ISU swimming placed fifth overall out of six in the Big 12 Relays, beating only Nebraska. The Cyclones have set a goal to push out either Kansas or Missouri and take that fourth position in the conference.

Halfway through the meet the Cyclones were only down three points to Kansas, and one point behind Missouri.

“We were really encouraged at that point in the meet, so there was a lot of excitement and enthusiasm,” said coach Duane Sorenson.

One of Missouri’s strengths this year is its depth.

“They have three strong women in every event, so to beat them we simply have to have our top swimmer beat their top swimmer and win the event,” Sorenson said.

Since Kansas lost some of its better swimmers this year, the door is wide open to catch them.

The past weekend showed the Cyclones’ strengths in the 200 Medley and 400 Medley relays, in which ISU beat both Missouri and Kansas on its way to third and fourth place finishes respectively.

“We have all the strokes covered,” Sorenson said.

Kansas’ Danielle Herrmann beat Jeli Nixt for first place in the 200-yard breaststroke.

“Herrmann is a very fast swimmer,” Sorenson said, “and Jeli is close to the gap.”

Nixt has a history of getting faster throughout the year and has a shot at beating Herrmann in both the duel meet and the Big 12 Championship.

The 500-yard freestyle is problematic for the Cyclones.

“We have a long way to go in that event,” Sorenson said.

Missouri’s distance freestylers are consistently faster than the Cyclones’, but the match-up against Kansas is more even. Iowa State beat Kansas by one second in the three-by-500 meter relay.

Other events held the Cyclones from catching Missouri and Kansas, such as the backstroke events and the 3-meter diving relay.

The Cyclones are swimming with inexperience in the backstroke events.

“The freshmen and sophomores need to improve there,” Sorenson said.

Tien Tran, who leads Cyclone swimming, tweaked her back after the UNO meet and spent most of last week sick.

“She was a little off, and you can’t be a little off in the Big 12,” Sorenson said.

The Cyclones competed against Illinois at home the Saturday.

“They are like a mirror of us,” Sorenson said.

Iowa State lost to Illinois by a score of 169.5-130.5. “Actually, the meet was much closer than the score,” Sorenson said.

The Cyclones got touched out in at least three events by fractions of a second. Lindsey Behrens lost by .01 of a second, giving Illinois a “Michael Phelps” win. The same happened to Jenny Vondenkamp in the 1,000-yard freestyle.

Additionally, Iowa State lost seven points in the 400-yard freestyle relay, and was out-touched by Illinois for many fourth and fifth places.

“So the meet really came down to a half of a second of time and three inches between winning and losing,” Sorenson said.

Cyclone sprinting excelled in both meets last weekend. Coach Sorenson said he was pleased with the way Abby Glaser and Frances Calzada attacked the first 25 yards of the 50 freestyle.

After two meets against some tough competition, Iowa State doesn’t plan to change their practice path.

“Our whole focus is the Big 12 and NCAA Championships,” Sorenson said. “Everything we do in practice is geared to that. The meets are just a part of our training.”

Sorenson said the team would include work on finishing each event hard and in the distance races, picking up the pace sooner.