Cyclones Wrap Up Action At Big 12 Meet

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Iowa State swimming and diving team wrapped up the Big 12 Championships with four more school records Saturday night. The Cyclones finished with a final point total of 338 points. Texas A&M won the conference title with 1,002 points.

Tien Tran dove her way into the record books with a platform diving finals score of 271.75. Tran broke the five-year old school record of Hillary Nichols of 260.95. Tran qualified fourth in prelims with a score of 254.65.

“Tien had a great night, she hit all of her dives,” Iowa State diving coach Jeff Warrick said. “She got the school record, which she really wanted for a while and she got done tonight.”

The Cyclones also saw point contributions from sophomores Sarah Nelson and Lauren Naeve. Nelson posted a new personal best in finishing 11th with a 202.55 score. The score moved her up to sixth in Iowa State history on platform. Naeve took 14th with a new career-best score of 198.70, the eighth-best score in school history. The three points Naeve collected were the first she has scored for the Cyclones at the conference championships.

“Huge contributions from them,” Warrick said of the duo. “For both to get their personal best in a meet like this is outstanding. They rose to the occasion and I was excited for both of them.”

After missing out on the championship final of the 200 back, Nan Liu put up a big performance for the Cyclones in the consolation final. Liu won the race, getting ninth overall, in 1:57.45. The time is a new school record and an NCAA 'B' cut. Dani Harris finished fourth in the same race, going 1:59.59. Harris is now third in ISU history in the 200 back and only the fourth Cyclone to go under the two minute mark in the 200 distance.

“We changed up her strategy up a little bit and had her swim the front end a little easier and it really paid off,” Sorenson said. “Dani Harris had a great swim going under two minutes for the first time in her career.”

ISU also reminded everyone of its strength in the breaststroke events. Jeli Nixt and Marley Suckow both qualified for the consolation final. In the final, Nixt and Suckow were racing next to each other. Nixt raced to a victory in the heat, finishing the race in a new school-record and NCAA 'B' cut time of 2:15.46. Suckow went 2:17.15 in the final to finish 13th overall. Her time now ranks third in school history.

“Jeli loves night swimming and she really stood up,” Sorenson said. “She just kept it going from start to finish to earn the school record.”

The fourth school record of the night came in the final race of the event, with the senior quartet of Liu, Abby Glaser, Frances Clazada and Lindsey Behrens. The group finished the race fifth in a time of 3:23.03, a new school record and NCAA 'B' standard.

“It was four seniors and it was a great way for them to go out,” Sorenson said. “They all swam in the 50's and it was great to see them finish up like that.”

The 1650 free saw four Cyclones collect points. In the evening heat, Jenny Vondenkamp led the Cyclones with a 10th-place finish in 16:59.05. Megan Thompson also swam in the evening session and finished 12th in 17:10.52. In the afternoon heat, Taylor Vieau and Meredith Doran placed for the Cyclones. Vieau posted a time of 17:06.04, finishing 11th overall. Doran went 17:15.76 to go 14th overall. Vieau and Doran now rank ninth and 10th, respectively, in school history at the mile distance.

“Taylor Vieau dropped her time by 14 seconds,” Sorenson said. “Meredith Doran had never swam the mile before and she did an outstanding job.”

Calzada and Glaser scored points for the Cyclones in the 100 free. Glaser came from behind in the consolation final to get 10th place overall, touching out multiple opponents for the extra points. Calzada finished 16th in 51.72, after just making the 'B' final with a 51.61 in prelims.

“Frances ended up scoring points for us,” Sorenson said. “We had seen it all year long and it showed today. I was very happy for her to have the kind of success she had today.”

Vieau also earned a point for the Cyclones in the 200 fly, finishing 16th after posting a new career-best time in prelims going 2:06.00.

The Cyclone swimmers will compete in the Reveille Last Chance Meet tomorrow at 10 a.m. Iowa State divers Tien Tran and Abby Christensen will compete in the NCAA Zone 'D' Diving Championships on March 12-14 at Texas A&M for one of 12 spots to the NCAA Championships that take place the following week, March 18-20.

Final Team Standings
1. Texas A&M, 1,002 points
2. Texas, 903 points
3. Missouri, 484 points
4. Kansas, 416 points
5. Iowa State, 338 points
6. Nebraska, 261 points

Individual Results (ISU Team Point Scorers Listed)

200 Backstroke
1. Kristen Heiss (Texas A&M), 1:53.58
9. Nan Liu, 1:57.45 (NCAA 'B' cut, new school record)
12. Dani Harris, 1:59.59

100 Freestyle
1. Julia Wilkinson (Texas A&M), 47.74
10. Abby Glaser, 50.68
16. Frances Calzada, 51.61

1650 Freestyle
1. Leah Gingrich (Texas), 16:09.66
10. Jenny Vondenkamp, 16:59.05
11. Taylor Vieau, 17:06.04
12. Megan Thompson, 17:10.52
14. Meredith Doran, 17:15.76

200 Breaststroke
1. Alia Atkinson (Texas), 2:08.07
9. Jeli Nixt, 2:15.46 (NCAA 'B' cut, new school record)
13. Marley Suckow, 2:17.15

200 Butterfly
1. Kathleen Hersey (Texas), 1:53.68
16. Taylor Vieau, 2:06.00

Platform Diving
1. Janie Potvin (Texas A&M), 333.65
5. Tien Tran, 271.75 (new school record)
11. Sarah Nelson, 202.55
14. Lauren Naeve, 198.70

400 Free Relay
1. Texas A&M, 3:15.23
5. Iowa State (Nan Liu, Abby Glaser, Frances Calzada, Lindsey Behrens), 3:23.02 (NCAA 'B' cut, new school record)

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Lindsey Behrens

Lindsey Behrens

Frances Calzada

Frances Calzada

Abby Christensen

Abby Christensen

Meredith Doran

Meredith Doran

Abby Glaser

Abby Glaser

Dani Harris

Nan Liu

Nan Liu

Lauren Naeve

Lauren Naeve

Sarah Nelson

Sarah Nelson

Jeli Nixt

Jeli Nixt

Marley Suckow

Megan Thompson

Megan Thompson

Tien Tran

Tien Tran

Taylor Vieau

Taylor Vieau

Jenny Vondenkamp

Jenny Vondenkamp

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