Iowa State vs Illinois State
- Friday, January 18th
- Beyer Pool, Ames, IA
- Short COurse Yards
- Results
TEAM SCORES
- Iowa State – 191
- Illinois State – 100
PRESS RELEASE – IOWA STATE:
AMES, Iowa – The Iowa State Cyclones (6-3, 1-0 Big 12) soundly defeated the Illinois State Redbirds (5-3, 1-1 MVC) 191-100 on Friday night. The Cyclones won 15-of-16 events in the win, the most events wins in a meet since 2016.
A balanced attack from the Cyclones dominated the Redbirds from the start. The Cyclones kicked off the meet with a victory in the 200 medley relay with a 1:44.63 from Emily Haan, Martha Haas, Elynn Tanand Evan Hundley, the sixth Cyclone 200 medley relay win of the year. Iowa State never looked back, winning the next 13 events. Members of each class ended the meet with multiple wins.
“Everyone has taken pride in their event,” head coach Duane Sorenson said. “They really want to lead what they’re doing.”
Senior Haley Ruegemer swept the distance events with a 5:08.47 and 10:40.17 in the 500 and 1000 free, tacking on a 200 IM victory at the end of the meet. Junior Anna Andersen earned first-place finishes in the 100 (51.42) and 200 (1:54.07) free. Haas represented the sophomore class by winning both breaststroke events, going 1:03.75 and 2:21.08. Freshmen Tan (50 free and 100 fly) and Haan (100 and 200 back) each won a pair of events, while Lucia Rizzo added a victory of her own in the 200 fly. The meet is the first time since Washington-St. Louis in 2016 in which Iowa State won 15 events in a dual meet, and the first time winning all swimming events since 2012.
In the diving well, Dana Liva won the three-meter with a 294.15, her third score above 290 this season. Her personal best entering the season was 282.53. Jessica Coffin set a new PR on the three-meter with a 211.50. Both Liva and Sydney Ronald posted Zone-qualifying marks on each board.
“I’m very happy with how our women competed,” Sorenson said. “They stood up and raced when they were tired. [The last three wins] are a nice way to build going into our last two dual meets.”
PRESS RELEASE – ILLINOIS STATE:
AMES, Iowa – The Illinois State swimming and diving team battled Big 12 opponent Iowa State Friday night, but came up short, falling 191-100.
“It was a tough fought meet tonight against a very good opponent,” said head swimming coach Scott Cameron. “We had some bright spots throughout the meet, and some spots that we can learn from as well. We need tough meets like this at this point in the season to help us prepare us for Missouri Valley Conference championship next month. Overall, I’m excited about the adjustments that I’m seeing in races and I’m looking forward to another great meet tomorrow.”
Julie Kolar had a busy, yet successful, night for the Redbirds, finishing second in the 200-yard backstroke (2:09.02) and third in the 100-yard backstroke (59.26). She also aided the Illinois State 200-yard medley relay team, alongside teammates Jensen Keck, Kierston Farley-Sepe and Morgan Clark, to a second-place finish with a final time of 1:47.84.
Keck turned in a pair of second-place performances in the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke events, clocking in times of 1:05.15 and 2:21.14, respectively. Sarah Hein helped keep the Redbirds in the race for the top spot at the meet, turning in second-place finishes in the 100-yard fly (1:00.34) and the 200-yard fly (2:09.51).
Other notable performances came from Haley Rivera in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 2:10.76 and the 200-yard breaststroke, clocking a time of 2:32.18, finishing third in both events. Morgan Rosser captured second place in both the 500-yard freestyle (5:15.93) and the 100-yard backstroke (58.87).
Caroline Leceour started her night on the boards with a second-place finish in the 3-meter diving event with a score of 287.55, before winning the 1-meter diving event with a score of 291.15. Teammates Rachel Johnston and Emma Butts joined Leceour at the top of the 1-meter event, finishing third and fourth, respectively, with scores of 167.47 and 161.78, respectively.
“Coming off a bus and competing right away is never easy, but I felt like the divers did a good job adjusting,” said head diving coach Phil Hoffmann. “Caroline had a very strong meet against a very talented Big 12 team and I thought the entire group can come away with some positives, as well as some areas to improve upon moving forward. We are looking for strong performances tomorrow as we head to UNI.”