Iowa State swim and dive returns at 6 p.m. Friday at Beyer Hall for a meet against the South Dakota Coyotes. The Cyclones are 1-0, coming off of a dominant opening performance against South Dakota State, while the Coyotes are 1-2, coming off of a win against Minnesota State.
The Cyclones hold a 14-0 all-time record over the Coyotes in the history of the series and will look to continue their dominance when they meet Friday. Last year was the closest match in the series, with the Cyclones defeating South Dakota 151.5-148.5.
The Coyotes were picked to finish second in the Summit League this season in the preseason poll, so despite the historical dominance, this meet may be a closer match than one would think.
The opener was a strong showing with a lot of standout performers for Iowa State. The Cyclones won 12 of the 14 swimming events and picked up wins in both diving events. It would be hard to argue that it could have gone much better for the Cyclones.
Iowa State was led to the win by senior Carley Caughron and junior Corinne Guist, but arguably the story of the meet was the underclassmen stepping up.
Freshman Grace Swoboda and sophomore Abbi Crum picked up big wins in the 100m and 200m breaststroke events, respectively. They are all swimmers to watch for Iowa State in the meet Friday.
They are joined by juniors Kate Mitchell and Ally Blumenfeld, who have both put on excellent showings in the diving events, both in the meet against South Dakota State and in the intersquad scrimmage to start the season.
South Dakota has had a few tough matchups to open the season. The Coyotes suffered brutal defeats against Nebraska (74-226) and Minnesota (49-251).
These blowout losses don’t necessarily come as a surprise against powerhouse Big 10 programs. But in their meet last weekend against Minnesota State, which they won 204-93, the Coyotes showed they can not only compete, but blow a smaller team out of the water.
Head coach Matt Leach, in his first season at Iowa State, stressed after the opener that the team was working hard at practice and putting the reps in to improve this season. The matchup against South Dakota will be a great chance to prove that.
The meet will take place at 6 p.m. in Beyer Hall and will be streamed on Jeff Warrick’s YouTube channel.
