Cyclones Fall to TCU in Big 12 Opener

FORT WORTH, Texas – Iowa State Swim and Dive competed against the Horned Frogs in Fort Worth on Friday in their first Big 12 Dual of the season.

Head Coach Matt Leach was happy with the performances from the Cyclones against TCU. "We had a lot of solid swims throughout," Leach said. "Getting back to racing while in hard winter training can be both mental and physically demanding."

How it Happened

The Horned Frogs came out strong in the 400 medley relay and 1650 free, but the Cyclones bounced back in the 200 fly. Winter Craig took her sixth podium finish of the season, earning a first place spot with a 2:03.65 time.

Mallory Miller placed third in the 1650 free with a time of 17:47.36.

In the 100 backstroke, Emma Kuhn placed third and Lili Neisser earned fourth.

Freshman Grace Swoboda placed third in the 100 breast with a time of 1:03.24.

Andie Quirke secured second place in the 100 freestyle, finishing with a time of 52.63.

Craig claimed another top-two finish, taking second place in the 100 butterfly with a time of 57.06.

In the 1-meter diving event, Ally Blumenfeld (290.85) and Maggie Bendell (289.58) earned NCAA Zone Cut qualifiers honors.

Leach was pleased with the diving scores. "I am really proud of our divers stepping up and competing tonight," Leach said. "We have four new zone qualifying scores and a personal best on top of it. Our diving program continues to improve which is exciting to watch."

Four Cyclones made NCAA Zone Qualifiers in the 3-meter. Kate Mitchell and Maggie Bendell qualified for the second time, and Abby Tollefson and Ally Blumenfeld earned honors for the first time this season. Mitchell placed third overall with a 282.30 score and a season best.

Freshman Grace Marek hit her personal best in the 3-meter with a 241.35 score.

Event Winners

400 Medley Relay: TCU (Moore, Chahbandour, Dahmen, Rhodes) 3:45.78

1650 Free: TCU (Inman) 17:26.72

100 Back: TCU (Moore) 55.58

100 Breast: TCU (Chahbandour) 1:02.80

200 Fly: Iowa State (Winter Craig) 2:03.65

50 Free: TCU (Rhodes) 23.21

1-meter: TCU (Kwong) 415.28

100 Free: TCU (Rhodes) 51.63

200 Back: TCU (McCool) 2:01.70

200 Breast: TCU (Vadovicova) 2:18.25

200 Free: TCU (Snyder) 1:54.25

100 Fly: TCU (Burt) 56.22

3-meter: TCU (Larcada Herrera)

200 IM: TCU (Hurt) 2:05.40

200 Free Relay: TCU (Chahbandour, Rhodes, Stein, Dahmen) 1:35.65

On Deck - North Texas

The Cyclones will take on North Texas Saturday, Jan 18th at 1 pm in Denton, Texas.

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Players Mentioned

Maggie Bendell

Ally Blumenfeld

Winter Craig

Emma Kuhn

Grace Marek

Mallory Miller

Kate Mitchell

Lili Neisser

Andie Quirke

Grace Swoboda

Abby Tollefson

Sponsors

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