Men’s And Women’s Meets Come Down To Final Relay In Northwestern-Iowa Dual

EVANSTON, Illinois, January 25. BOTH the men’s and women’s dual meets between Iowa and Northwestern came down to the final relay this afternoon, and the Iowa women and Northwestern men had enough firepower to come out on top in the team scores. Iowa won the meet on the women’s side, 155-145, while Northwestern came out ahead in the men’s meet, 151-149.

Northwestern Women’s Press Release

Saturday’s meet between Northwestern (6-6, 1-5) came down to the final race of the day, with Iowa winning the 400 yard freestyle relay to defeat NU 155-145.

Northwestern freshman Lacey Locke won three individual races, including posting an NCAA ‘B” Cut time in the 100 yard backstroke. NU took first place in seven races in the back-and-fourth meet which featured multiple lead changes.

NU freshman Lacey Smith outraced Iowa senior Emily Hovren to win nine points and finish in first place in the 200 yard freestyle. Smith held just a 0.01 lead after the first 50 yards, but broke away in the end and posted a 1:51.46 time to win by 0.53, making the score 33-22 with Iowa in the lead.

Freshman Lacey Locke posted an NCAA ‘B’ Cut time in the 100 yard backstroke, swimming in 55.02, doing so for the second time in the event in her career. Locke also recorded a ‘B’ Cut with a when she swam to 100 back in 54.58 at the TYR Invite in Evanston in November.

Locke earned NU nine points with the win to close Iowa’s lead to 38-36.

Julianne Kurke would win the 100 yard breaststroke with a time of 1:04.16, cutting Iowa’s lead to the slimmest of margins, 47-46. Kurke held a strong 30.39 to 30.83 lead after the first 50 yards and was able to hold off Iowa’s Emma Sougstad after the races final 50 yards was separated by just 0.02, winning by 0.46.

Senior Becca Soderholm, swimming in her final home meet at Northwestern during senior day, propelled NU into the lead by winning the 200 yard butterfly (2:04.39). Ellen Stello finished right behind her (2:04.42). Those combined 13 points put the ‘Cats in the lead 61-51.

Locke won again in the 200 yard backstroke with a time of 2:00.13, taking first place by nearly two full seconds. The freshman’s win helped NU hold on to a 95-93 lead.

After trailing by 0.83 after the first 50 yards, Julianne Kurke came back to win the 200 yard breaststroke, finishing strong to post the top times in the final three legs and NU led 106-101.

Locke added another win in the 200 yard IM with a time of 2:04.41. The points cut Iowa’s lead to 144-139 heading into the final relay of the day.

The Hawkeyes began the meet strong taking the first two times, and earning 15 points, in the 200 yard medley relay.

NU’s Katie Branch closed the gap in the second leg, with the ‘Cats just 0.32 seconds out of first place. However, Iowa took the first two finishes, separated by just 0.46 to take a 15-2 lead.

Freshman Lauren Abruzzo swam a strong 1,000 yard freestyle with a 10:00.89 time, but she could not catch up to Iowa’s Becky Stoughton, who won the race and nine points with a 9:58.20 time. In the 1,000 free, Megan Purdy posted a season best time of 10:18.80 to give NU a pair of points.

After winning the 100 yard freestyle and 100 yard butterfly, Iowa retook a 126-119 lead.

Northwestern Men’s Press Release

The only difference between first place and third place in the 400 yard freestyle relay, the final event of the day, was 0.39 seconds.

Climbing back in a tight race throughout, Northwestern (6-3-1, 2-3) took the first two times in the 400 yard free relay to comeback and defeat the Iowa Hawkeyes 151-149.

NU trailed 147-136 entering the race, but the ‘Cats team of Matt Wilcox, Uula Auren, Jack Morris and Chase Stephens took first with a time of 3:01.57.

In second place, the ‘Cats Mark Ferguson, Dominik Cubelic, Charlie Cole and Andrew Jovanovic edged out Iowa by just 0.04 with a time of 3:01.96, earning NU the victory on Senior Day Saturday at the Norris Aquatics Center.

Wildcats sophomore Jordan Wilimovsky took first place in the 1,000 yard free, giving NU nine points which closed the gap in Iowa’s lead to 19-17. Wilimovsky’s time of 9:20.78 won the race by more than 15 seconds.

Early in the meet, freshman Andrew Cramer won the 1-meter dive with 315.14 points, scoring nearly 20 more points than second place.

NU jumped into the lead 30-25 after Charlie Cole and Chase Stephens took the first two times in the 200 yard freestyle, giving NU 13 points combined.

Senior NCAA qualifier Chase Stephens, swimming in his final home meet at the Norris Aquatics Center, won the 50 yard freestyle with a time of 20.56, beating out Iowa by 0.27 seconds. Stephens followed it up with a 45.48 time in the 100 yard free. Stephens was tied with Iowa’s David Ernstsson after the first 50 yards, but broke away to win the race for the ‘Cats down the stretch.

Wilimovsky took first place in the 500 yard freestyle as well, maintain an impressive lead throughout to win the race by more than two full seconds, finishing with a time of 4:30.73.

In the 100 yard butterfly, Mark Ferguson won the race for the Wildcats with a time of 49.07, but Iowa maintained a 128-117 lead.

Jonathan Lieberman posted his best time of the season in the race (9:30.24), finishing in third place to give the ‘Cats three points.

The ‘Cats 200 yard medley team got four points in the first race, finishing in second place. NU made a strong run in the second and third legs, but the Hawkeyes came back with a strong finish to post a 1:29.47 time over NU (1:30.13).

After finishing in second and third place in the 100 yard backstroke, NU’s seven points tied meet at 37-37.

Roman Trussov put Iowa back in the lead 51-42 after a NCAA ‘B” cut time of 55.14 in the 100 yard breaststroke. Uula Auren swam in 56.03 to get the ‘Cats four points.

Iowa would win both the 200 back and 200 breast to take a 115-92 lead over the ‘Cats.

NU travels to UW-Milwaukee to face the Panthers Friday, Jan. 31 at 5:00 p.m. CT.

Iowa Women’s Press Release

The University of Iowa women’s swimming and diving team knocked off Northwestern in a Big Ten dual Saturday afternoon, 155-145, in the Norris Aquatics Center. The Hawkeyes, who have won six out of their last seven dual meets dating back to Nov. 15, won nine events on the afternoon.

Iowa started out strong by winning the first event of the meet, the 200-medley relay. The senior quartet of Lindsay Seemann, Karolina Wartalowicz, Abby Tuchscherer, and Elise Borja touched out in 1:45.50 to take the top spot, while sophomore Maddie Bro, freshman Emma Sougstad, senior Haley Gordon, and sophomore Maggie Hofstadter finished second in 1:45.96.

Junior Becky Stoughton led the way in the distance events, claiming both the 500 and 1,000-free. Stoughton touched out in 9:58.20 to win the 1,000-free, while finishing in 4:53.52, a new season-best, to win the 500-free.

Sophomore Olivia Kabacinski posted a pair of sprint freestyle events for the Hawkeyes, winning both the 50 and 100-free in 23.92 and 51.70, respectively.

Gordon and Tuchscherer finished 1-2 in the 100-fly to give the Hawkeyes a small lead in a dual that was back-and-fourth for much of the afternoon. Gordon touched in 56.28 to win the event, with Tuchscherer finishing in 56.80 to take second.

In the 100-breast, the Iowa took the 2-3-4 spots, as the trio of Sougstad (1:04.62), Wartalowicz (1:05.24), and sophomore Colleen Champa (1:06.27) all scored points for the Hawkeyes.

In the diving well, redshirt junior Abby Grilli, the reigning Big Ten Diver of the Week, claimed two titles as she won both the 1-meter and 3-meter springboard competitions. Grilli claimed the 1-meter with a score of 282.82, while winning the 3-meter with a final score of 325.80.

Iowa wrapped up the competition with the 400-freestyle relay. In what ended to be the deciding race in the meet, the team of Kabacinski, Tuchscherer, Stoughton, and Seemann touched out in 3:27.03 to take first place, and secure the Hawkeye victory.

The Hawkeyes travel to South Bend, Ind., for the Shamrock Invitational, hosted by Notre Dame. The invitational will take place from Jan. 31-Feb. 1 inside the Rolfs Aquatic Center.

Iowa Men’s Press Release

The No. 21 University of Iowa men’s swimming and diving team dropped a closely contested Big Ten dual at Northwestern, 151-149, on Saturday afternoon in the Norris Aquatics Center. The Hawkeyes, who won seven individual events on the afternoon, were in a position to win until the final event of the dual.

Iowa started the dual strong by taking the first event of the afternoon, the 200-medley relay. The quartet of junior Grant Betulius, sophomore Roman Trussov, senior Dustin Rhoads, and sophomore Charles Holliday finished in 1:29.47 to get the Hawkeyes started.

Rhoads would go on to pace Iowa on the afternoon, posting two more individual victories. In the 100-back, the Ames, Iowa, native touched out in 48.25 seconds, an NCAA `B’ cut, to take the top time, while also claiming the 200-back in 1:47.32.

The Hawkeyes dominated the breaststroke events, finishing first in both the 100 and 200-breast. Trussov achieved an NCAA `B’ cut when he touched out in 55.14 to win the 100-breast, while finishing second in the 200-breast (2:02.11).

Freshman Nick Zito won the 200-breast title, finishing in 2:00.76. Zito would continue his winning ways when he captured the 200-IM in 1:51.95. Zito was also part of a 1-2-3 finish in the event, as senior Tyler Lentz (1:52.45) and senior Kyle Noser (1:52.98) all scored points for the Hawkeyes.

Freshman Chris Freeman posted the final Hawkeye victory when he touched out in 1:52.41 to claim the 200-fly, while Lentz finished just behind him in 1:52.53.

In the 100-free, the Hawkeyes finished 2-3-4 as David Ernstsson (46.11), Gianni Sesto (46.23), and Holliday (46.32) all finished within .21 of each other.

Sophomore Addison Boschult led the Hawkeyes in the diving well, taking second in the 1-meter springboard (296.32) and third in the 3-meter competition (310.20).

The meet, which was close throughout the duration of the meet, came down to the final event, the 400- freestyle relay. The Wildcats claimed the top two spots in the event, with .39 seconds separating first and third, to secure the two-point victory.

The Hawkeyes travel to South Bend, Ind., for the Shamrock Invitational, hosted by Notre Dame. The invitational will take place from Jan. 31-Feb. 1 inside the Rolfs Aquatic Center.

Results For: Iowa vs. Northwestern

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