The weekend was a clean sweep for the Iowa State men’s swimming and diving team. The Cyclones defeated Northern Iowa 135-91 Friday night and ISU triumphed over St. Olaf 133-104 on Saturday.

The Cyclones, now 3-1 in dual meets and ranked 24th in the nation, dominated the high places of many events. ISU earned first place in 10 of 13 events in both meets.

The Cyclones took at least two of the top three spots in nine of 13 events at UNI. The team even swept the top three places in five events. Iowa State also captured at least two of the top three spots in seven events at St. Olaf.

Both meets were very beneficial to the Cyclones who swam their first meets since before Thanksgiving break.

It was a chance for ISU swimmers to shake off any rust they may have acquired.

“We used these two meets to get back into race modes after Thanksgiving,” said head coach Trip Hedrick.

The team had somewhat of a different approach for the weekend’s meets.

“We had some swimmers swimming different events than they usually do,” said Hedrick. “For the swimmers who swam their normal events, we had them swim with different strategies. We split up our relays and those were solid.”

The team also had more of a youthful look to it. Many of the younger Cyclone swimmers got a chance to be more actively involved.

“We took all the freshmen to both meets and divided the upperclassmen up,” Hedrick said.

Against UNI, the Cyclones placed first, second, and third in the 400 yard medley relay. ISU’s “B” relay team place first with a time of 3:34.70. The “A” relay team finished second followed by the “C” relay in third.

Freshman Nathan Emmett highlighted the 1000-yard freestyle. He garnered first place honors with a time of 9:54.33.

In the 200-yard freestyle, ISU again showed its domination by taking the top three spots. Senior Brian Rogers captured first place with a time of 1:44.91. Jeremy Wilson, a junior, got second place. Freshman Rob McGinty finished third.

A time of 21.21 seconds paced junior Peder Skoog to a first place finish in the 50-yard freestyle. Freshman Karl Sunrydh tallied second place.

Junior Josh Nogar took home first place honors in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 1:59.55. Senior Bryan O’Neill placed third.

In 1-meter diving the Cyclones again swept the top three spots. Senior Steve Mohabir gained first place with a score of 264.05. Freshman David Likar finished second while junior Jim Zagaria placed third.

Senior Lovrenco Franicevic earned the top spot in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 1:52.85. Skoog took second place.

Wilson won the 100-yard freestyle with a mark of 48.59 seconds. Ansel Lindner finished in second.

ISU swept another race, the 200-yard backstroke. Mike Jimenez, a freshman, raced to a first place time of 1:56.34.

Senior Evan deSzoeke swam to a second place finish. Rob McGinty finished third.

The 500-yard freestyle had a second place finish by junior Henrik Ingesson. His time was 4:49.08.

The 3-meter diving was another top three sweep by ISU. Zagaria secured first place honors with a score of 273.60. Mohabir placed second and Likar placed third.

The weekend domination continued for the Cyclones in the meet at St. Olaf. ISU’s relay team of junior Jeff Gahan, Sunrydh, Christianson, and Lindner raced to a first place time of 1:36.49 in the 200-yard medley relay.

Finishing second was the team of senior Bjorn Brooks, sophomore Dylan de Bruin, Jimenez, and McGinty.

In the 1000-yard freestyle Emmett again took first place honors. His winning time was 9:56.88.

A time of 1:43.86 was good enough for a victory for de Bruin in the 200-yard freestyle. Senior Mitch McGinty placed second.

Christianson posted a time of 21.99 seconds to capture first place in the 50-yard freestyle. Finishing second for the Cyclones was senior Rob Breshears.

In the 200-yard individual medley Rob McGinty won first place with a mark of 2:00.05. Coming in second was Danny Binkowski, a freshman.

Mitch McGinty was victorious for ISU in the 100-yard butterfly. McGinty posted a time of 52.34 seconds.

In the 100-yard free Jeff Gahan finished ahead of the pack with a first place time of 47.77 seconds.

First place in the 100-yard backstroke went to Jimenez for the Cyclones. His winning mark was 50.79 seconds.

In the 500-yard freestyle, it was Emmett again winning the race. The time for his race was 4:56.68.

The Cyclones also got another first place performance from Christianson in the 100-yard breaststroke. His time was 1:00.80.

In the diving competitions, ISU got a second and third place finish from Likar. Mohabir contributed a second place performance. Zagaria had a third place finish.

Hedrick seemed pleased with the weekend’s outcomes.

“Nathan Emmett swam well,” Hedrick said. “He was our long distance work horse all weekend. Peder Skoog continued to be solid in all of his events. Jeremy Wilson swam well. Our divers were very solid.”

Hedrick also cited the work of de Bruin, Gahan, and Christianson as being very positive.

Next up for the Iowa State Cyclones is a battle for the mythical state championship.

On Friday night at 7 p.m. at the Beyer Hall Pool, ISU hosts intra-state rival Iowa.

The rivalry has been heated lately. The home pool seems to have been the key in the dual meets between the two teams. The Cyclones won at home in 1997 by a score of 132.5-110.5. Last year, the Hawkeyes won a squeaker at the Field House Pool in Iowa City 123-120.

Earlier this season, ISU edged the Hawkeyes for fourth place at the Minnesota Invitational by one point.

“It’s a great rivalry,” said Hedrick. “All of our meets have been highly spirited and competitive.”

Hedrick also encourages the public to come out, support the Cyclones and make for a definite home pool advantage.