Cyclones Down More School Records at Big 12 Meet

02.25.2010 | Swimming and Diving

By: cyclones.com

COLLEGE STATION, Texas ? The Iowa State swimming and diving team started and finished the day two finals strong, knocking out a pair of school records. The Cyclones sit fifth in the team standings with 113 points. Hosts Texas A&M lead the pack with 357 points.

Iowa State kicked off the night with a school record in the 200 free relay with the team of Nan Liu, Abby Glaser, Frances Calzada and Lindsey Behrens finishing the race in 1:32.45, under the NCAA ?B' time standard for the event. Liu led off the relay with a 50 free time of 23.00, the second-fastest time in school history.

“It was a really nice race by all four of our women,” Iowa State head coach Duane Sorenson said. “Nan led it off in her personal best time and Abby, Frances and Lindsey all had solid legs in breaking the school record and earning a ?B' cut.”

It was not the Cyclones' day in the 500 free, with Jenny Vondenkamp recording the only points with her 16th-place finish. Chelsea Tomek recorded a 4:57.91 finish in the bonus final to move up to seventh in ISU history in the event.

“Chelsea put a really nice race together,” Sorenson said. “We were talking race strategy and she really stuck to the plan.”

Dani Harris struggled in the morning session 200 IM, fading from contention in the freestyle leg. The freshman made it back in the evening in the final qualifying spot for points. She finished 15th and improved her time to 2:03.08.

“Dani swam much smarter and paced it a lot better,” Sorenson said. “She got way too nervous this morning and just got a little freaked out and she came back and held it together well.”

The 50 freestyle saw Glaser and Behrens make it into point-scoring positions. Glaser tied Texas A&M's Ella Doerge for first in the consolation heat in 23.21, officially placing her in a tie for ninth in the event. Behrens finished 12th overall with a 23.46, moving up to seventh in school history in the event.

“Abby was very determined and focused to go out there and do a good job,” Sorenson said. “Lindsey got left on the blocks this morning and had a much better start tonight and improved on her career-best time.”

After the meet concluded, the 200 medley relay team of Liu, Jeli Nixt, Glaser and Behrens wanted another shot at the race. The quartet lowered its school record time from yesterday by two-tenths, swimming a 1:40.19.

In the diving well, Tien Tran made the finals for Iowa State, finishing fourth in the prelims with a score of 270.00. In the finals, Tran improved, but the rest of the field did as well. Tran finished seventh with a 272.00, but Iowa State diving coach Jeff Warrick believes that she has nothing to be disappointed about.

“I thought she did a good job,” Warrick said. “First in prelims, she was steady and placed herself well. Tonight, she upped her score. She did really well, could have been a little sharper but left it in the pool tonight.”

Abby Christensen also contributed three points to the fold with her 14th place finish on 1-meter (236.10).

“That was exciting to see Abby get up there,” Warrick said. “We knew it was going to be tight on scoring and it was going to be close but she did the job and picked up some vital points for the team.”

The Cyclones resume action tomorrow with preliminary swimming events beginning at 10 a.m., 3-meter diving beginning at 11:30 a.m. and finals starting at 6 p.m. The prelims session will be streamed live on big12sports.com and live stats will be available for both sessions as well.

Team Standings (After Seven Events)
1. Texas A&M, 357 points
2. Texas, 285 points
3. Missouri, 167 points
4. Kansas, 149 points
5. Iowa State, 113 points
6. Nebraska, 100 points

Individual Results (ISU Team Point Scorers Listed)

200 Free Relay
1. Texas A&M, 1:29.31
5. Iowa State (Nan Liu, Abby Glaser, Frances Calzada, Lindsey Behrens), 1:32.45 (NCAA ?B' Cut)

1-Meter Diving
1. Jaele Patrick (Texas A&M), 317.25
7. Tien Tran, 272.00
14. Abby Christensen, 236.10

500 Freestyle
1. Kristen Heiss (Texas A&M), 4:40.90
16. Jenny Vondenkamp, 4:56.76

200 IM
1. Julia Wilkinson (Texas A&M), 1:55.81
15. Dani Harris, 2:03.08

50 Freestyle
1. Karlee Bispo (Texas), 22.36
T9. Abby Glaser, 23.21
12. Lindsey Behrens, 23.46