COLUMBIA, Mo. – For a team to be successful at the end of the season, it must improve throughout the year.

ISU swimming coach Duane Sorenson said his team has done that.

“We’ve trained extremely well all season long,” Sorenson said. “We’ve swam faster in our dual meets than we did last year, and if you compare this year to last year we should have an outstanding Big 12 Championships.”

Last year the Cyclones finished sixth at the Big 12 meet with 337 points, and they look to improve this year. Iowa State finished fourth at the meet in 2002.

“It should be a fast, competitive meet,” Sorenson said. “We will just have to see how everything falls out.”

Contenders for the top four in the conference include Texas, Texas A&M and Kansas.

“We can end up anywhere from third place to sixth place,” Sorensen said. “Our No. 1 goal is to have each of our women swim lifetime bests, though.”

Senior Lydia Smirniotis, who finished eighth in the 1650 freestyle at last year’s Big 12 Championships and had a NCAA consideration time, said the team would like to be able to get fourth or fifth place.

“We can definitely beat Nebraska,” Smirniotis said. “Hopefully we can gain some points on Missouri and Kansas, too.”

Smirniotis also said she would like to duplicate her top-eight finish in the 1650 freestyle and finish in the top eight in the 500 freestyle.

Diving coach Jeff Warrick said he would like for the divers to get personal bests on all of the boards.

“I would like to have a finalist in every event,” Warrick said. “There will be stiff competition – it will come down to the six dives they do that day, and I really want the divers to be mentally tough.”

There will be an event for the divers that is not in most dual meets, which is the platform.

Warrick said he is happy with how the season has gone so far, especially with the injuries that the team has endured.

“I really couldn’t have asked for a better scenario considering everything that has happened,” Warrick said.

Last year’s lone Big 12 champion and NCAA meet qualifier senior diver Hillary Nichols is out for the rest of season with an injury.

Freshman Haley Haynes gives Iowa State an added edge to the tournament. Haynes, who has qualified for NCAA Zone Diving Qualifications from March 10 to 12, was named Big 12 diver of the month with her performances in January. Haynes placed first in every event that she entered in the month.

The final meet for the swimming and diving team will be the NCAA Championships, held March 16 in Athens, Ga.