A 206-94 loss to rival Iowa wasn’t an ideal outcome for the ISU swimming and diving team. However, the team performed admirably and had many successes within the event.

Head coach Duane Sorenson was pleased with the effort his team displayed in Iowa City.

“We had over 33 personal best times and another 12 performances that were just hundredths off their best time,” Sorenson said. “That is about a 50 percent best time percentage throughout the meet.”

Sorenson enjoyed the attitude of his team, especially after the event had been solidified in favor of Iowa. In the final event, after Iowa had already clinched a win, the top ISU 400 freestyle relay team finished only 1.2 seconds off the school record.

“I thought our women did really well,” Sorenson said. “They got off the bus and raced and they kept racing all the way through the last relay.”

Freshmen Kasey Roberts and Mary Kate Luddy stepped off the bus for their first Cy-Hawk series matchup and put up top five school-record times. Roberts posted two fourth-best times and one fifth-best time in school history, and Luddy had a fifth-best performance in ISU history as well.

Roberts began the event with a third place finish, resulting in the fourth best time in school history.

“It was really exciting and it was a great way to open up the meet,” Roberts said.

With a great performance in the rivalry meet as a freshman, Roberts suggested a little bit of pressure may be relieved.

“I think there is still a lot of pressure to do well at the end of the season, but to do well so early in a season and to keep improving on my times makes me feel better about how I’ll be tapering towards Big 12s,” Roberts said.

In preparing for the Big 12 tournament, performing in an atmosphere like the Cy-Hawk series on the road in Iowa City is great practice.

“It was really exciting because we have such a good team environment,” Luddy said. “They [teammates and coaches] told us before we got there that it’s crazy and you’re going to want to swim so fast. I didn’t know what they were talking about until we got there.” 

Although the ISU swimming and diving team swam well in the intense environment, they were still unable to knock off Iowa. The freshmen swimmers, along with the entire team, took plenty away from the event, however.

“Personally, it made me realize even when I step up that there are going to be things out of my control,” Luddy said. “Even if we swim as fast as we can, there are still going to be people [who] are faster. We can’t do anything about that so we just have to focus on us and keep working harder.”

With time off before returning to competition in January, Sorenson said the Cyclones need to start focusing on the little things that will help get them over the hump to victory.

“Everybody has just a little something that they need to get better because in the sport of swimming there is always room for improvement,” Sorenson said.