Spring sports are in full swing at Iowa and it was a good week for a few in particular, like baseball. Let's dive in.

After a disappointing midweek loss to Illinois State (12-4, 4-2), Iowa (17-9, 10-2 Big Ten) baseball bounced back to sweep Minnesota (11-14, 2-7 Big Ten) in a three-game series, 16-7, 13-0, and 7-6.

The Hawkeyes kicked their week off with an all-too-familiar midweek loss against Illinois State. The Redbirds took advantage of a bullpen game from Iowa and piled on the runs early. After scoring once in each of the first three innings, Illinois State piled on seven in the bottom of the fourth inning to take a 10-0 lead.

To the Hawks' credit, they didn't give up and began to claw their way back with a run in the sixth, and three more in the eighth to cut the lead to 10-4. The bottom of the ninth gave Iowa fans hope as Jaixen Frost drove in a run and Kooper Schulte blasted a three-run homer to cut the deficit to two, but the Hawkeye rally came up just short, falling 10-8.

The Hawks left eleven runners on base in a game that will sting long after the final out. Too often in recent years, the Hawkeyes have lost to lesser competition in these midweek bullpen games and more than once it has snowballed into losing streaks. Thankfully, the Hawkeyes flushed the loss quickly and rebounded in a big way in Minneapolis.

Weekend weather caused the Hawkeyes' series against Minnesota to be moved around, but the change in routine didn't bother the Hawkeyes as they mashed their way to a 16-7 win in Game 1. After the Hawks scored a run in the top of the first, Minnesota answered with two of their own in the bottom of the inning. The Hawks broke through in the second with four runs, to take a 5-2 lead.

The Gophers plated a run in each of the third and fourth innings, but Iowa kept the offense coming with four runs in the sixth and four more in the seventh, pushing their lead to 13-5. The Hawks added a few more in the late innings as they saw out the 16-7 win. Miles Rilsey and Daniel Rogers each drove in three runs in the game, while Risley and teammate Gable Mitchell notched four hits apiece.

Games 2 and 3 were played on Friday to avoid incoming storms. In the first game of the day, the Hawkeyes put together a complete effort in a 13-0 shutout. Cade Obermueller pitched six shutout innings in the game, striking out eleven Gophers and allowing just three hits. Anthony Watts added five more strikeouts in his two innings of relief.

The Hawkeye offense was steady throughout, taking a 2-0 lead in the top of the third and adding an insurance run in the top of the fifth. The Hawkeyes broke the game open in the top of the sixth when Andy Nelson launched a three-run home run. The score remained 6-0 until the top of the ninth inning when the Hawks decided to put an exclamation point on the game, scoring seven runs in an inning that included two doubles and three singles. Mitchell was and Nelson each drove in three in the game. The game was Iowa's sixth straight conference game scoring at least ten runs, their longest streak since 2007.

The last game of the series was the closest, but the Hawkeyes ultimately prevailed with a hard-fought 7-6 win. Iowa was again the first on the board, plating two in the game's opening half-inning behind Reese Moore's two-run homer. The Hawks added another in the top of the third, but Minnesota answered with two of their own in the bottom of the inning to stay within one. Rogers gave the Hawkeyes some breathing room again in the fourth with a two-run home run and Moore added another run in the fifth with his second home run of the game.

Rogers drove in another run in the eighth, pushing the Hawkeye lead to 7-3. It looked like the Hawkeyes would cruise to the series sweep, but the Gophers tried to stage a late-inning rally, pushing three runs across in the bottom of the ninth inning before Tyler Guerin slammed the door and gave Iowa the win and the sweep. Moore was fantastic in the game, adding two doubles to his two home runs.

The Hawkeye offense continues to look like a force to be reckoned with. Moore, who now leads the team with nine homers on the season, has been on a tear over the past few weeks, while Rogers and Mitchell have been steady contributors with a knack for big hits. The Hawks have made a habit of quick starts, putting pressure on opponents from the first pitch.

Iowa's starters have pitched well for most of the season too, but the bullpen continues to be streaky, in both good and bad ways. The midweek bullpen games have to be more productive, and to that end, the Hawkeyes trounced Bradley 13-3 on Tuesday. Iowa jumped ahead early with a five-run first inning that included seven walks and added five more in the 5th inning when Mitchell and Risley each had 2-RBI knocks. If the Hawkeyes are going to lean on the bullpen for midweek games, the offense coming through with big run support is a great way to take some of the pressure off.

Overall, it's hard to be anything but satisfied with a 10-2 conference start and another weekend sweep. It hasn't been against the Big Ten's best competition, but the team can only play the opponents in front of them. They'll have plenty of chances for marquee wins and banking wins early may be important as the postseason rolls around.

The Hawkeyes will travel to Evanston for a three-game set against Northwestern (12-13, 5-4) this weekend.

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Hawkeye track and field was split across two meets in Texas last weekend and put up big results at each. Ryan Johnson was again the star of the show in the first day of competition. Johnson kicked off his weekend with a 70.23m hammer throw to win the event at the Texas State Invitational.

On Friday at the Texas State Invitational, Iowa added two more wins as Lizzy Korczak posted a 57.69m javelin throw to bring home the win and Walker Whalen won the hammer throw with a career-best 58.70m mark. Mike Stein didn't win the men's javelin, but he was the top collegiate finisher with a 76.69m toss. Kai Graves-Blanks notched a lifetime best in the men's 110m hurdles, finishing in 13.72 (10th in Iowa history) and qualifying for the finals.

Johnson competed in the hammer throw again on Saturday and came away with another win and a school-record toss of 71.87m. The Relays featured a combination of collegiate and invitational events, giving Johnson multiple opportunities to showcase his strength and break the school record he set just last week. Johnson's Saturday toss was the 5th-best in the country so far this outdoor season.

Fellow Hawkeye Sean Smith was 2nd in the event (65.52m) and Austin Busch finished 4th (63.67m).

Other standout Saturday performances Maria Arboleda winning the women's high jump with a 1.83m jump and Sydnie Smith's 2nd place finish in the women's discus (52.48m, 6th all-time at Iowa).

Johnson has been incredible all season long. In his first season at Iowa, Johnson has broken nearly a half-dozen school records, often resetting his own records every few weeks. He's one of the best throwers in the country and is holding his own not just in collegiate competition, but in invitational competition as well.

Add in an impressive weekend from Stein and the other standout Hawkeyes we've been following this season and you can see why there's so much excitement around this program. The group will be back in action next weekend, splitting the squad across meets in California and Florida.

#29 Iowa tennis (11-5, 5-2 Big Ten) picked up a 4-1 win over Nebraska (11-7, 1-6 Big Ten) last weekend, as coach Sasha Boros picked up her 100th career victory.

The Hawkeyes picked up wines from Tereza Dejnozkova and Nikita Vishwase on doubles court 1 and Daianne Hayashida and Marisa Schmidt on court 2 to earn the doubles point.

In the singles matches, Iowa continued to dominate. The Hawks opened with a 6-4, 6-0 win on court 5 from Pia Kranholdt and Vishwase's 6-1, 6-4 win on court 6 pushed Iowa's lead to 3-0. The Huskers earned their lone point on Court 1 before Iowa clinched the win when Barbora Porkorna won 6-2, 2-6, 6-1 on court 4.

The Hawkeyes have put together one of their best seasons in recent memory in a competitive Big Ten and now find themselves on the brink of top-25 ranking. They'll look to continue adding to their win total on Friday when they take on Maryland (11-9, 4-4 Big Ten).

Iowa softball (21-12, 3-4 Big Ten) won a midweek doubleheader against South Dakota State 7-1 and 4-2 before dropping three against Wisconsin (22-12, 6-4 Big Ten), 8-7, 4-2, and 7-5.

In the first game of the week, the Hawkeye offense controlled the game. After surrendering a run in the top of the second, the Hawks answered with three runs in the bottom of the inning as Jena Young drove in two with an RBI single and then came around to score off an RBI single from Tory Bennett.

Iowa extended its lead to 4-1 in the bottom of the third and added two more in the bottom of the fifth. Devin Simon added another insurance run in the bottom of the sixth to push the Hawkeye lead to 7-1, the game's final score.

Talia Tretton was brilliant on the mound in Iowa's 4-2 game 2 win, striking out ten Jackrabbits and pitching a complete game. Echo Mattiello drove in two runs in the bottom of the second to give Iowa and early 2-0 lead and the Hawks added another in the bottom of the third. Another run in the bottom of the 6th pushed Iowa's lead to 4-0 and while SDSU rallied for two in the top of the seventh, Tretton was able to stop the rally short and give the Hawkeyes the doubleheader sweep.

The Hawks and Badgers played a doubleheader on Friday, avoiding the same storm the plagued the baseball team. In game 1, Iowa fell behind early, surrendering four runs in the first three innings. The Hawkeye comeback began in the fourth when Soo-Jin Berry homered to get the Hawks on the board. The rally continued in the 5th. Two straight hits put Hawks on first and third and Young drove in a run with an RBI single. Tory Bennett came up next and deposited a ball over the left field fence to give Iowa a 5-4 lead.

Desiree Rivera added two more runs with a two-run homer in the top of the seventh, giving Iowa a 7-4 lead. Unfortunately, the Badgers rallied for four runs in the game's final half-inning to win 8-7.

The Hawks had a chance to get the sour taste out of their mouth in the second game of the day, but it wasn't to be. The Badgers took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second, but Iowa answered with two in the top of the third. Wisconsin again pulled ahead with two runs in the bottom of the fourth and this time the Hawkeyes weren't able to rally. The Badgers shut down the Hawks in order over the last three innings and take the second game of the series.

Iowa jumped out to an early lead in the weekend's final game, when Young and Berry scored in the top of the first to give Iowa a 2-0 lead. Wisconsin tied the game in the bottom of the third inning and exploded for five in the bottom of the fourth to take control of the game, 7-2. Simon got one back for the Hawks in the top of the fifth with an RBI and Young and Berry each drove in runs to pull the Hawks within two, 7-5, in the sixth, but Wisconsin shut the Hawks down in the final innings to earn the 7-5 win and series sweep.

After such a successful start to the year, it was a bit disappointing to see the Hawks falter in Madison last weekend, albieit in less than ideal conditions. A few rough innings doomed a pair of winnable games, but the Hawkeyes continue to show the potential to compete in the Big Ten. Young and Berry have been impressive at the top of the lineup and their prowess at the plate gives Iowa an opportunity to put instant pressure on opposing pitchers every single game.

The team will host Nebraska (26-9, 3-2 Big Ten) for a three-game set next weekend.

Iowa rowing kicked off their competitive season last weekend at the Sarasota 2K. In the opening heats, the Hawkeyes' 1V8 and 1V4 boats each finished in 2nd place, qualifying for the A finals. The 1V8 boat was four seconds behind the winners, while the 1V4 boat finished 13 seconds behind. The 2V8 boat qualified for the B final and the 2V4 boat qualified for the C finals.

In Saturday's finals the 2V4 boat finished 2nd in their C final race, less than four seconds behind the eventual winner. The 2V8 boat finished 3rd in the B final, less than a second behind 2nd place and just over a second behind the winners. The 1V8 boat finished 5th in their race and the 1V4 boat finished 6th. Every Iowa boat improved their time from their first races by at least five seconds.

Windy conditions made for a tough competition, but the Hawks hung with some top competition in their opening races. They'll next compete on April 11th in Kansas.