Cyclones Edged Out By Illini

AMES, Iowa – The Iowa State swimming and diving team fell to Illinois by a score of 164.5-135.5 Jan. 15 at Beyer Pool. The meet came down to the final event, but the visiting Illini (8-1, 1-1 Big Ten) were able to edge out the Cyclones (3-3, 1-0 Big 12) for the victory.

Illinois jumped out to an early lead, taking the top two spots in the 200 medley relay and finishing first in the 1000 freestyle.

Iowa State's 'A' relay squad finished one-tenth of a second off the second-place spot in the 200 medley relay to claim third, while Haley Ruegemer took second and Mollie McNeel placed third in the 1,000 freestyle.

It didn't take long for Iowa State to start making up ground, however, as the Cyclones finished swept the 100 backstroke. Marissa Engel took first place, followed by Harper Emswiler and Guy Shilon.

The reigning Big 12 Swimmer of the Week, Kasey Roberts, celebrated her birthday with a first-place finish in the 100 breaststroke, touching in 1:05.01. Two events later, Iowa State placed three in the top-four on the 50 freestyle, with Maddie Rastall claiming first in 24.38 seconds.

Head coach Duane Sorenson credited the Iowa State surge with helping motivate the team despite the early deficit.

“That was huge because [Illinois] had taken first in second in the first relay, won the 1,000, won the 200 and then Marissa, Guy and Harper got the team really going by taking first, second and third in the back,” Sorenson said. “Then the very next event, Kasey Roberts and Danica Delaquis ended up going first and second in the 100 breaststroke and that just got everybody motivated.”

Heading in the first diving break, Iowa State trailed Illinois, 66.5-64.5, but the deficit would not last much longer.

Julie Dickinson and Elyse Brouillette finished 1-2 on the three-meter board with scores of 302.85 and 300.98, respectfully, to propel Iowa State to a 77.5-72.5 lead entering the second half of the meet.

“I think that was really exciting and the swimmers did just a great job, too, of building their own momentum before that,” diving coach Jeff Warrick said. “To go 1-2 was great and not just a 1-2, but I thought they dove really well to get that. I thought they put together some solid lists [of dives].”

Engel and Roberts followed up the divers' strong performance by sweeping first place in the 200 backstroke and 200 breaststroke, respectfully. Engel touched in 2:03.30, while Roberts clocked in at 2:19.72.

Despite the first-place finishes of Engel and Roberts, Illinois was able to regain the lead, 130.5-114.5, heading into the diving well for the final time.

Brouillette and Dickinson once again took the top two spots, this time on the one-meter board. Brouillette earned a score of 273.67, while Dickinson racked up 270.97 points to finish more than 11 points ahead of the third-place finisher.

Iowa State divers have now taken first place in 9-of-10 events during home dual meets this season.

“I'm very excited about that and we've got to keep going,” Warrick said. “We had good competition today, but everybody is peaking for the end of the season. At the end of the season, whether it's Illinois or whoever, they're going to be better. I think they're doing really well. I think they're on their way, but we've got to keep progressing.”

With two events remaining, Iowa State trailed by nine points. The gap widened, however, in the 200 IM, when the Illini finished 1-3-5 to reach 149.5 team points – one point away from clinching the meet. Roberts was the top Cyclone swimmer in the event, finishing in 2:06.60.

Iowa State needed to sweep the top-three places in the night's final event – the 400 freestyle relay – to complete a remarkable comeback, but was edged out by Illinois down the stretch. The Cyclones' 'A' and 'B' squads finished third and fourth, as the Illini grabbed the victory by a score of 164.5-135.5.

Iowa State has little time to stay focused on the day's events, however, as the Cyclones return to Beyer Pool tomorrow for their second meet in as many days when Washington-St. Louis comes to town.

"We've already talked about that - they've got to treat this like a championship format," Sorenson said of recuperating for the second meet of the weekend. "It's training out of the pool as well as in the pool."

The dual meet against Washington is slated for a 1 p.m. start and admission is free.

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Players Mentioned

Elyse Brouillette

Danica Delaquis

Julie Dickinson

Harper Emswiler

Marissa Engel

Mollie McNeel

Maddie Rastall

Kasey Roberts

Haley Ruegemer

Guy Shilon

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