Iowa State and Northern Iowa took their rivalry to the pool Wednesday night. The Cyclones took down the Panthers 147-89.

“I thought we raced really well,” said coach Duane Sorenson. “It was good for our women to stand up and race when they are tired.”

The Cyclones have had an illness going through the team, but it didn’t seem to slow down many, including Meredith Doran.

Doran finished first in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:57.39. She was also a key part in holding the Cyclones lead spot in the 400-yard freestyle relay, swimming her 100 yards in 54.16 seconds.

“She’s just an old blue-collar worker,” Sorenson said. “If she keeps working at it, she’ll do really well.”

The diving team also has been battling the illness. Jenn Botsch overcame her sick feelings to take first in the three-meter dive with a score of 265.65.

“Things weren’t going very well for her,” said diving coach Jeff Warrick. “Then she stood up in the meet and finished. “

On the 1-meter, Warrick was pleased with how competitive his divers were.

“The other thing that stood out was how close they were on 1-meter,” Warrick said.

The Cyclones took places first through third with Abby Christensen leading the way with a score of 251.25.

Lauren Naeve has been battling a bad back recently. Despite her soreness she finished her one-meter with a score of 250.35. Naeve was checked out by a doctor earlier this week and the team was relieved to hear it was not a stress fracture.

“I think she was fine tonight,” Warrick said. “We’ve been limiting her numbers by limiting repetition.”

The diving team is now going to key in on perfecting their technique issues. Warrick said one of the most important things the team will be working on approach to the end of the board, or what is called the hurdle.

The team will be working on their consistency with their hurdle because it doesn’t just come to them in a meet, Warrick said.

The packed pool in Beyer Hall was watching more than one rivalry Wednesday night. On one side of the stands fans would find a banner that read, “A house divided” colored half cardinal and half purple. Next to that banner fans would find a couple wearing shirts with the same pattern.

The couple was Stephanie and Wade Itzen. Their daughters, Jackie and Josie, were competing against each other for the last time. Josie represented Northern Iowa and Jackie represented Iowa State.

As the 200-yard Individual Medley progressed, Stephanie and Wade would continue to coach their girls right to the finish.

“For me it’s entertainment,” Wade said.

Jackie and Josie are both seniors at their respective universities and had this last chance to compete against each other, which explains why Jackie wasn’t going to let her recent illness stop her from competing in this meet.

“It really meant a lot to her,” Sorenson said. “We said ‘We know you’re sick Jackie, so it’s kind of up to you.'”

Jackie wasn’t going to skip this opportunity.

“If Josie wouldn’t have been here, I probably wouldn’t have swam,” Jackie said. Jackie was out to prove “that [Josie] picked the wrong school.”

Jackie ended up finishing with her season best time at 218.44.

The competition between the sisters has always been very aggressive,  their parents said.

“There’s been some trash talk,” Stephanie said. “I just want both to do well.”

When the two sisters were younger they “weren’t the best of friends,” Wade said.

“In high school we hated each other,” Jackie said. “We had different friends, had different styles and just did not like each other.”

Ever since college began, the separation has brought them closer together.

“We realized that we didn’t have that person that was always there,” Jackie said. “We just took it for granted in high school.”

Jackie and Josie are now best friends and Josie will be Jackie’s maid of honor next summer.

The Cyclones now continue preparation for one of the season’s big tournaments, the TYR Northwestern Invitational. The invitational will take place Nov. 19 to 21.