The University of Iowa men’s swimming and diving team won 11-of-12 events en route to a 128-80 victory over Western Illinois in its final regular season dual at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center Pool.
“The seniors have been tremendous,” said UI head swim coach Marc Long. “This is by no means the end of the season, just the dual meet season. These aren’t typical dual meet events, but it is a fun way to keep working toward the preparation for the championship season.”
Iowa kicked off the meet with first and second place finishes in the 400 medley relay. Sophomore Austin Abbas, freshmen Michael Nelson and Maverick Hovey, and senior Jordan Huff claimed the victory with a time of 3:24.20. Junior Gianni Sesto, freshman Quillan Oak, senior Byron Butler, and junior Andrew Maverick finished second (3:27.63).
Freshman Tyler Nichols posted a first place finish in the 100 IM with a time of 53.08, while freshman Charles Holliday was victorious in the 50-free in 21.11.
Senior Mitch Taylor was victorious in the 50 fly in 22.70 before freshman Seth Lane won the 100 free in 47.48.
Butler “back-sprinted” to a victory in the 50 back in 22.63 seconds, while freshman Michael Ubert won the longest event of the dual — the 500 free — in 4:43.64. Nelson then posted a victory in the 50 breast, touching the wall in 26.01 seconds.
Freshman Addison Boschult accumulated 314.78 points to post a first place finish in the 1-meter springboard.
The Hawkeyes concluded the meet with a victory in the 200 free relay when the senior duo of Taylor, Donny Warren, Patrick Weigand and Buter finished with a time of 1:24.10.
Iowa returns to action on Feb. 27-March 3 when it travels to Bloomington, Ind., to compete in the 2013 Big Ten Championships.
Iowa Women
The University of Iowa women’s swimming and diving won all 12 events en route to a 137-60 victory over Western Illinois on Senior Night at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center Pool.
“The seniors have been tremendous,” said UI head coach Marc Long. “This is by no means the end of the season, just the dual meet season. These aren’t typical dual meet events, but it is a fun way to keep working toward the preparation for the championship season.”
The Hawkeyes kicked off the dual with a win in the 400 medley relay. Sophomore Audrey Kumm, freshman Colleen Champa, junior Lauren Drennan, and sophomore Dani Klunk posted a time of 3:59.78 to win the event.
Sophomore Elaine Boosalis claimed a victory for the Hawkeyes in the 200 free in 1:56.01 before junior Abbey Tuchscherer won the 50 free in 24.19.
Drennan posted her second win when she swam a time of 26.66 to finish first in the 50-fly, junior Emily Hovren won the 100 free in 53.20, and freshman Maddie Bro touched the wall in 27.37 to win the 50 back.
Freshman Jennifer Weigand won 500 free in 5:12.90, and junior Karolina Wartalowicz won the 50 breast in 30.61.
The Hawkeyes dominated the action in the diving events. Iowa posted first and second place finishes on the 3-meter when Abby Grilli and Lauren Kelba finished 1-2 with scores of 326.25 and 307.58 points, respectively.
Iowa also had the top four finishers in the 1-meter, as Kelba dove to the win with 291.67 points. Grilli finished second with 281.10 points, junior Joelle Christy was third (269.40) and freshman Samantha Wagner was fourth (207.53).
The Hawkeyes concluded the meet with a victory in the 200 free relay when sophomore Gigi Groya, Bro, junior Lindsay Seemann, and Tuchscherer won the event with a time of 1:37.37.
Iowa returns to action Feb. 20-23 when it travels to Minneapolis for the 2013 Big Ten Championships.
This is an unedited press release.