Iowa State Defends Home Against South Dakota

AMES, Iowa – The Iowa State Swimming & Diving team cap off a great weekend at Beyer Pool, winning their second dual meet of the season against South Dakota, 115-87. The Cyclones had great performances all around, including junior Anja Peck in the lanes and freshman Katie Malm on the boards.

How It Happened

Team A for ISU (Emma Kuhn, Grace Swoboda, Keirlyn Mullica, and Jenna Polking) returned to the pool to kickstart the Cyclones with a win in the 400 Medley Relay. Behind them, ISU Team B (Piper Hagen, Matilde Geromin, Asia Salvato, Beatriz Comini Romero) and South Dakota Team A got the crowd involved with a dead-even bout ending in a tie.

Junior Anja Peck continued to shine this weekend with two more individual wins in the 400 IM (4:30.18) and the 100 Breast (1:03.58).

The 100 Breast was a turning point in the meet with a Cyclone podium sweep with Emma Kuhn and Andra Robertson going 2-3, respectively, netting sixteen points for Iowa State.

Freshman Jenna Polking also got her moment, winning her first individual collegiate event in the 100 Free, fending off two Coyotes within half a second.

In a special 3x100 IM Relay, Kuhn, Peck, and Swoboda dominated the field in 2:54.82, more than eight seconds in front of the runner-up.

In the final event, South Dakota Team A took an early lead in the 200 Free Relay but Polking, as an anchor for Iowa State Team A, tracked down freshman Sophie Blixit to win by 0.06 seconds.

"We had a lot of energy from last night and I challenged our young team to continue the energy into the morning," said head coach Matt Leach. "Overall, I was proud of the team and I would love to continue this going into the Hawkeye Invitational and see where we are at halfway through our season. Go Cyclones!"

Today's diving featured the 1-meter and the Cyclones showed up once again, sweeping the podium.

Katie Malm continued to dominate, winning her second individual event, and juniors Maggie Bendell and Abby Tollefson grabbed second and third, respectively. With Malm and Bendell's performances, they have both achieved NCAA Zone-cuts qualifications in the event.

Additionally, Malm's score of 294.50 puts her second in the freshmen records and tenth in the all-time top performers list.

"I am really excited for her," said head diving coach Jeff Warrick. "In one sense, I am not surprised because of what I see her do in the pool, working hard, and doing a great job."

Warrick also commented on the mindset of the divers going into the Hawkeye Invitational. "What we have been working on so far is, "What are the controllables that we can actually control, and what can give us the outcome we would like to see or give us the best chance?" I think if they do that, they're going to see not only great results, but maybe even better."

Leach praised the performance of Malm and the entire diving team with the comradery they have with each other. "Katie Malm is on fire on the boards because there is a very good environment, because everyone is there to learn and grow and get better."

On Deck

Iowa State Swimming & Diving will look to prepare for the Hawkeye Invitational in Iowa City. The invite will be held from November 17-20 at the University of Iowa Natatorium where they will see tough competition and familiar faces.

Event Winners

400 Medley Relay – ISU-A (Kuhn, Swoboda, Mullica, Polking), 3:48.68

200 Free – Emily DiProspero, South Dakota, 1:54.33

50 Free – Lily Furrow, South Dakota, 24.63

400 IM – Anja Peck, Iowa State, 4:30.18

100 Fly – Sophie Blixt, South Dakota, 57.08

100 Free – Jenna Polking, Iowa State, 53.14

100 Back – Henley Hatzung, South Dakota, 57.34

3x100 IM Relay – ISU-A (Kuhn, Peck, Swoboda), 2:54.82

1M Diving – Katie Malm, Iowa State, 294.50

100 Breast – Anja Peck, Iowa State, 1:03.58

200 Free Relay – ISU-A (Mullica, Swoboda, Comini Romero, Polking), 1:35.18

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Maggie Bendell

Beatriz Comini Romero

Matilde Geromin

Piper Hagen

Emma Kuhn

Katie Malm

Keirlyn Mullica

Anja Peck

Jenna Polking

Andra Robertson

Asia Salvato

Grace Swoboda

Abby Tollefson

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics