The Cyclone swim and dive team is just coming off a fifth-place finish in the Big 12 Duals, scoring 781 points in Houston, Texas, and is returning to Beyer Pool in Ames to face off against the Iowa Hawkeyes. The meet will begin at 1 p.m. Saturday.
This will be the 42nd meeting between the Cyclones and the Hawkeyes all-time, with Iowa leading the series 29-12. Last year, the Hawkeyes dominated the Cyclones 215-84 in Iowa City.
Iowa enters the dual meet with a 3-3 record and Iowa State still stands at 4-3.
Keys for Iowa State
Iowa is impressive in the 200-meter medley, recording a 1:39.37 earlier this season at the Hawkeye Invitational. The Cyclones will need a strong performance to beat them, as their best 200-meter medley time is 1:46.09.
Iowa State will look to take on an Iowa medley team that has had some even stronger relay races, boasting a 400-meter medley time of 3:40.68, while the Cyclones’ best time in the 400-meter medley this season is 3:45.72.
Iowa State will also look to capture wins in the freestyles, butterfly and breaststroke events. Cyclone freshman who swims the butterfly and individual medley, Kendall Mallers, has moved into the top 10 fastest times in the 200-meter butterfly in school history.
Freshman breaststroke and freestyle swimmer Grace Swoboda entered the third fastest breaststroke time in the 200-meter event and second all-time in the 100-meter event for the breaststroke in Cyclone swim and dive history.
Sophomore Anja Peck has also shown dominance in the 200-meter breaststroke this season, sitting at the No. 2 spot in fastest 200-meter breaststroke times in Iowa State history.
Divers impact For Iowa State
Iowa State will also have to control the boards, as last year, Iowa was dominant in both the 1-meter dive and the 3-meter dive.
The Hawkeyes won the 1-meter dive 16-3 and won the 3-meter dive 15-4 in last year’s matchup against our Cyclones.
Key pieces for the Cyclones will have to show improvement from last year, such as senior diver Kate Mitchell and sophomore diver Maggie Bendell, to secure both the 1-meter and 3-meter diving events.
Mitchell was able to earn a strong performance at the Big 12 Duals, placing fifth with 254.45 points. Bendell is looking to return to the podium, as earlier this season she placed first in the 3-meter dive against Illinois.
