Coming off a successful third-place finish in last weekend’s Nebraska Invitational, the ISU women’s swimming and diving team hopes to carry that same success to its races this weekend as the Cyclones head to Cedar Falls to face in-state rival Northern Iowa.

“Our team gained a lot of confidence for our outstanding showing at the Husker Invitational,” said coach Duane Sorenson in an e-mail interview. “Freshman Jenny Vondenkamp had an outstanding meet, junior Lindsay Wegner swam some of her best midseason times in both the backstroke and butterfly races, and I am sure we will see more of that continued success this weekend.”

Despite the continued improvement and success the Cyclones have seen in the pool, they are not overlooking the Panthers.

“There will be a number of close races between our two teams,” Sorenson said. “UNI has a couple of very talented women in the backstroke events and sprint free, so we will have to keep practicing and swimming hard this week and through the weekend.”

The rivalry between Iowa State and Northern Iowa promises to heat up the competition, especially with the Cyclones trying to avenge earlier losses in football and men’s basketball.

“Going against an in-state school, the [ISU] team will be ready to go,” Sorenson said. “UNI’s swim team has been getting better and better with each season over the last couple of years. Also, with their football team having so much success and in the playoffs, along with their men’s basketball team beating our men Tuesday night, we know that their swim team will be fired up and want to prove something.”