A week before the entire ISU swimming and diving team heads to Iowa City to defend the Cy-Hawk series, the ISU divers will compete in the Iowa Invitational, which is a divers-only event taking place Dec. 5-7.

The divers are traveling to their event following the swimmers’ second place finish at the Kansas Invitational on Nov. 21-23, which was a swimmers-only event. In their most recent performance, the ISU divers had a strong showing against TCU, which led to a victory for the Cyclones in Ft. Worth, Texas.

ISU coach Duane Sorenson acknowledged the importance of the divers stepping up in that event a few weeks ago. ISU diving coach Jeff Warrick felt great about the strong showing from his divers at the TCU meeting.

“Obviously, it feels good to know that the divers did well, but really, it was a total team victory,” Warrick said. “We have been on the other side too, where maybe diving didn’t step up and do its job. It goes both ways and obviously the swimmers are doing very well. It does feel good though. We have a good, strong group.”

Warrick sees that his team is prepared to carry over that success to its divers-only event this weekend.

“We feel ready to go,” Warrick said. “I think [the divers] are just really looking to create a good environment so that they can compete well. Relaxing and having a lot of fun is what we are emphasizing right now.”

Warrick hopes for the best out of his divers collectively and individually heading into the rival meet in Iowa City.

“It is going to vary individually a little bit,” Warrick said. “For Sydney [Ronald], this will be her first three-day college invitational. She’s never experienced the three events, three days in a row, so this will be new for her. Elyse [Brouillette], I know, is really shooting to make finals…Julie [Dickinson] is doing well also and if we can keep Becky [Stochl] healthy, she is going to be strong too.”

Julie Dickinson, sophomore in marketing, is also having a successful season and likes where the team is at and the direction it is headed.

“I feel really good about the team this year,” Dickinson said. “We are all a unit and really good friends and it has been a lot of fun.”

Her teammate, Brouillette, is also having a successful season for Iowa State as the leading diver for the team. She is looking forward to getting back into the groove and seeing how she and the team perform this weekend.  

“It will definitely be a different kind of meet, it always is,” Brouillette said. “I think coming out after the break we are feeling pretty good, rested, refreshed and getting back into it. I think it is going to be a strong showing.”

Brouillette has had some success at the Iowa Invitational in the past but is striving for a little more out of herself this weekend.

“In the past, I have only been in the finals in two of the events and I want to make all three this year,” Brouillette said. “I think I have a pretty good chance of doing it. I definitely have some tougher dives but it will be good and I think we have a pretty good chance of getting quite a few [divers] into finals, if not all.”