Iowa State’s swimming and diving first home meet is on Friday against Omaha. The meet will start at 6 p.m. in Beyer Hall.

The Iowa State swimming and diving team learned a lot after a loss to Nebraska last week. The biggest thing is intensity. Head coach Duane Sorenson wants his swimmers to know how to keep intensity up in the pool.

“For example, some of our swimmers in the race would have two very good turns,” Sorenson said, “But their last turn was kind of weak so the rest of swimmers would get a little bit ahead.”

In spite of the loss in Nebraska, some new swimmers have emerged as top performers. Anna Andersen got her first victory as a Cyclone with her time of 51.85 in the 100-meter freestyle.

“Anna [Andersen] did outstanding,” Sorenson said.

Still, Andersen had the space to develop in 50- and 100-meter freestyle for next meet.

“It was a pretty good time for the new season,” Andersen said. “Hopefully to keep moving forward and improving with more technique practicing.”

For the diving team, the sophomore Dana Liva got the highest score among Iowa State diving members. There is no doubt that Liva can be one of leaders on the diving team.

“I started diving in my first year in high school,” Liva said. “My dad was the diving coach.”

Under the influence of her father, Liva started the diving life. In the meet with Nebraska, she was unsatisfied with her performance in three-meter dive and wants to get a higher score in the meet with Omaha.

Also, from the last meet, the senior swimmers and experienced Big 12 members are still the predominant group on this team. For younger swimmers, they need to improve on mistakes and overcome the nervous emotion in their races.

Some of the newcomers practice very hard, but still cannot pick up the tempo in the important races. Now, coach Sorenson is adding the mindset adjustment in the daily practice, teaching them how to relax, but also to have a high competitive state.

This week, the Cyclones will head to against Omaha, a team against which Iowa State holds a perfect 15-0-0 record. 

“We have a lot more resources than what Omaha does,” Sorenson said, “But they are coming, they are competing best as possible as they can.”