Completed Event: Swimming and Diving versus Alumni Meet on October 10, 2025 ,


10.23.2025 | Swimming and Diving
BROOKINGS, S.D. – Iowa State had a balanced performance across the pool and the boards Thursday night at South Dakota State. Strong swims from relays, the distance group and the breaststroke group fueled the Cyclones' dominant win over the Jackrabbits with a final score of 180-115.
"Our Cyclone family really stepped up today and showed some great growth from last week," said head coach Matt Leach. "This month of training is extremely hard, and to go three weekends in a row of racing can leave you tired, but I think we responded well. It's not every day that you set two pool records! Go Cyclones!"
How It Happened
Iowa State set the tone on the first race of the night, taking the 200 medley relay in 1:46.50. The relay team of Emma Kuhn, Anja Peck, Kendall Mallers and Grace Swoboda combined for the win and gave the Cyclones a strong start.
Distance swimmer Carlotta Gazzola was impressive in the long events, winning the 1650 free in 17:24.79 and later earning the top spot in the 500 free (5:08.32). Gazzola's steady splits and strong finishes helped give the Cyclones momentum in the mid-meet races.
"We started off in the 200 medley relay taking the win and continued that into the 1650 free with a 1-2 finish," said Leach. "Carlotta won with a pool record by 3.5 seconds. We continued the racing by going 1-2 in the next three events; the 100 back, 100 breast and 200 fly."
The Cyclones continued to produce in the backstroke and breaststroke events. Lili Neisser posted a win in the 100 back (57.55), while Anja Peck picked up the win in the 100 breast (1:04.29). Matilde Geromin also found herself a win in the 200 breast with a 2:18.78, highlighting Iowa State's strength in the breaststroke.
Freshman Kendall Mallers added a pair of strong finishes in the butterfly events, winning the 200 fly (2:06.86) and turning in the top time in the 100 fly, while Swoboda closed out the sprint events with a win in the 100 free. Iowa State ended the night with its 14th event win of the night, besting its own pool record in Brookings in the 400 free relay. The team of Kuhn, Swoboda, Piper Hagen and Corinne Guist swam 3:31.49 for the record-breaking win.
"Coming off the first break, we got back to touching the wall first with winning the remainder of the events and ending the meet with a pool record that was previously held by Iowa State in 2021," said Leach.
On the boards, Iowa State's diving team delivered as Maggie Bendell posted the top spot on the 1-meter boards with a score of 284.93 while Kate Mitchell was the 3-meter champion, scoring 295.50.
Event Winners
200 Medley Relay: Iowa State (Kuhn, Peck, Mallers, Swoboda), 1:46.50
1650 Free: Carlotta Gazzola, Iowa State, 17:24.79
200 Free: Gigi Hioki, South Dakota State, 1:54.87
100 Back: Lili Neisser, Iowa State, 57.55
100 Breast: Anja Peck, Iowa State, 1:04.29
200 Fly: Kendall Mallers, Iowa State, 2:06.86
50 Free: Jenna Currier, South Dakota State, 24.44
3M Diving: Katherine Mitchell, Iowa State, 295.50
100 Free: Grace Swoboda, Iowa State, 52.70
200 Back: Lili Neisser, Iowa State, 2:06.39
200 Breast: Matilde Geromin, Iowa State, 2:18.78
500 Free: Carlotta Gazzola, Iowa State, 5:08.32
100 Fly: Kendall Mallers, Iowa State, 58.61
1M Diving: Maggie Bendell, Iowa State, 284.93
200 IM: Anja Peck, Iowa State, 2:10.34
400 Free Relay: Iowa State (Kuhn, Swoboda, Hagen, Guist), 3:31.49
On Deck
The Cyclones return to action on Friday afternoon where they face South Dakota. The dual meet competition begins at 3 p.m. at the DakotaDome pool in Vermillion, S.D.