Swimming and Diving 2018-19 Season Preview

Swimming and Diving 2018-19 Season Preview

10.01.2018 | Swimming and Diving

AMES, Iowa - The 2018-19 Iowa State swimming and diving team is set for the 49^th season in team history. This year's team features just three seniors, but returns six All-Big 12 performers from last season. Head coach Duane Sorenson will begin year No. 22 at the helm of Cyclone swimming, his 11^th with Kelly Nordell on his staff. Jeff Warrick enters his 21^st year coaching the Iowa State divers.

SPRINT FREESTYLE

The sprint freestyle team comes in with a couple upperclassmen leading the way, senior captain Evan Hundley and junior Anna Andersen. Like many of the Cyclone events, the sprint freestyle has the potential to feature younger swimmers as well, including freshmen Emily Haan and Elynn Tan. Haan comes in as College Swimming's ninth-ranked recruit from Minnesota, while Tan just earned five gold medals at the 2018 Sukma Games, a biannual competition featuring young athletes from the Malaysian states. In the 200 free, Keely Soellner and Emma Ruehle will lead the way, while Polina Shynkarenko and Kennedy Tranel will also contribute in the event.

"We're looking for Anna to lead us in the sprint free events," head coach Duane Sorenson commented. "Freshmen Emily Haan and Elynn Tan will really help us out. They have been looking good at the beginning of the season. Senior captain Evan Hundley can also step up and help us out in those events."

DISTANCE

The Cyclones return a pair of Big 12 finalists in Soellner and Haley Ruegemer, both medaling in the 1650 free event. In her junior campaign, Soellner will look to top her school records in the 1000 and 1650 free, while continuing her success in the 500 free as well. The Cyclones will also have Kat Jones and newcomer Lucia Rizzo to top off a strong distance group.

"Keely Soellner is coming back and we're looking for Kat Jones to break out," Sorenson said. "Haley Ruegemer could be swimming 1000 free quite a bit for us, and our newcomer Lucia Rizzo could really help us out."

BREASTSTROKE

The Cyclones come into the 2018-19 season with a solid group of breaststrokers. In their freshmen years, both Martha Haas and Lehr Thorson proved to be a nice complement to Danica Delaquis, but with Delaquis now graduated, the reins are there for the taking. Bryn Ericksen, had she been a scoring member for Iowa State at the Big 12s, would have earned points for the Cyclones in both the 100 and 200 breaststroke events. The trio will look to grow from their experiences as freshmen, while continuing the prideful breaststroke tradition at Iowa State.

"We've got three sophomores we are very excited about. Martha Haas leads the way in the 100, Lehr Thorson in the 200 and Bryn Ericksen is going to be a dark horse," Sorenson said. "I think everybody should keep their eyes on Bryn. The breaststroke team knows they have to carry on the tradition of Iowa State breaststrokers, and I think our returning breaststrokers will keep the tradition going."

BUTTERFLY

The butterfly events are specifically hurt with the loss of Mary Kate Luddy, the Cyclones' 200 fly record holder. Iowa State does have a wealth of talent to choose from, including a variety of returners and newcomers. Wyli Erlechman, Kami Pankratz, Grace Snyder and Tranel were among Iowa State's top-five fliers last season, while Tan and Rizzo look to impact the Cyclone butterfly squad.

"Wyli Erlechman will swim mostly sprint butterflies, and Elynn Tan is another really good sprint filer," Sorenson said. "Kennedy Tranel is a good 200 flier, and Grace Snyder and Lucia Rizzo can swim both the 100 and 200 fly. Kami Pankratz has done a nice job being steady in the 200 fly."

BACKSTROKE

The Cyclones return just one backstroke scorer from the 2018 Big 12 Championships in Hundley, but the plan is to have the captain participate in more freestyle events this season. This opens the door for Ruehle and a host of freshmen to bolster the Cyclone backstroke team. Haan, Jazlyn Horras and Anna Ellis will all look to contribute in these events for Iowa State.

"Emily Haan has come into her own in the backstroke events," Sorenson stated. "Our freshman from Ames, Jazlyn Horras, is very strong and if we can harness her power, she can step up in the backstroke races. Anna Ellis has good speed and endurance, so we are hoping those three can do a good job in the backstroke races."

INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY

The individual medley duo of Luddy and Ruegemer provided a major highlight at the 2018 Big 12 Championships. In the 400 IM final, the pair swam in neighboring lanes, each pushing the other past Petra Plaminkova's record time set 16 years prior. Luddy wound up with the record, Ruegemer just .4 seconds behind Luddy. With Luddy now graduated, Ruegemer will look to claim that school record this season. Ruehle and Rizzo will also compete in the IM events for Iowa State in 2018-19.

"Emma Ruehle helps us lead the way, and Haley Ruegemer is known more for her 400 IM, but can also swim a fast 200 IM during dual meets," Sorenson noted. "Lucia Rizzo is also good at the 200 and 400 IM, so she may get moved around depending on our competitor."

DIVING

The Cyclone diving squad is set for another solid year, returning a pair of NCAA Zone qualifiers in Sydney Ronald and school-record holder Dana Liva. Both Ronald and Liva have their sights set on Austin, the site of the 2019 Big 12 Championships, NCAA Zones and NCAA Championships. Also returning is Alex Aaberg, with Jessica Coffin joining the team as well. Aaberg is continually getting more reps in practice after missing the majority of the 2017-18 campaign, while Coffin is beginning to learn the intricacies of the three-meter board and platform.

"We have some great experience returning in both Sydney and Dana," diving coach Jeff Warrick said. "They did a great job last year, and it's good to see them ready for the whole season. We've got high goals and expectations for them. It's going to be a challenge, but if we could get one diver close to or qualified for the NCAA championships, that's what we're going to strive for. With Alex and Jessica, it will be exciting to see what Alex can do if she gets a full season under her belt, and Jessica getting experience one three-meter and platform, we'll see where it takes her."

The sprint freestyle and breaststroke appears to be the strength of this Cyclone squad, but a lot of unknowns rest with this year's Cyclones. Underclassmen will be tasked with leading the breaststroke, butterfly and backstroke events, but head coach Duane Sorenson remains optimistic about the team's leadership and overall talent.

"The young swimmers are going to have to take on the role of being 'the swimmer' for Iowa State in their events," Sorenson said. "Our sophomores and juniors have played a really good supporting role to our class that graduated last year, but now it's their opportunity to step forward and be the leaders of the team. If they can do that, we will be very successful."

Iowa State kicks off their 2018-19 season with their intrasquad meet on Oct. 12 at 7 p.m. at Beyer Pool. The Cyclones hit the road on Oct. 19 and 20 for a pair of duals at South Dakota and South Dakota State, returning home for their home opener on Oct. 26 against Nebraska. Admission is free to all meets at Beyer Pool this season.