With a little less than half of the season left, the ISU swimming and diving team will aim to finish the season on a strong note with hard work and practice.

“They are very hungry,” said coach Duane Sorenson. “They want to learn how to swim faster, and they do a really good job of remembering to do the little things we ask them to do in practice.”

The Cyclone swimmers are back from their annual winter training trip in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., after a tough loss to rival Iowa on Dec. 9.

“We were kind of at an in-between stage against Iowa,” Sorenson said. “But our girls really raced very nicely there and overall it’s just a very competitive program.”

The Cyclones (3-2) are led by Grinnell transfer Imelda Wistey, who continues to be one of the top placers in her first year at Iowa State.

“I’ve been working on getting in the zone in practice and working on not getting frustrated and not getting too hyped up,” Wistey said. “I know how to race and I know how to compete. It’s just a matter of getting into that mindset.”

In diving, the Cyclones are hard at work in practice after competing at the Georgia Invitational on Jan. 3-5.

“We have a really hard-working team that has worked hard to get where they are, but they are inconsistent,” said diving coach Jeff Warrick. “Right now, that inconsistency is our biggest opponent I think.”

In the Georgia meet, the Cyclones were again led by senior Sarah Nelson and junior Jessica Henderson, who finished 18th and 21st on the 1-meter board.

“I didn’t feel as solid during the Georgia weekend,” Nelson said. “But I learned a lot from the experience and you’ve got to just move forward.”

Nelson and the rest of the Cyclones will have to move forward as they square off against Nebraska-Omaha at 6 p.m. on Jan. 27 in Omaha, Neb.