Cyclone Swimmers Fall Short Against Nebraska

AMES, Iowa- The Iowa State swimming and diving team was defeated in its final two events of the Nebraska dual meet, falling to the Huskers 156-144 Saturday on Senior Day at Beyer Pool.

“Hats off to Nebraska, they really came through in the last two events when the pressure was on,” said ISU head coach Duane Sorenson. “We knew in the 200 IM we did not have our strongest swimmers in there so we knew they were going to do well. In the 400 free relay, they stepped up and we just came up short.”

Final Results

Final Results

The Cyclones got the meet started off right, with the 200 medley relay team of Lindsay Wegner, Jeli Nixt, Abby Glaser, and Frances Calzada clinching a victory (1:46.26). Sophomore Jenny Vondenkamp followed that up with a win in the 1650 freestyle in a season-best time of 17:19.62.

Wegner, a senior, continued her strong day with a victory in the 100 backstroke (58.96). Iowa State showed its strength in the breaststroke with a one-two finish in the 100 breaststroke. Senior Marni Benson picked up her tenth victory of the season in the event (1:05.24) and sophomore Jeli Nixt took second (1:05.40). Benson swept the breaststroke events on Saturday, bringing home a time of 2:22.66 in the 200 breaststroke. Nixt finished third (2:25.38) and senior Krista Moyer finished fourth in the event (2:27.48).

“Marni was outstanding winning both breaststroke races,” commented Sorenson. “Wegs (Wegner) did a really good job in the 100 backstroke, a little sad that she could not do better in the 200 back. We are real proud of them.”

Calzada picked up her second win on the day in the 50 freestyle, with a season-best time of 23.91. Glaser also collected a second victory, winning the 100 butterfly (56.76). Junior Lindsey Behrens finished third in the 100 fly (58.49).

“Frances did great, she was looking forward to having that swim and she was really focused,” said Sorenson.

The Cyclones were ahead 137-127 going into the final two events, before Nebraska took the top three spots in the 200 IM and won the 400 free relay.

In diving, junior Tien Tran finished second on 1-meter (266.03) to Nebraska senior Courtney Jolly's 273.22. Cyclone senior Kali Fryklund finished fourth (250.05) and sophomore Abby Christensen fifth (235.72). Iowa State freshman and Ames native Lauren Naeve set a personal best on 1-meter (222.00).

“I thought they came out well,” said diving coach Jeff Warrick. “We talked about coming out strong and being at your peak performance. There are things they can improve on, but they were aggressive.”

Tran took victory in the 3-meter with a score of 311.25 over Jolly's 303.08. Fryklund finished fifth (246.00). Tran now has 13 diving victories on the season.

“She did what she needed to,” said Warrick. “She didn't miss anything too much but the nice thing is she can do even better than that.”

The Cyclones have their final dual meet of the season next week with a two-day meet at Kansas. Competition begins Friday, Feb. 6 at 6 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

Lindsey Behrens

Lindsey Behrens

Marni Benson

Marni Benson

Frances Calzada

Frances Calzada

Abby Christensen

Abby Christensen

Kali Fryklund

Kali Fryklund

Abby Glaser

Abby Glaser

Krista Moyer

Krista Moyer

Lauren Naeve

Jeli Nixt

Jeli Nixt

Tien Tran

Tien Tran

Jenny Vondenkamp

Jenny Vondenkamp

Lindsay Wegner

Lindsay Wegner

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