I was happy with our girls.”
Sunday’s competition in the diving well will be off the platform, an opportunity Waikel wants the Hawkeyes to take advantage of.
Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame men’s swimming senior class showed off Saturday, with four of it’s graduating members – Jonathan Williamson, Zachary Stephens, Patrick Olson and Cameron Miller – earning NCAA B cuts. For Stephens, his 52.54 time in the 100 breast is also a new school record.
“We had yet another strong night,” Irish head coach Matt Tallman states. “It was great to have a school record in the 100 breast. There were a lot of other great performances, considering the time of year and where we are in our training.”
In addition to the four seniors, sophomore Trent Jackson earned a trip to the NCAAs in the 200 free, qualifying by .01 of a second with his 1:37.98 time (B cut time is 1:37.99).
In the morning preliminary sessions, several sophomores and seniors put in strong swims. Thomas Anderson (3:57.15) and Kevin Bradley (3:58.23) placed fourth and fifth respectively in the 400 IM, while James McEldrew finished eighth (4:01.05) and Matthew DeBlasio finished 11th (4:03.06).
In the finals of the 400 IM, Anderson placed second (3:54.84), while Bradley finished fifth (3:56.28). McEldrew came in seventh (3:59.00) to round out the A-finals finishers. DeBlasio put in a strong performance, claiming ninth place and the top finish in the B final with his 3:57.26 time.
In the 100 Fly, Williamson finished third behind a pair of Hawkeye swimmers, again posting a B-cut time of 47.57 (he earned his first B cut of the season in prelims, touching the wall in 48.14). Justin Plaschka repeated in ninth place from the morning (48.78 in the B final, 49.57 in the prelims) while Bogac Ayhan improved from 22nd in prelims (51.47) to 18th in the finals (50.56).
In the 200 free, 12 Irish swimmers competed in the preliminary heat, showing the depth of Tallman’s squad. Reed Fujan finished fifth (1:38.94), Michael Hudspith placed sixth (1:38.98), and Kevin Hughes claimed eighth (1:39.25) to all advance into the A final. Jackson (1:39.27), Broderick Kelley (1:40.09), Benjamin Jany (1:40.10), Joseph Petrone (1:40.13) and Joseph Krause (1:40.18) all swam their way into the B final. Patrick Murphy (1:40.20) and Harlin Bessire (1:40.42) outright qualified for the C final, and were eventually joined by Richard Mannix after a swim-off – Mannix won over Denver’s Connor Corrigan, 1:41.36 to 1:41.66.
Hughes earned the highest finish in the 200 free, tying for fourth with Iowa’s David Ernstsson (1:38.04) for 11.5 points towards the team score. Fujan wasn’t far behind, touching in at sixth (1:38.59).
Jackson, swimming in the B final, powered his way through the water to earn his first career NCAA cut. Not far behind, Jany finished 10th (1:38.71); Petrone, 13th (1:39.75); Krause, 14th (1:40.09) and Kelley, 16th (1:41.48). Murphy (1:39.28) and Bessire (1:40.93) both swam in the C final, placing 17th and 21st respectively.
In the 100 breast, Stephens claimed first and posted his third NCAA B-cut of the weekend in the prelims, touching the wall in 52.79. Not far behind, Olson (54.62) and Miller (54.88) took third and fourth, while Andrew Jensen also qualified for the A final with his 55.77 time. In the finals, Stephens again posted a B-cut time of 52.54 – clinching first place in the process – while Olson took third (54.65), Miller, fourth (55.37) and Jensen, seventh (56.17). Michael Schiffer placed 13th (58.36).
Robert Whitacre was the sole A final entrant for the Irish in the 100 back, after posting 48.99 in the prelims. He finished sixth, clocking in a 49.25.
Plaschka and Ayhan – swimming in the B finals after their respective 50.31 and 51.04 morning times – placed ninth (Ayhan, 49.81) and 11th (Plaschka, 49.93). Gabe Ostler also finished 18th, with a time of 52.55.
In the diving competition, Joseph Coumos won the 1-meter event with his score of 378.40 – his preliminary score of 289.35 had him standing in ninth place. Senior Michael Kreft also improved over his morning score of 315.95 to finish fourth with a final tally of 332.10.
The 200 medley relay and 800 free relay were also strong events for the Irish. The Irish A team of Whitacre, Miller, Stephens and Plaschka claimed second in the 200 medley (1:28.73), while the A-team combination of Jackson, Hughes, Fujan and Jany finished runners-up in the 800 free (6:34.27).
“Our relays raced well also – they gave us some good ideas on decisions that will need to be made down the road,” Tallman says on the second-place finishes.
“We are looking forward to finishing this meet strong, and putting together a still greater training regimen heading into our second semester,” he adds.
The University of Notre Dame women’s diving squad continued its dominating weekend at the Hawkeye Invitational Saturday afternoon, as the Irish swept the 3-meter dive behind senior Allison Casareto’s second-straight victory.
Casareto, who convincingly won the 1-meter Friday, scored 328.65 points to beat out teammate Lindsey Steepey by just under four points (324.95). Rounding out the podium sweep for the Irish was junior Emma Gaboury, who totaled 318.25 points.
Through two days, Casareto has a pair of victories, Streepey has two runner-up finishes and Gaboury has a third and fourth-place showing.
The trio, along with teammates Christine Stitcher and Annie Crea, closes out their fall semester Sunday with the platform dive.
Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Maddy Nelson shattered a freshman record to headline a strong second day of action for the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee swimming & diving teams at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center Saturday.
Nelson first broke the freshman record in prelims of the 100 backstroke with a time of 56.76 before shattering the rookie mark by winning the B-final at 55.92 – well ahead of the previous record of 57.01 set just last year by teammate Kristin Zablocki. Nelson now is the second-fastest swimmer in school history in the event behind only school-record holder Becky Yokosh. Fellow freshman Sara Bentley came in 12th overall Saturday with a very strong time of 56.47 – also besting the previous freshman record.
Freshman Kyle Gerum led the way for the men with a time of 51.98 for 15th overall, one spot ahead of Evan Kuker at 53.27.
For the second-straight day, sophomore Natalie Johnson swam in an A-final, this time taking fifth in the 200 free at 1:50.86. Newcomer Mandie Siehs came in 10th overall at 1:51.10 and Anna Yontz was 13th at 1:54.10.
It was another freshman in the 400 IM as Sami Stelpflug won the B-final in 4:29.58, leading six other Panthers in the top-17.
Nic Halverson came in 12th overall on the men’s side with a strong time of 4:03.34, just ahead of Kenny Stelpflug at 4:04.94 for 14th.
Junior Hannah Lucas led a host of UWM swimmers in the 100 breaststroke with a lifetime-best time of 1:05.07 for 10th place.
Junior Taylor Wisdorf was the top Panther on the men’s side at 58.12, the fastest time on the team thus far this season.
Rachel Margis posted a remarkable effort in the women’s one-meter diving competition with a sixth-place finish against some of the biggest schools in the nation. Margis tallied a score of 288.75, not far from her season best.
In the 800 free relay, Yontz, Siehs, Alena Bodnaruk and Johnson teamed up to take fifth overall in 7:34.29 – the second-fastest time in the Horizon League this season. The Milwaukee men came in 10th in the event as N. Halverson, Stelpflug, Gerum and Nick Menninga combined to post a time of 6:50.54 – the fastest time in the league this season.
Washington State
In the second day of competition at the Hawkeye Invitational, the Washington State University swim team earned 262.5 points and set 20 personal-best marks across seven events.
The Cougars opened the evening session with a third-place finish in the 200 medley relay. The WSU quartet of juniors Loree Olson and Frederikke Hall, and freshmen Anna Brolin and Hannah Bruggman clocked a time of 1:41.32 to earn the Cougars 32 points.
The 100 fly A-final featured three Cougar swimmers, as Brolin notched a second-place finish in the event. The Gilroy, Calif., native touched the wall in 54.60, a personal best and the fifth-fastest time in WSU history. Brolin was followed closely by senior Alison Mand (55.15) in third place and sophomore Haley Rose Love (55.22) in fourth. In the B-final, sophomore Kendra Griffin (56.05) notched a fourth-place finish. In total the Cougars earned 53 points in the event.
Washington State also qualified three competitors for the 200 free A-final. Freshman Rachel Thompson led the way for WSU, touching the wall in 1:49.80 to tie for second place. The time is a personal best and the sixth-fastest time in Cougar history. Senior Nicole Proulx found her way to the A-final with a personal best in the prelims, clocking a time of 1:50.17. Proulx finished the final in fourth place (1:50.83). Sophomore Elise Locke (1:51.73) contributed 11 points to the Cougar total with an eighth-place finish in the event.
A pair of Cougars earned spots in the A-final of the 100 back. Junior Shaya Schaedler finished the prelim event in 56.32, the sixth-best time in WSU history and a personal best. Schaedler finished eighth in the finals, bested fellow junior Loree Olson. Olson clocked a time of 55.67 to earn the Crimson and Gray 14 points. In the B-final, Bruggman made her first career appearance in the 100 back, finishing in 10th place. Bruggman’s prelim time of 56.30 placed her 8th on the WSU all-time top-10 list. Fellow Cougar Haley Rose Love found her way to the B-final with a prelim time of 56.32, a personal best and the ninth-fastest time in WSU history. Love (56.43) finished the event in 11th place, followed by Mand (56.56) in 13th.
In the A-final of the 400 IM, junior Presley Wetterstrom set a personal best, notching a fifth-place finish in a time of 4:24.36. The time is the ninth-fastest in program history. Wetterstrom was followed closely by Olson who notched a seventh-place finish with a time of 4:24.96. The pair earned 26 points for WSU.
The evening’s 100 breast A-final featured a pair of Cougar swimmers. Frederikke Hall earned a third-place finish in the event with a time of 1:02.58. Hall’s mark was just 0.09 off the NCAA ‘B’ qualifying time of 1:02.49. Hall was followed by Wetterstrom who notched a sixth-place finish. The junior qualified for the A-final with a personal-best in the prelim of 1:03.62. The Cougars earned 35 points in the event, as Brolin added an 11th-place finish with a time of 1:05.58 in the B-final.
The Cougars concluded the evening with a third-place finish in the 800 free relay. The WSU team of Thompson, Proulx, Locke, and Griffin clocked a time of 7:28.17 to earn 32 points. Washington State finished the second day of competition with 425.5 points and sits tied with Denver for second place. Host-school Iowa leads the competition with 667.5 points.
Nebraska
Saturday evening, the Nebraska diving team finished day two of competition at the Hawkeye Invitational.
Anna Filipcic led the Huskers capturing a fourth-place finish in the three-meter dive. Filipcic posted a score of 303.50 in the finals. The sophomore earned the best score in the preliminary round with a score of 348.05.
Nicole Schwery posted a score of 252.90 in the preliminary round earning a 10th-place finish and just missing out on a spot in the finals. Francesca Giganti captured a 19th-place finish with a score of 206.15.
Nebraska will be back in action Sunday for the final day of the Hawkeye Invitational. The platform diving preliminary round will begin at 12 p.m. Sunday with the finals following at 4 p.m. Check back in to Huskers.com for any and all updates regarding the Nebraska swimming and diving team.?
