It was a hugely successful week for Iowa Olympic sports last week full of school records, huge upsets, and series sweeps. There were too many good performances to highlight just one, so we're going with the whiparound rather than the spotlight this week.
Let's get right to it.
Track and Field
Fresh off their impressive indoor season, the Hawkeyes began their outdoor season with a trio of school records at the UCF Invitational.
On day one, the Hawkeyes blew past two previous school records. Ryan Johnson continued his historic season with another school record. His 71.12m hammer throw destroyed the previous Hawkeye record. All five of his throws were over 68m, a mark no other Hawkeye has ever reached.
Lizzy Korczak set a Iowa record in the javelin, posting a 58.10m mark that was almost 8m better than her previous career-best. All five of her throws would have qualified as her career-high as Korczak came away with the event win.
Other big day 1 performances included Wisdom Williams' win in the women's shot put (16.00m, 4th all-time at Iowa), and Mike Stein's win in the men's javelin (75.10m).
Maria Arboleda's huge day 2 performance in the high jump gave Iowa its 3rd school record of the season. The freshman jumped 1.87m to win the event and break the Iowa school record.
The Hawkeyes added four more event wins: Kai Graves-Blanks in the men's 110m hurdles (13.92s), Ethan Glyde in the men's high jump (2.09m), Bryce Ruland in the men's discus (55.75m, 10th all-time at Iowa), and the women's 4x100m relay team of Holly Duax, Olicia Lucas, Brynley McDermott and Lia Love (44.63).
The venues have changed, but the Hawkeye track and field team continues to roll. Johnson wasted no time making his presence known in the Hawkeye outdoor record books and Korczak showcased her offseason development. Add in another star turn from a freshman in Arboleda and the outdoor season looks primed to be as exciting and successful as the indoor one.
Speaking of, Hawkeye freshmen Pauline Bikembo and Abraham Vogelsong were honored for their indoor accomplishments last week as well, each earning Big Ten Indoor Freshman of the Year honors. Bikembo was the Hawks' first Big Ten pentathlon champion since 2019 and Vogelsang currently holds the school's 3rd-best marks in both the heptathlon and pole vault.
The team's future is incredibly bright, and even more exciting, it seems like the future is now. There's a full slate of star underclassmen on this team and they're already producing at a high level. It will be a treat to watch them throughout the season and in the coming years.
The Hawkeyes will be back in competition at the Texas Relays next weekend.
Softball
Iowa softball (19-9, 3-1) dropped their first game against #5 UCLA (28-5, 4-1) 8-0 on Saturday, but rebounded for their biggest win of the season, upsetting the Bruins 7-4 on Sunday.
UCLA jumped all over the Hawkeyes in the opening game, leading 5-0 after two innings. The Bruins pushed the lead to 8-0 after six innings and while the Hawkeyes loaded the bases in the sixth inning, they couldn't find a run to extend the game.
The Hawkeyes put up a better fight on Sunday, but after five innings, the Hawkeyes looked destined for a second-straight loss. Iowa jumped out to an early lead, answering UCLA's run in the top of the third with a Soo-Jin Berry two-run home run to give Iowa the 2-1 lead. The Bruins rallied in the fifth and plated three runs to take a 4-2 lead and it looked like one of the best teams in the country was poised to escape Iowa City with a sweep. Then, in the bottom of the sixth inning, the Hawkeye bats came alive.
Two walks and a single loaded the bases for Tory Bennett who came up and smacked a clutch bases-clearing double to left field, put the Hawkeyes on top 5-4.
Berry stepped up a batter later and promptly launched her second home run of the game, firing up the Hawkeye dugout and giving Iowa much-needed breathing room.
The Bruins tried to rally, but the Hawks shut the door to pick up their best win of the year, and one of the biggest upsets in recent memory. It was Iowa's highest ranked win in ten seasons and their first since upsetting #4 Michigan in 2015.
In a season filled with unexpected challenges, the Hawkeyes rose to the occasion Sunday. The group is clearly rallying hard for their fellow teammates in the locker room and it's beginning to show on the field. Hopefully they can turn Sunday's win into the start of a streak as they continue Big Ten play. They'll be back on the diamond for a midweek doubleheader against South Dakota State (15-15) before taking on Wisconsin (19-12, 3-4) over the weekend.
Baseball
Iowa baseball (14-8, 7-2) dominated a three-game series against Ohio State (6-15, 0-6) last week, sweeping the Buckeyes 12-0, 12-5, and 18-2 in their best weekend of the year.
The bats were lively all weekend for Iowa. In Friday's opener, the Hawks scored early and often en route to a 12-0 win in seven innings. Reese Moore was on fire at the plate, smacking two home runs and a double in the game and drove in three runs. Gable Mitchell and Daniel Rogers each homered as well and Cade Obermuller was lights out on the mound with six scoreless innings and nine strikeouts. Iowa was up 6-0 after two innings and added three more in both the fourth and fifth to earn the run-rule win.
It was more of the same for the Hawkeyes on Saturday, as they continued to pummel any and all baseballs in their general area, beating the Buckeyes 12-5. The Hawks jumped out to another first inning lead with a 5-0 start that included another home run from Moore, this time a two-run shot.
OSU rallied for two in the second and one in the third, but Iowa added three runs of their own in the bottom of the third when Moore sent and RBI single up the middle and after the Buckeyes again plated two in the fourth, the Hawkeyes broke the game open with four runs in the bottom of the fifth. Iowa scored all four runs without registering a hit, using a combination of four walks and two hit-by-pitches to pull away. The Hawkeye pitching staff was solid on the mound, striking out 14 and cruising through the final innings to give Iowa the series win.
Sunday offered Iowa a chance for the series sweep and they took full advantage. After Iowa against scored in the opening inning, this time plating three runs, but OSU answered with two runs in the top of the second inning. After that, it turned into batting practice for the Hawks. Iowa exploded for seven third-inning runs behind a Gable Mitchell two-run shot and then piled on five more in the fourth inning.
One more run in the fifth and two more in the sixth gave Iowa an insurmountable 18-2 lead and the Hawks sailed to a series win and a sweep. Four different Hawkeyes drove in three RBIs in the game: Ben Wilmes, Miles Risley, Kellen Strohmeyer, and Mitchell.
It was a near-perfect weekend for the Hawkeyes as they battled the fickle Iowa spring weather and came away with three dominant victories. Moore was unstoppable all weekend, earning Big Ten Player of the Week honors, and the entire lineup combined to put up crooked numbers throughout.
Combine that with shutdown work on the mound and the Hawkeyes are feeling good as they head out on an eight-game road trip. They'll begin their road trip against Illinois State (8-13, 2-1) before traveling to Minnesota (11-11, 2-4) over the weekend.
Gymnastics
Hawkeye gymnastics competed in the Big Ten Conference Meet last Saturday, finishing 5th in one of their best showings of the season. The Hawkeyes were the top finishers in their session, scoring 196.775 to beat Illinois (196.500), Penn State (196.050), and Maryland (195.700).
Iowa saved some of their best individual performances for the season's biggest moment to date, with eight Hawkeyes posting season-best scores. Aurelie Tran continued to lead the Hawks, tying for second on bars and finishing sixth in the all-around, winning her session, with career-bests in both events. Her 9.950 on bars and 39.525 in the all-around powered the team and earned her All-Championship team honors.
Haley Tyson, Sydney Turner, and Karina Munoz all put up big scores for the Hawkeyes as well. Tyson earned a spot on the All-Championship team with a career-high 9.900 on floor, while Turner and Munoz tied for 3rd on bars with matching 9.950s. Ilka Juk chipped in a 9.925 on beam, earning a share of the session's event title.
Iowa's conference championship performance propelled them to their highest ranking of the season, 23rd nationally. The jump up the ranks comes at the perfect time, as the NCAA announced regional berths early Monday morning. The Hawks were selected to compete in the Alabama regional and will compete against #6 Cal, #11 Alabama, and North Carolina. The regional berths marks Iowa's 25th straight and the first under new head coach Jen Llewellyn.
In order to advance, the Hawkeyes will need to finish in the top two in their region. The top all-around competitors and event specialists who are not part of qualifying teams will also advance.
It's been an impressive debut season for Llewellyn and her squad throughout the 2024-2025 season. Tran has been a revelation, earning All-Freshman and All-Conference honors and becoming an absolute star in her first year. Add in established competitors like Adeline Kenlin and Munoz and it's been a recipe for a top-25 campaign and some of the team's best-ever scores. It will be a tall task to get the team beyond the regional meet, but the group certainly has the talent. They'll compete on Friday April 4th (1:00, ESPN+)
Tennis
Iowa tennis (10-5, 4-2) swept Minnesota (8-10, 0-5) last Friday before falling 4-3 in a heartbreaker to #18 Wisconsin (12-1, 5-0) on Sunday.
Against the Golden Gophers, the Hawkeyes were dominant, earning the doubles point with a pair of 6-2 wins and then sweeping the singles matches with a trio of straight-set victories. Marisa Schmidt was the first to pick up a win, besting her opponent 6-4, 6-3 on Court 3. Pia Kranholdt added a 6-2, 6-4 win on Court 5 and Daianne Hayashida clinched the Hawkeye victory with a 6-0, 7-6 (7-3) win on Court 2.
The Hawks carried Friday's momentum into Sunday and claimed the doubles point against the Badgers as well. The singles portion of the match was hard-fought, with the team scores swinging back and forth. Hayashida put the Hawkeyes ahead 2-0 with another win on Court 2 before the Badgers claimed victory on Court 5. The Hawks pushed their lead to 3-1 with Barbora Porkona's 6-3, 6-4 win on Court 4. Tereza Dejnozkova pushed 5th-ranked Maria Sholokhova to the brink on Court 1 before ultimately falling 6-2, 2-6, 6-2, and the Badgers tied the match with a straight set win on Court 6. It all came down to the match on Court 3 and the Badgers prevailed 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 to claim the point and the match.
The loss snaps a three-game conference win streak for the Hawkeyes, but the season has still been a rousing success. The team, ranked in the nation's top 40, has battled top-ranked opponents and taken care of business against lesser competition. They'll be back on the court next week when the host Nebraska (11-6, 1-5).
