Rowan Hauber, a strong backstroker out of The Dolphins Swim Team, has given a verbal commitment to the University of Iowa. Her commitment marks a huge grab for the Hawkeyes, as Hauber has best times of 26.0/54.9/2:00.2 in the 50-100-200 backstrokes, and she has also been very strong long course, where she has best times of 29.7/1:03.6/2:19.8 in the same events. She is the defending Oregon 6A State Champion in the 100 backstroke.
Hauber will be an immediate scoring threat for the Hawkeyes at the conference level. It took a 54.54 to score in the 100 yard backstroke last year, and the Hawkeyes did not score any points individually in the shorter backstroke. Although current senior Lindsay Seemann went a 54.57 to lead off the medley relay and current junior Heather Arseth was a 54.55 at a dual meet against Iowa State, the Iowa women’s team did not quite have the punch needed to get a second swim in the 100 back. Provided that Hauber can drop even just a half-second, she will perfectly complement head coach Marc Long’s needs in this event.
In the 200 back, it took a 1:57.61 to make the B-final, and the Hawkeyes had more luck there with Seemann’s 1:56.49 school record that she recorded in prelims. She would fade moderately in finals to a 16th placed 1:59.00 after being seeded 11th going into the finals session. The graduation of Seemann after this year’s season will leave a void in the longer backstroke, and once again, Hauber is poised to fill the void left behind. Hauber first went a 2:00 in her 200 backstroke at just the age of 14, and she was able to match her time again this past march after having falling off slightly for two years, and this return to form is a promising sign for her both this year and upon her entrance into Iowa.
Perhaps most importantly for the Hawkeyes, Hauber will be a strong candidate for multiple relays. As she competed in the 100 backstroke at at the 2012 Olympic Trials in Omaha (128th place, 1:04.94), she will carry some big-meet experience with her, and this is an important asset for Iowa. The 200 medley relay saw Arseth lead off in a 25.54 at Big Ten’s last year, and the foursome of Arseth, current senior Karolina Wartalowicz (28.35), current senior Abby Tuscherer (24.30), and current sophomore Olivia Kabacinski (22.76) teamed up to go a school record time of 1:40.97.
With the addition of Hauber, not only will there be a replacement for Arseth after next year, but Coach Long will be able to experiment with different lineups throughout the year in order to get a better feel for which four ladies will swim the relay at Big Tens during Hauber’s freshman year. This also goes for the 400 medley relay, as her 54.9 speed as a junior likely will give her a good shot for the lead-off spot as a freshman, though this may change depending on how Arseth swims as a senior.
In the sprint freestyle relays, Hauber has a 23.6 50 freestyle and a 51.6 100 freestyle to her name as well, so if she improves her sprint freestyle speed at all during her senior year, she may find herself becoming an option there as well. She swam both those times when she was just 14 years old, so if she is able to translate her recent improvement in backstroke across other strokes, she will steadily climb the Hawkeyes’ depth chart until a freestyle leg is also not out of the question for the talented youngster.
Hauber joins Shea Hoyt (Breaststroke, St. Charles, IL) as the early verbal commits out of the class of 2014 that will be heading to Iowa City next fall.
Heather Arseth has transferred to the University of Miami