In what will be the first “real competition” for the Cyclones, the ISU women’s swimming and diving team will take on the Minnesota Golden Gophers in a dual meet Friday.

Last year, the Cyclones lost to the Gophers 195-102 in Minneapolis.

“Traditionally, they are a very strong team, very solid, no holes — but we’ve always competed with them head-to-head, so it’s going to be a matter of who has more heart and desire for their team,” said coach Duane Sorenson.

Sorenson said Minnesota has a history of being competitive at the beginning of the year and swimming fast all season long.

“We have a history of starting off slow and getting fast at the end of the year,” he said.

Iowa State has had the past two weeks to prepare for the Big Ten foe after placing sixth at the Big 12 Relays in Lawrence, Kan., Oct. 15.

During that time, the swimmers said they have been trying to correct the little mistakes they have been making. Some of those things are having more intensity during practices and being more aggressive going in and out of their turns.

“We’ve started to put a little speed work into our practices because this is the time of the year to start making that shift,” Sorenson said. “So we’re starting to look more like a competitive swim team rather than a lap team.”

Junior backstroker Maggie Peterson said they had tough workouts to improve their endurance last week, while this week they spent their practices working on technique.

“We know they are a really good school and they’re really deep — lots of swimmers,” she said.

The team, however, is still banged up with injuries, Sorenson said. No one is definitely out for the meet, several members are listed as day-to-day.

Sophomore Chelsey Walden is plagued by mono, junior Jamie Wieben’s back is being treated for injury, and sophomore Cassandra Nelson’s shoulder is tender.

Also plagued by injuries is junior diver Hillary Nichols. She has been bothered by a sprained right ankle since the summer and said she recently aggravated the injury. Nichols is also suffering from an inflamed left shoulder.

Although the injuries are bothersome, Nichols said she hasn’t been diving much the past week, though she is hopeful that she will be able to dive at the meet.

Like the swimmers, Nichols said the divers have also been working a lot on the basics and fundamentals.

“We’re still getting off our harder dives, but we’ve been putting more focus on our basic dives. So, in the long run, we’re going to have good technique,” she said.

This is the Cyclones’ first dual meet of the season.

“Minnesota will be a tough team to beat, and I think it will be a bit of a challenge for both the swimmers and divers,” Nichols said.

The Cyclones will take on the Golden Gophers at 7 p.m. Friday in the Beyer Hall pool.