University of Iowa men open season at home against Michigan

THIS WEEK

The University of Iowa men’s swimming and diving team opens its regular season Friday hosting Michigan 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 @IowaHawkeyeSwim.

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 Pool.

SCOUTING MICHIGAN

The Wolverines, the 2014 Big Ten champions, had 13 swimmers qualify for the NCAA Championships, where they scored 310 points en route to a fourth-place finish. Two swimmers won NCAA titles.

HAWKEYE NEWCOMERS

The men’s team features eight newcomers to this year’s roster. Colter Allen, Chris Dawson, RJ Hemmingsen, Garrett Hoce, Evan Hull, Matt Mauser, Thomas Rathbun, and Jerzey Twarowski all join the team. This group of eight men features three athletes from Colorado, two from Iowa, one from Ohio, one from Minnesota, and one from Poland. The freshmen class features five All-Americans.

A STRONG RESUME

Freshman Jerzey Twarowski joins the Hawkeyes following a strong junior career in Poland. Twarowski was a member of the Polish Junior Nationals team, where he was a multiple gold medalist in international junior competitions. The butterfly specialist was also a Senior National qualifier in 2014, earning gold and bronze medals at the Polish Senior Championships.

A LONG WAYS FROM HOME

This year’s team will feature three Hawkeyes from overseas. Jerzey Twarowski comes to the UI program from Krakow, Poland, Roman Trussov from Ust-Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan, and David Ernstsson from Stockholm, Sweden.

SEASON RECAP

The Hawkeyes enter the 2014-15 season after posting a 2-9 dual meet record in 2014, including a 1-6 mark in Big Ten meets. Iowa finished the season with an eighth-place finish at the Big Ten Championships.

OFF THE HIGH DIVE

The Iowa diving team has experience and youth on its roster in 2014-15. The Hawkeyes return junior Addison Boschult and sophomore Brandis Heffner, while welcoming two incoming freshmen — Evan Hull and Matt Mauser. Boschult led the Hawkeyes in 3-meter (343.20) and platform (381.50) last season. He qualified for NCAA Zone Diving in both events and finished fifth at the NCAA Zone D Diving Championships with a school-record score of 381.50 points on the platform. Boschult capped the 2013-14 season by garnering the “Lobby” Lobdell Award as the men’s diving MVP.

RECORD BREAKING YEAR

The Hawkeyes broke three school records in 2013-14. Individually, Dustin Rhoads (200 backstroke – 1:42.94), Andrew Marciniak (100 breaststroke 53.58), and Addison Boschult (platform diving 381.50) all broke school recrods in their respective events.

CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON

Six Hawkeyes competed in the Phillips 66 National Championships this past summer in Irvine, Calif. 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 16th-place finish in the 100 breaststroke.

BETULIUS BACK FOR SENIOR SEASON

Senior Grant Betulius returns as the most accomplished swimmer on the Hawkeye roster after garnering honorable mention All-America honor in three events in 2013 – 100 back and 200 and 400-medley relays. The Naperville, Illinois, native is the Iowa school record holder in four events — 100 back (46.33), 200-medley relay (1:25.82), 400-medley relay (3:09.66), and 800-free relay (6:26.79) — heading into his senior season. Betulius posted NCAA “B” qualifying times in both the 100 and 200 backstroke last season.

TRUSSOV LEADS BREASTSTROKERS

Junior Roman Trussov returns to lead the Iowa breaststrokers in 2014-15. The Kazakhstan native qualified for the NCAA Championships in both the 100 and 200 breaststroke as a freshman. He currently is the Iowa school record holder in the 200 breaststroke (1:55.84) while holding the second-fastest time in the 100 breast (53.60).

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.

DONATELLI RETURNS

Redshirt junior Brian Donatelli returns to add depth to the Iowa sprinters after missing the 2013-14 season with an injury. The Illinois native led the team in the 50-free as a sophomore with a time of 20.23 seconds.

A SPECIAL YEAR

The University of Iowa men’s swimming and diving team will host the Big Ten, NCAA Zone Diving, and NCAA Championships as part of its 2014-15 schedule.

It is the second time the NCAA Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships will be held in Iowa City. The UI hosted the 1927 NCAA Championship at the UI Field House.

The 2015 Big Ten Championships will take place Feb. 25-28, while the NCAA Zone D Diving Championships are set for March 9-11. The NCAA Championships will be held March 26-28. All events 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.

College Swimming News courtesy of University of Iowa men’s swimming and diving.