After a successful win in its meet against intrastate rival Northern Iowa this past weekend, the ISU swimming and diving team prepares to face another intrastate rival in Iowa on Friday night in Beyer Hall.

This weekend will be part of the Hy-Vee Cy-Hawk series between Iowa State and Iowa. Iowa State currently leads the series 12-3, and the swim team is excited to attempt to make it 14-3.

“We’re very excited about the meet just because it is a Hy-Vee Cy-Hawk series, and no matter where we are in our training, both teams rise to the occasion and it should be a barn-burner meet,” said coach Duane Sorenson. “I think the meet’s going to be decided by a touchout here or a touchout there, so basically a 10th or two will be the difference between winning or losing this meet”

Despite the Cyclones leading the Cy-Hawk series, the swim team has had some difficulty in the past as the Hawkeyes have won the past three meets in a row against the Cyclones, and have currently won 13 of the last 15 over Iowa State.

“We’ve got a little more depth on our team this year, more than we did last year,” Sorenson said. “And hopefully we’ll be healthy. Half our team was sick last year and still swam, so we weren’t able to give it our best performance. So, knock on wood, we’ll be able to keep everyone healthy this year and get the win.”

A big part of that win will come with having the same intensity from swimmers who performed well against Northern Iowa, particularly Lindsay Wegner and Lindsey Behrens, who had two first-place finishes apiece in the win last weekend.

“I am hoping that we’ll have the same form from [Wegner and Behrens] this weekend,” Sorenson said. “They’ve gotten very good. For Lindsay Wegner, her competition is a little bit stronger this week, so we’ll see what she can do when she has to step it up, and it will be the same way for Lindsey Behrens. The Iowa women are just as good in their event, and the both of them have been, so they’re both going to have to have exceptional meets to do well.”

Wegner agrees that she will have to step up her racing this weekend against Iowa.

“I’m really excited for everything this weekend going in against Iowa,” Wegner said. “I know that everyone is training really hard and really working toward beating Iowa which is the main thing on everyone’s mind. I hope that I can do the same thing I did last weekend and really pick it up and race the others girls next to me harder.”

After losing so much against the Hawkeyes recently, Wegner said the team would be swimming with a chip on its shoulder to prove something on Friday.

“I in particular have been working extra hard this week in practice, and so have the other girls. We just want to be really prepared to get the win,” Wegner said.

“I think a lot of people think we can’t do it and we need to have the confidence and attitude that we can do it and if we go in with that in mind-set, we can accomplish anything and get the win for State.”