The ISU women’s swimming and diving team improved to 3-1 as they defeated St. Olaf Friday night, winning handily by a score of 180-109.

Going into the meet, the Cyclones looked to use it to experiment with some things. The competition provided the Cyclones the opportunity to compete in events individuals aren’t used to.

“It was a good opportunity for everyone to go out and do something different but still compete,” ISU swimmer Sam Dyshaw said.

“As a whole, the team competed very well but there were some individuals who really stood out. Jamie Wieben and Kim Rogers really stepped up tonight,” ISU head swim coach Duane Sorenson said. “Jamie finished second in the 200-yard freestyle and Kim beat her personal best time by 10 seconds in the 200-yard breaststroke, finishing second.”

St. Olaf, a perennial Division III powerhouse, just couldn’t keep up with the Cyclones on Friday.

“They were missing a couple of swimmers but the event gave them the opportunity to compete at a higher level and gave us the chance to compete,” Sorenson said.

The matchup between the schools has become a tradition each looks forward to every year due to the coaching staff’s close friendship.

“I spent more time talking to them during the team’s warm-ups than I do with other coaches,” Sorenson said. “We covered every subject under the sun and more. It’s just a good chance to catch up with them and see what’s going on in their lives.”

The biggest surprise of the young season has been Dyshaw, a junior from Montevideo, Minn. She definitely didn’t disappoint on this night, either. Dyshaw swam in the 200- and 500-yard freestyle Friday.

“The 500 is new to her and I thought that she swam pretty solid. We weren’t expecting too much out of her — she swam it for training purposes,” Sorenson said. “The 200 was good for her — she swam well for the first 150 but then her stroke fell apart.”

Dyshaw won the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:58.08 and credits her success this year to extra training.

“[Coach] helped me out a lot this summer with my stroke. I came from a program where we didn’t swim year-round so I guess it’s catching up to me,” Dyshaw said. “The tough battles in practice this year have also done wonders for me.”

Coming to the halfway point of the season, the team’s goals made at the beginning of the season seem to be within reach. The team is looking to match last year’s record-setting season when they sent three swimmers to the NCAA championships last year.

“We’re ahead of last year’s team and that’s very important,” Sorenson said.

Many believe the team hasn’t reached its peak yet.

“We’re going to train our butts off in Florida so when it comes down to conferences we will be hitting it hard,” Dyshaw said. “When it comes down to it, I see this team doing great things.”

In what looks to be a big in-state battle, the squad takes on UNI next Saturday at Beyer Hall.

“They have a few better swimmers right now,” Sorenson said. “Being that they are an in-state school, both teams will be a little more excited than usual.”

Some of the Cyclone winners included: Tami Ritchie (1,000-yard freestyle), Carmella Nogar (100-yard backstroke), Susanne Notbohm (100-yard breast stroke), Lydia Smirniotis (200-yard butterfly), Melissa Jensen (50-yard freestyle), Hillary Nichols (1-meter diving) Linda Wagner (3-meter diving), Kristen Vanek (100-yard freestyle) and Lara Skoog (500-yard freestyle).