Completed Event: Swimming and Diving versus Big 12 Duals on January 16, 2026 , , 5th, 781 points
Final
Swimming and Diving
Big 12 Duals
5th, 781 points
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Iowa State University Athletics
Cyclones Make Waves In 2015-16 Season
03.31.2016 | Swimming and Diving
AMES, Iowa – The Iowa State swimming and diving team continued on its upward trajectory as a program during the 2015-16 season, making team history from early in the season until the very last race.
The Cyclones entered the year coming off a second-place finish at last year's Big 12 Championship. With expectations that couldn't be much higher, the Cyclones came flying off the blocks to win three of their first four dual meets for the ninth time in the last 10 seasons.
The second and third wins of the season came in a double-dual meet against South Dakota and TCU, which also marked the 99th and 100th victories of head coach Duane Sorenson's tenure with the Cyclones. Sorenson, who was already the winningest coach in team history, became Iowa State's 17th coach to reach the milestone.
“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 at the time.
In the Lanes
Swimmers of all experience levels led the Cyclones on the year, as freshmen through seniors contributed to the team's success.
Freshman Guy Shilon, a native of Israel, wasted no time making a name for herself in the record books, posting a 100 backstroke time to crack the Top-20 All-Time Performers list in her first-ever dual meet. Fellow rookie Haley Ruegemer proved to be a jack of all trades, finishing the year as a top-five swimmer in five events ranging from distance freestyle to the 400 IM.
The dynamic sophomore duo of Kasey Roberts and Mary Kate Luddy continued making waves, totaling 45 event wins and 75 top-three finishes between individual and relay events on the year. Sophomore Harper Emswiler also had a huge season, improving her personal records in five different events.
“Some of our younger kids were disappointed that they didn't have a better meet at the Big 12 Championships, but they learned from that,” Sorenson said. “I think that their junior and senior years, you're going to see them keep improving and do tremendous things.”
Silqi Luo experienced a breakout season as a junior, setting personal records in the 100, 200 and 500 freestyle. Luo became the fifth Cyclone ever to break 1:50 in the 200 freestyle and swam on 400 freestyle relay and 800 freestyle relay teams that are top-three in team history.
Five senior swimmers capped off their decorated careers, with each student-athlete having earned All-Big 12 honors in the pool, in the classroom or in both during their time in Cardinal and Gold. The class, left its mark on the program by helping lead the Cyclones to three-straight top-three finishes at the Big 12 Championship meet for the first time in over 20 seasons.
“Having people finish off their careers on such a high note like Kaylee Kucera [making finals] in two events…Alex Flatness swimming so well throughout the season and Marissa Engel being all-conference three years in a row, those kinds of accomplishments were pretty special for the seniors,” Sorenson said.
Iowa State not only ended the year in style with its finish at the conference championship, but the 400 freestyle relay squad of Savanna Townsend, Luo, Roberts and Flatness made school history with a time of 3:22.93 in the final event of the meet.
On the Boards
The Iowa State divers faced adversity in the form of injuries throughout the season. Despite the hindrance, they were still able to qualify four divers for the NCAA Zone Diving Championships for only the fourth time in Cyclone history and claimed over half of the season's Big 12 Diver of the Week awards.
Elyse Brouillette brought her illustrious career to a close as the sixth Iowa State diver ever to reach Zones in four-straight years and took home three Big 12 weekly honors to bring her career total to a program-record five awards.
On Senior Day, Brouillette broke the Iowa State and Beyer Pool record on the one-meter board with a score of 322.20. Her record was the 100th broken during Sorenson's tenure.
Julie Dickinson built off the momentum she picked up in her sophomore season, picking up a Big 12 Diver of the Week award and fighting with Brouillette for the top Cyclone finish at almost every meet.
“Julie and Elyse, obviously without them we would've been a much different team. They did a fantastic job all season long,” said diving coach Jeff Warrick. “They really did a great job pushing each other, feeding off each other and helping each other to perform even better.”
Becky Stochl and Maggie James both battled injuries throughout the season, but fought through them to qualify for Zones for the first time in their careers.
“I think it was hard on them, but they handled it well,” Warrick said. “I think they could've done better with even more of a practice foundation, but considering the situation, they did a great job.”
The divers brought the 2016 Big 12 Championship to a close by qualifying three – Brouillette, Dickinson and Stochl – for the finals round in platform competition. Previously, no more than two Cyclone divers had qualified for finals in the same event at the meet.
This Offseason
To keep building on recent years' momentum and maintain its status as a top-three program in the Big 12, Sorenson said the team's offseason focus will be on developing consistency in training.
“The biggest thing always is, 'How do you swim faster?' There's a real easy, simple formula to do that, but to learn that formula takes a lot of work,” Sorenson said. “We started our spring season and conditioning workouts [last] week and they're doing a tremendous job.”
Players Mentioned
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