As the weather turns colder and many swimmers put away their swimsuits for the winter, the ISU women’s swimming and diving team season is just getting started.

Friday’s 6 p.m. intrasquad scrimmage at the Beyer Hall pool marks the start of a promising season for the Cyclones, said senior Sam Dyshaw.

“We’re looking pretty good,” Dyshaw said.

“We’re working hard and we want to do even better in the Big 12 this year.”

Dyshaw took 24th in the 50-yard freestyle at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships last March and is one reason expectations for the team are sky-high, said ISU head swimming coach Duane Sorensen.

“This is one of our most talented teams,” Sorensen said.

“I’m very excited about our potential.”

Other top returning swimmers include senior Susanne Notbohm, who has qualified for the NCAA Championships, and senior Petra Plaminkova who has been the team’s Most Valuable Swimmer each of her first three years.

Sorensen is also excited about incoming freshmen.

“All of our freshmen were high school All-Americans and state champions,” Sorensen said. “Lauren Breunig was a seven-time state champion in Wisconsin.”

Sorensen said his team has worked hard during the last month.

“We focused on mostly dry-land training,” he said. “We’ve run the steps at Jack Trice twice a week and spent time in the weight room.

“In the pool, we worked on starts and stroke technique. During October we’ll have more of a water emphasis.”

Friday’s scrimmage is the team’s first opportunity to show the results of their work.

“We split the team into two squads and let them race,” Sorensen said. “It allows us to get into racing mode.”

The meet might be most helpful for the Cyclone freshmen.

“Everyone swims two individual events and two relays,” senior captain Lara Skoog said.

“It’s a good chance for the newcomers to see what Big 12 racing is like and to prepare for the season.”

After Friday, the team has two more weeks of practice before the Big 12 Relays are held in Ames on Oct. 17.

The following day, the swimmers start official conference competition against Texas A&M and Missouri.

They’re looking forward to it.

“We’ve got a family atmosphere around the team,” said Skoog. “Everyone’s really excited about the season.”