The Iowa State women’s swimming team is looking to make a big splash in 1999-2000 as the Cyclones aim for the program’s first winning dual meet record since 1996.

“We should be a lot better than we were last year,” ISU head swimming coach Duane Sorenson said. “We’re expecting a lot from our sophomores, and we have three talented freshmen coming in.”

The Cyclones will have increased depth this year as they look to improve on last year’s 4-5 dual meet mark and become more competitive in Big 12 conference competition. The maturation of sophomores Amber McDowell, Rebecca Myer and Jodell Fesenmaier will give ISU a strong core of young swimmers to build on and help replace two-time NCAA qualifier Kim Reid, who was dismissed from the team after violating team rules.

Sorenson said McDowell will be one of the top eight 200 meter butterfly swimmers in the Big 12. He said Myer and Fesenmaier, who both placed at the Big 12 conference meet last year in the 100 meter butterfly and 100 meter freestyle respectively, should both have solid campaigns as well.

The Cyclones also have an impressive freshman trio in Rena Kelinson, Carmella Nogar and Kristen Vanek. Sorenson said these three individuals have been “very impressive” during their short time at ISU, and that they should give the Cyclones tremendous depth in the freestyle competition.

Kelinson said she is ready to step up and provide an immediate boost for ISU.

“I’m going to try and be the top qualifier for my team in the middle distance events,” she said. “I’m going to try and get as many points as possible for them.”

Sorenson said he is also looking forward to solid season from veteran swimmers Michelle Sexton and Marie-Eve Tremblay in the breaststroke events, Erin Endres in the 50 and 100 meter freestyle races, Kelly Lorenz in the backstroke events and Kelly Yates in long distance freestyle competition.

The team will also receive support from versatile seniors A-Lisa Miles and Jennifer Marsters. Miles said she is ready to go out on a strong note in her final year of competition.

“I’m really excited,” Miles said. “It’s my last year so I want to go out, have a good time and score personal best times.”

Iowa State is also looking forward to a strong season from its thin yet talented diving squad. The Cyclones return only three divers from last year’s squad, but second year diving coach Jeff Warrick said he is looking for big things from his returning competitors.

“I hope we can surprise a lot of people this year,” Warrick said. “Our divers are working hard to bring some success to the team.”

ISU’s top returning diver is sophomore Allison Wagoner, who participated in last year’s NCAA zone qualifying meet. Thea Hoeg and Jennifer Maupin are the other two returnees for Warrick, and he said they both have an excellent shot at the NCAA zone meet this year.

Both Sorenson and Warrick said they were impressed with the team’s performance at the annual intra squad scrimmage on Friday, with the gold squad edging out the red unit 110.95.

Sorenson said his team was faster this year than they were at last year’s meet, while Warrick said other than a minor injury to Hoeg he was pleased with what he saw from his divers.

ISU begins the real season today at 8:30 a.m. as they host the Big 12 relays at Beyer Pool. Sorenson said he is anxious to get going and knows his team will have a tough test ahead of them as they’ll face some of the nation’s premiere swimmers.

“As much as we’ve improved, the quality of the Big 12 conference keeps getting better,” Sorenson said. “There are going to be a number of top swimmers here that ranked among the top 25 in the world.”