Sorenson Gets 100th Dual Meet Win

Friday, November 6

Ames, Iowa

5:00 PM

Iowa State

171

129

South Dakota

11.06.2015 | Swimming and Diving

By: cyclones.com

AMES, Iowa – The Iowa State swimming and diving team (3-1, 1-0 Big 12) defeated Big 12 foe TCU (3-3, 0-2 Big 12) and South Dakota (2-4, 1-1 Summit League) by scores of 169-130 and 171-129, respectively, Friday night at Beyer Pool.

The two wins on the night marked the 99th and 100th dual meet victories for head coach Duane Sorenson at the helm of the ISU program, making him the first coach in Iowa State swimming and diving history to reach the century mark.

The Cyclones once again got off to a quick start in Beyer Pool, grabbing the top time in the 200 medley relay behind the team of Guy Shilon, Kasey Roberts, Kaylee Kucera and Maddie Rastall in 1:45.38. TCU appeared poised to claim the first event of the night when the butterfly leg of the medley began, but Kucera swam her split in 25.28 seconds to put Rastall in position to close it out.

The Cyclones steadily built their lead in the early-going of the meet, taking first place in 8-of-11 heats through the first seven events, including a 1-2 finish from Marissa Engel and Guy Shilon in the 100 backstroke. Iowa State earned a 83-47 advantage over TCU and a 98-32 lead over South Dakota entering the first break.

“We had talked a lot about just getting up and racing after everybody and not backing down and being the toughest swimmer in the pool,” Sorenson said. “A lot of our women did that.”

In the diving well, junior Julie Dickinson continued to dominate for the Cyclones, totaling 276.85 points on the three-meter board to come within four points of a NCAA Zones qualifying score. Dickinson was more than 16 points better than the No. 2 finisher on the event.

Iowa State continued to increase its lead through top-place finishes, notching three more over the next five events, which included another 1-2 finish from Engel and Shilon, this time in the 200 backstroke.

Though Dickinson had a strong showing on the three-meter board, she was able to do even better on the one-meter board with a score of 294.90, nearly 30 points better than the NCAA Zone qualifying standard.

Senior Elyse Brouillette also qualified for NCAA Zones with a score of 271.10 on the one-meter board. The feat makes her just the sixth diver in program history to qualify for Zones in all four seasons as a Cyclone.

“Did I know they could do it? Yeah. How things had been going I wasn't sure if they both would [this early in the season],” said diving coach Jeff Warrick. “They both stepped up… It was good to see them do it versus just knowing that they can.”

Dickinson's career night on the one-meter board vaulted her into sixth place on Iowa State's All-Time Top Performers list and into Iowa State's top-10 one-meter board scores.

“She had a super breakout year last year and the year before that at the very end I could see it coming. She's really gaining a lot of confidence in what she can do and this was her biggest score ever on one-meter so it was great to see.”

Though Iowa State was led by numerous outstanding efforts in the water, the night belonged to Sorenson. Never to take too much credit, however, he acknowledged the student-athletes that were also responsible for his history-making night.

“I've never been one to keep track of wins, but it's pretty special with all of the women I've coached over the years and they all were part of it,” Sorenson said of his 100th win as coach of the Cyclones. “It wasn't just me, I just kind of directed it. I say I drove the bus and got them there.”

Iowa State, TCU and South Dakota will return to Beyer Pool at 10 a.m. on Nov. 7 for a pentathlon. The divers will try their hand at synchronized diving in an exhibition competition.

Following the pentathlon, the Cyclones have almost two weeks off before heading to Kansas for the Big Challenge Nov. 20-22. The swimmers will compete in Topeka, Kansas, while the divers will compete in Lawrence, Kansas.