Minnesota Looks to Stay Undefeated Against Iowa

IOWA CITY, Iowa, November 1. BOTH the University of Minnesota men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams remained undefeated in the Big 10 as the two teams swept Friday night’s dual meet at Iowa.

Minnesota Press Release

Victory was the theme of the day for the University of Minnesota women’s swimming and diving team as it nearly swept the University of Iowa Hawkeyes in a conference dual meet held in Iowa City, Iowa. The final score of 194-101 seized the Gophers their fourth win of the season and secured their undefeated record. They now stand at 4-0 in the year and 3-0 in the Big Ten.

The wins for the day began right in the first event as the 200 medley relay team made up of Tess Behrens, Kierra Smith, Rebecca Weiland, and Erin Caflisch set the pace for the meet with a 1:42.74 victory. The initial win for Minnesota was followed by a series of wins as the Gophers claimed 15 out of the 16 events in the competition.

Breanne Siwicki raced a personal best performance as she received a time of 10:08.69 to declare her the first-place finisher in the 1000 freestyle. Her previous career top-time was 10:08.89 that she swam in the Arizona State dual. Siwicki also earned herself two more first-place finishes in both the 500 freestyle (4:59.85) and in the 400 individual medley (4:22.67).

The trend continued when Kiera Janzen (1:48.51) took home the 200 freestyle. Jessica Plant was close behind Janzen however as she finished second in the event with a time of 1:49.53. Tess Behrens finished the 100 backstroke with a time of 55.98 that solidified her the win. The win for Behrens reinforced her already marked territory in the pool as she is the current pool record holder for the event; she earned the record back in Feb. 17, 2012 with a time of 52.35.

The 100 breaststroke proved to be a close competition between the top-two finishers. Despite the Hawkeyes clinching the first-place spot, Minnesota’s Kierra Smith placed second with a time of 1:03.94, just a half second behind Iowa.

Minnesota shook off the Iowa win by following in the 200 butterfly and claiming all three top positions. Junior Tori Simenec (2:01.71) won the event and was followed by teammates Devin Ste Marie (2:02.96) and Christi Clarke (2:05.61).

Lauren Votava received a NCAA provisional “B” qualifying time in the 100 freestyle when she raced a 49.96.

Swimming victories were completed for the meet when in the last women’s event the relay team of Votava, Caflisch, Weiland, and Janzen combined for a time of 3:22.53 to win the 400 freestyle relay and secure the Minnesota win.

Senior Maggie Keefer swept the competition in the diving well. Winning both dive events in the meet, Keefer now has gone two weekends in a row where she won both the three-meter and one-meter dives in the same dual. Against the Hawkeyes Keefer finished with a score of 318.52 in the one-meter and a score of 333.91 in the three-meter. Her one-meter dive score gives her a new 2012-13 season top score.

Minnesota continues their stretch on the road next Saturday Nov. 9 against the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks N.D. scheduled to begin at noon.

Taking a weekend off from competition proved to not be an issue for the University of Minnesota men’s swimming and diving team as it defeated the University of Iowa Hawkeyes 174-126. The win for the Gophers increased their record to 3-1 in the season and 2-0 in the Big Ten Conference.

The Hawkeyes started out the meet by winning the 200 medley relay. However the Gophers answered back when CJ Smith had an impressive performance when he not only won the 1000 freestyle but also shaved off nearly ten seconds to his 2013-14 season top time. Finishing with a time of 9:08.98, he improved from the 9:18.51 time he received earlier in the year against the University of Florida.

Kyler Van Swol earned himself a NCAA provisional time in the 200 butterfly. Swimming a 1:47.45, the “B” qualifying cutoff is 1:47.99. The time also gives Van Swol a new season top time in the event. Following suite for qualifying times was Derek Toomey when he finished with a time of 19.97 in the 50 freestyle. With the NCAA provisional time being 20.19, Toomey cleared the cutoff with time to spare.

In the 100 freestyle event, freshman Daryl Turner swam a 44.58 which gave him the first-place title. Toomey earned second in the event with a time of 45.19. Turner also received a second-place finish in the 100 backstroke with a time of 48.55.

Luke Bushman had a strong day of competition as he returns home with two first-place honors. Racing with a time of 1:47.39, he won the 200 backstroke and also gave him a new season top-time. He also won the 400 individual medley with a time of 3:56.43 which also gave him another 2012-13 personal season top-time.

Minnesota swept the 500 freestyle race by claiming all three top titles. CJ Smith won the event with a time of 4:29.49. Following Smith was Ben Bravence (4:30.13) and Logan Redondo (4:32.83).

Swimming concluded with a last outstanding performance by Gopher relay team of Turner, Van Swol, Paul Fair, and Toomey who with a combined time of 2:58.62 to win the 400 freestyle relay race that secured the Minnesota victory.

In the diving well the Gophers proved to be on point as they swept in both events. Junior Erik Larsen started out the competition by receiving a winning score of 325.95 in the one-meter dive. The score gives Larsen a season and career top score. It also marks the first event win of the season for the Mequon, Wisc. native. Dylan Zoe rose as the leader for the three-meter event. His score 334.20 capped off both diving events for Minnesota.

Minnesota continues their stretch on the road next Saturday Nov. 9 against the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks N.D. scheduled to begin at noon.

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