THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa women’s swimming and diving team opens its regular season Friday hosting Michigan and Nebraska at 6 p.m. (CT) in Iowa City, Iowa. Competition continues Saturday at 10 a.m. The meet will be held in the UI Campus Recreation and Wellness Center Pool.
LIVE RESULTS
Fans can follow the weekend’s action via live results by following this link (http://livestats.hawkeyesports.com/). Fans can also follow the action via twitter by following @IowaHawkeyesSwim.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Hawkeyes return to action Oct. 11, hosting the annual Black and Gold Intrasquad Meet. The competition is slated to begin at 9 a.m. at the CRWC.
SCOUTING MICHIGAN
The Wolverines placed fifth at the 2014 Big Ten Championships and had five swimmers qualify for the NCAA Championships, scoring 23 points, to finish 30th place. Four swimmers earned All-America honors with Marni Oldershaw earning the distinction in two events.
SCOUTING NEBRASKA
The Huskers, led by 14th-year head coach Pablo Morales, placed ninth at the 2014 Big Ten Championships. Nebraska holds a 7-4 advantage against Iowa in dual meets. The two teams last met at the Hawkeye Invitational a season ago in Iowa City, Iowa.
HAWKEYE NEWCOMERS
The women’s team features 12 newcomers in Izzie Bindseil, Summer Campbell, Rowan Hauber, Shea Hoyt, Jo Jekel, Nikol Lagodzinska, Meghan Lavelle, Lauren Leehy, Tereysa Lehnertz, Carly O’Brien, Morgan Rafferty, and Mekenna Scheitlin. This group features five athletes from Illinois, three from Iowa, two from Wisconsin, one from Oregon, and one from Texas. The freshmen class features eight All-Americans.
SEASON RECAP
The Hawkeyes enter the 2014-15 season after posting a 9-5 dual meet record, including a 4-2 mark in Big Ten meets. The nine wins were the second-most for the program since the 1984-85 season. Iowa finished the season with an eighth-place finish at the Big Ten Championships, finishing with 199 points.
SOUGSTAD WORLD RANKED
UI sophomore Emma Sougstad has earned a spot among the top 50-ranked swimmers in the world following competition at the 2014 Summer Nationals in Irvine, California. Sougstad placed 19th in 50-meter breaststroke competition at the Phillips 66 National Championships.
FAMILY TIES
While most programs cite family team atmospheres, it goes a little bit further for the University of Iowa swimming and diving team. Iowa has two siblings on the current squad in Hillary and Jennifer Weigand. Their older brother Patrick also swam for the Hawkeyes before graduating in 2012.
OFF THE HIGH DIVE
The Iowa diving team returns a vetern lineup, led by a trio of redshirt seniors — Abby Grilli, Joelle Christy, and Lauren Kelba. Grilli led the Hawkeyes in 3-meter last season with a score of 336.97. Christy led the team on 1-meter with a score of 319.45. Sophomore Calli Head led the team on the platform setting a new school record (289.60). Grilli, Christy, and Head all posted NCAA Zone Diving scores last season.
RECORD BREAKING YEAR
The Hawkeyes broke eight school records during the 2012-14 season. Individually, Olivia Kabacinski (50 free – 22.70, 100 free – 49.84), Emma Sougstad (100 breaststroke – 1:00.90), and Haley Gordon (400 fly – 54.58) all broke school records in their respective event. The quartet of Lindsay Seemann, Sougstad, Abbey Tuchscherer, and Elise Borja set the record in the 200-medley relay (1:40.12). Seemann, Sougstad, Gordon, and Kabacinski swam to a record in the 400-medley relay (3:39.54). Kabacinski, Borja, Emily Hovren, and Seemann set the record in the 400 free relay (3:21.07), and Kabacinski, Hovren, Becky Stoughton, and Seemann set the record in the 800 free (7:12.49) relay.
KABACINSKI SPRINTING TO THE TOP
Sophomore Olivia Kabacinski was the top sprinter for the Hawkeyes last season. Kabacinski led the team in the 50 free (22.70), 100 free (49.84), and 200 free (1:47.68). She posted NCAA “B” qualifying times in the 50 free, 100 free, 200 free, and 100 breaststroke.
2013-2014 MVP
Olivia Kabacinski returns to lead the Hawkeyes after earning team MVP honors as a sophomore. Kabacinski is the UI school record-holder in the 50 free (22.70), 100 free (49.84), as a member of the 400-medley relay (3:39.54), and as a member of the 800-freestyle (7:12.49) relay.
CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON
Six Hawkeyes competed in the Phillips 66 National Championships this past summer in Irvine, California. Senior Grant Betulius, juniors Mike Nelson, Brian Donatelli and Colleen Champa, and sophomores Kyle Patnode and Emma Sougstad each took part in competition. Sougstad earned a 19th place finish in the 100 breaststroke in the final day of competition.
FREEMAN JOINS STAFF
Former Hawkeye All-American Deidre Freeman joins the Iowa coaching staff as a volunteer assistant coach. Freeman, who coached from 2011-14 at Grinnell High School and Grinnell College, will work with diving coach Todd Waikel and the divers. Freeman is an accomplished diver in her own regard, as she was 1-of-14 women named to the 2014 AT&T Olympic Performance Squad. The group includes divers who most exhibit the skill and determination to become 2016 Olympic Team members. Freeman is still the Iowa record holder on both the 1 and 3-meter springboard events.
ZONE DIVING D DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS
The University of Iowa women’s swimming and diving team will host the NCAA Zone Diving Championships as part of its 2014-15 schedule from March 9-11. The event will be held at the UI Campus Recreation and Wellness Center Pool.
CAMPUS RECREATION AND WELLNESS CENTER
Ground was broken for the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center in October 2007. The facility opened in August 2010 and is home for the Hawkeyes. It is located at the corner of Burlington and Madison streets and cost approximately $69 million. The facility includes a 50-meter competition pool, a separate diving well, a leisure pool with lap lanes and 24,000 square feet of fitness space.
IOWA SWIMMING AND DIVING TRADITION
Iowa was one of the first schools in the nation to compete on a collegiate level and competed at the first NCAA Championship. From 1937 to 1960, Iowa placed in the NCAA top 10 18 times, crowning nine NCAA and 22 Big Ten champions.
7 SCHOOL RECORDS
UI senior Becky Stoughton holds UI school records in seven events. The Peoria, Illinois, native owns top times in the 200 free (1:47.09), 500 free (4:40.82), 1,000 free (9:39.44), 1,650 free (16:03.42), 200 butterfly (1:59.68), 400-IM (4:12.34) and as a member of the 800-free relay (7:12.49)
College Swimming News courtesy of the University of Iowa swimming and diving.