Completed Event: Swimming and Diving versus Cardinal & Gold on October 3, 2025 ,
Final
Swimming and Diving
Cardinal & Gold
Iowa State University Athletics
Saturday, January 26
Ames, Iowa
11:00 AM
Iowa State
152
vs
148
West Virginia
Cyclones Remain Undefeated In Big 12 Against West Virginia
01.26.2019 | Swimming and Diving
AMES, Iowa – The Iowa State Cyclones (7-3, 2-0 Big 12) finished with a huge 400 freestyle relay victory against West Virginia (3-3, 1-1 Big 12) to take the meet 152-148. Senior Haley Ruegemer came back from a two-second deficit in the 1000 free to win the event, while freshman Emily Haan stepped up in a big way with a pair of event wins, plus contribution on both winning relays. For the fourth time in five years, the final relay has decided the outcome of the Iowa State-West Virginia dual.
To start off the meet, the Cyclones earned their seventh 200 medley relay victory of the year with Emily Haan, Martha Haas, Elynn Tan, and Evan Hundley touching at 1:44.17. Senior Haley Ruegemer followed the effort by winning her final 1000 free in Beyer Pool with a 10:23.70. The senior captain was behind by over two seconds at the 700-split, but stormed back in the next four lengths to virtually tie the lead swimmer, then won the event by over two seconds.
"I knew I had to stay in contact with [West Virginia's Kallay]," Ruegemer said following the meet. "The 1000 gets a lot into strategy, and I knew I had a lot left in me. I tried to make the most of it and trust the training I have had the last four years."
Freshman Emily Haan had a key swim in the 100 back, taking first at 55.83, her second-fastest time of the season. The breaststroke squad brought in more points for the Cyclones, with Haas and Lehr Thorson going 1-2 in the 100 breast against a strong breaststroker in Emma Harris. By winning four of the first five events, the Cyclones had a commanding 63-30 lead. Andersen scored essential points with a win in the 100 free, touching at 51.85, just .12 seconds ahead of West Virginia's Nilton. Haan's second victory of the day in the 200 back (2:04.54) put Iowa State up 102-86.
Iowa State finished 2-4 in the 200 free, 200 breast and 100 fly, while also taking the second and third slots in the 50 and 500 free to keep pace with the Mountaineers in those events. The effort gave the Cyclones a 128-117 lead headed into one-meter diving.
In the diving well, Dana Liva led the way on the three-meter for the Cyclones, posting a 278.10 with some excellent individual dives along the way. Senior Sydney Ronald came up clutch with a third-place finish in three-meter diving, putting up a 269.85 in her final dive set at Beyer. The finish kept the score tied at 132 heading into the final two events.
"My first dive wasn't that great, so I knew I had to put the rest of the dives down to get the score I wanted," Ronald said. "I realized on one-meter that these are my last dives, and I put it all out there on the boards."
Ruegemer and Lucia Rizzo took second and third in the 200 IM, but West Virginia still took a 144-139 lead into the 400 freestyle relay. The team of Andersen, Hundley, Haan and Tan touched at 3:28.07 to take first, and coupled with a third-place finish from Iowa State's 'B' relay, the Cyclones won the meet 152-148.
"I'm very proud how our women got up and raced," head coach Duane Sorenson said. "The turning point of the meet was Haley Ruegemer coming from behind and winning the 1000. That was the upset of we needed and the rest of the way our women kept fighting and fighting."
"This is a huge victory," Ruegemer said. "This meet always seems to come down to the wire. It really showed how gritty we are and how we have been working on our last 30 to push off on the last turn and get our hands on the wall."
SWIMMER OF THE MEET
Emily Haan performed outstanding in the victory. Her two victories marked numbers five and six of her career, her others coming against South Dakota State, Iowa and Illinois State. The freshman has been a key member of both the 200 medley and 400 freestyle relay squads, and her split in the meet-clinching relay gave the Cyclones over a second of cushion.
"The team got me really pumped up," Haan said. "Duane gave us all a pep talk before [the final relay], and with the team support, we were able to succeed. It was a really fun atmosphere."
"We knew that [Haan] was extremely talented when we were recruiting her," Sorenson said. "She's been on the big stage before, but for her to come through like she did, I'm very pleased with her effort."
UP NEXT
The Cyclones are off next week but return to action in Lawrence against Big 12 foe Kansas in their final dual meet of the year. Following the dual, Iowa State will begin their final preparations for the 2019 Big 12 Championships which begins on Feb. 27 in Austin, Texas. 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.
Players Mentioned
Sprint Free/Back
/ Swimming and Diving
Sprint Free/Breast
/ Swimming and Diving
Sprint Free/Back
/ Swimming and Diving
Diving
/ Swimming and Diving
Distance Free/Fly/IM
/ Swimming and Diving
Diving
/ Swimming and Diving
Distance Free/IM
/ Swimming and Diving
Sprint Free/Fly
/ Swimming and Diving
Breast
/ Swimming and DivingLehr Thorson feature
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