Cyclones Prepped For In-State Dual

AMES, Iowa – The Iowa State swimming and diving team (3-2, 1-0 Big 12) heads to Cedar Falls to take on in-state opponent Northern Iowa (3-2, 0-0 MVC). The meet will kick off at 1 p.m. The Cyclones are 30-1 against the Panthers all-time, having won 23-straight meets.

LAST TIME – Iowa

In a close meet that highlighted strengths of many Cyclones, Iowa State ultimately fell to rival Iowa in the closest Cy-Hawk dual since 2013. The meet featured senior Laura Miksch tying the Beyer Pool record in the 50 free, touching at 23.06. Another stand out performance came from freshman Martha Haas, who moved into Iowa State's top-10 performers in the 100 breaststroke. In the diving well, Dana Liva put up a Zone qualifying score on the one-meter board, having previously made the mark on the platform. The Cyclones will look to use the momentum from both this meet and their respective training trips to continue performing at a high level in the back half of their season.

THE OPPONENT – Northern Iowa Panthers

Iowa State comes into Saturday having only lost one dual meet against UNI in school history. That loss came in the 1991-92 season. The Panthers have competed against three common opponents of the Cyclones, having taken on South Dakota, Omaha and Iowa. In those three meets, the Panthers posted the same 2-1 record as the Cyclones, each team dropping a dual against Iowa. In addition to dual meets, UNI competed alongside Iowa State in the 2017 Kansas Classic, placing fourth, just one spot behind the third-place Cyclones. The Panthers did have a good team effort down in Topeka, taking first in the 400 freestyle relay, in addition to their own Katie Taylor named the 2017 Kansas Classic Most Valuable Swimmer.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR – Relays

Relays are always crucial in dual meets, and will be a good tool for the Cyclones to take down the Panthers. In the Kansas Classic, the Iowa State clocked in just behind the UNI in many of the relays. A pair of the likely relay groups for Iowa State currently are placed in the Cyclones' top-10 all-time. Improvement on those times could be a crucial factor in Saturday's meet.

ON DECK – West Virginia/Villanova

The Cyclones second double dual of the season will be a road trip to Morgantown, West Virginia for a meet with Villanova and Big 12 opponent West Virginia. The Mountaineers will be in action the next two weekends, facing TCU in Fort Worth and hosting Pittsburgh in the following week. West Virginia currently sits at 2-0, winning both sides of a double dual against Xavier and Seton Hall. Meanwhile, Villanova won three out of four in a quad meet, with their lone loss in the quad meet and season coming against Pittsburgh.

Follow the team on Twitter (@CycloneSD) or on Facebook at facebook.com/cyclonesd for in-game updates, post-meet recaps and results throughout the season.