Iowa State swimmers and divers look to overcome an intrastate foe that finished just one place ahead of them only a couple of weeks ago.

Iowa State placed fifth at the Minnesota Invitational on Nov. 19-21, earning 402 points. The Hawkeyes finished fourth with 610 points, well ahead of the Cyclones.

Being able to see the Hawkeyes in action at the Invitational has given head coach Duane Sorenson some insight into what Iowa will look like at the meet.

“We know what they have, and they know what we have — it’s just a matter of standing up and racing,” he said.

Historically, Iowa holds the advantage, as the home team has won the last four meets. Last year in Ames, the Cyclones beat the Hawkeyes 170-124.

“This meet always brings out the best in both teams,” Sorenson said.

“An interesting point though, the final scores aren’t always reflective of how close the meet actually was. It always looks like the winning team dominated the other, but that’s not true. The races are always very close.”

Junior Kim Rogers may give the Cyclones the edge they need.

“Kim Rogers is ahead of history in terms of swimming well against teams with the word Iowa in it,” Sorenson said.

Cyclone divers had no competition last year, since the Hawkeyes redshirted their two top divers.

“It’ll be more difficult this year, since there will actually be competition,” said head diving coach Jeff Warrick. “It’ll be a real good opportunity for our divers to dive against the competition we’ll be facing at the national level.”

Warrick predicts that his two healthy divers will both have a good meet.

Senior Katie Herman is still bothered by the foot injury she sustained several weeks ago, and Warrick said she is doubtful for the Iowa meet.

Senior Gail Olson has been the most consistent so far this season, and Warrick said he expects her to dive well both off the 1 and 3-meter boards.

Warrick said junior Hillary Nichols still has a sprained right ankle.