One of Iowa’s two men’s NCAA qualifiers, Anze Fers Erzen, has announced he will be transferring to Texas A&M next season after the Hawkeyes cut their program earlier this summer. He wrote on social media:
“When University of Iowa announced that Swim & Dive program, will be discontinued at the end of the 20/21 season, it felt like a big part of my life was taken away in an instant. This has led to some of the worst and most stressful weeks of my life. To have your team thrown out like that, is something no one should have to experience. To everyone who is fighting to bring back the program: Thank you! Keep fighting the good fight!
“But as an athlete myself, I cannot continue to fight for the University that doesn’t want to fight for my team and me. I am excited and proud to announce that I will be transferring to Texas A&M University next fall. I can’t wait to be an Aggie and represent an amazing university, which I know will be just as committed to me as I am to it. Thank you to all the coaches at Iowa and Texas A&M for making this possible.”
Fers Erzen qualified for NCAAs in the 200 backstroke, where he was seeded 24th with a 1:41.24. He will be joining a red-hot Texas A&M team that won its first men’s relay at SECs in 2020 and was seeded to get sixth before the meet got cancelled to slow down the COVID-19 pandemic. Fers Erzen was also set to swim the 200 IM (1:46.14) and 400 IM (3:45.76) as his second and third events.
Anze Fers Erzen finished 10th in the 200 back at Big Tens this season and also scored in the B-Final in the 400 IM, also finishing 10th. In the 200 IM, he reached the C-Final at Big Tens by placing 19th.
At the SEC level, Fers Erzen would have been in similar scoring position in all of his events. His best 200 back would have put him in the A-Final, that was won by fellow Aggie Shaine Casas, and he would have been in the B-Final in the 400 IM, and in the C-Final in the 200 IM.
Anze Fers Erzen will be joining Texas A&M in the fall of 2021, along with their incoming freshman class of:
