Not only were there some great performances from Hawkeye sports this week but there were a few significant pieces of news that will make a huge difference for some of Iowa's Olympic sports teams moving forward.

First, Iowa announced the construction of a massive new gymnastics and spirit squad facility. Both teams have historically practiced in the Fieldhouse. The addition of a dedicated, modern space for them to train will no doubt pay dividends in their performances in the future.

Perhaps even bigger news came last week when the Iowa Swarm announced they would expand their NIL work to include all Hawkeye sports. It's a major expansion of the Iowa NIL collective and paves the way for athletes across the university to take advantage of the NCAA's new NIL rules. You can read all about the announcement here.

Hawkeye sports have long been among the top performers across the NCAA landscape in several sports and it's wonderful to see those athletes start to reap the rewards. The strong performances continued last week with #1 Iowa field hockey picking up another ranked win, while the other Olympic sports held their own to start conference play.

Let's take a look.

Iowa field hockey opened conference play with a 2-0 win over #14 Michigan (5-4), continuing their perfect season and improving their record to 9-0 overall. The two teams battled to a scoreless stalemate after a half, but the Hawkeyes broke through early in the 3rd quarter when Miranda Jackson scored an unassisted goal in the 33rd minute off of a Michigan turnover deep in their own half.

Alex Wesneski found the back of the net midway through the 4th quarter with a slick move around the goalkeeper to give Iowa an insurance goal and the defense held strong to see out the victory.

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It was another defensive spectacle from the top-ranked Hawkeyes, who allowed just three shots on goal even though the Wolverines took nine corners in the match. It was the Hawkeyes' sixth shutout of the season and their fourth win over a ranked opponent.

While it was jarring to see Dionne van Aalsum held scoreless, if only because she has been on such a tear so far this season, seeing the Hawks win a lower-scoring, slower-paced game is a great sign that this is a complete roster. The Hawks were out-shot, a rare occurrence, and gave up nine corners and still found a way to keep Michigan off the board and come up with two goals of their own.

Michigan's record is a bit misleading in terms of the quality of their team, as all four losses have come against ranked opponents (including a loss to then-#1 North Carolina), but make no mistake, this was a big win for the Hawkeyes. The Hawks and Wolverines have had some fierce battles over the past few years and neither team was going to let the other run away with the game. These are the kinds of wins teams need to have to make a run in the postseason. Iowa remains ranked #1 in the country as well.

So far, the Hawks have passed every test with flying colors. They remain They'll look to continue their perfect start to the season against Ohio State (9-2) this Friday (4:00, BTN+).

Iowa soccer (6-1-3) played two hard-fought matches last week, falling 1-0 to Wisconsin (6-2-3) and battling to a scoreless draw against Minnesota (4-3-3).

Against Wisconsin, the Hawks were pushed back into their own end for much of the first half. The Badgers pelted the Hawkeyes with crosses and one eventually found the back of the net in the 24th minute. The Hawks generated three shots on goal in the second half as they pushed forward, but could not find an equalizer. Goalkeeper Macy Enneking saved four shots in the match and Millie Greer notched two shots on goal.

Sunday's match was frenetic for a goalless draw, with both teams putting up double-digit shots. Iowa peppered the Gophers with ten shots, three on goal, and Minnesota put up twelve of their own, five of which were on goal. Both goalkeepers came up big when it mattered and Enneking earned her 16th career clean sheet, third all-time at Iowa.

Defense has been this team's strength over the past few seasons and that trend has continued into Big Ten play. So many of the conference's teams are close in talent and many of these conference matchups come down to a moment of brilliance or a costly mistake. The Hawks have been right there so far this season and showed a spark on the offensive side during non-conference play, so the goals ought to arrive at some point, maybe as soon as this weekend when they travel to take on Purdue (3-7-1) on Thursday (5:00, BTN).

Hawkeye volleyball took on a pair of ranked opponents last week in #12 Minnesota (5-5) and #21 Ohio State (4-7), falling to both in close matches.

The Hawks began conference play on Thursday against the Gophers and fought to force a fifth set before ultimately falling short, three sets to two. Iowa lost the first set but used a big serving run from Michelle Urquhart to carry them to a set two win. Minnesota again took the lead with a big set three win, but the Hawkeyes responded for a second time, taking an 18-14 lead and riding the momentum to a huge 26-24 4th set win.

The Gophers pulled away in the final set, but it was an encouraging performance for the Hawkeyes to push a top team as hard as they did. It was only a season or two ago that it was encouraging if the Hawks could pick a single set off a ranked opponent throughout the season. Now, the Hawks are battling with a Top 15 team.

The momentum carried into Sunday, even if the scoreboard showed a straight-set loss to the Buckeyes. Iowa stuck with the Buckeyes in sets one and two, falling 25-22 and 26-24, but had late leads in both sets. Caitlin Buettner was again a force at the net and Delaney McSweeney added eleven kills from the middle. Ohio State eventually pulled away in the third set but it was another encouraging performance for the group.

These Hawkeyes are still a bit short on talent compared to the elite teams in the Big Ten, which are also some of the best teams in the country, but they showed last week that they can be a dangerous team in this ultra-competitive conference. There's been definite growth from last year, with these Hawkeyes managing to avoid huge deficits and do a better job of holding on to leads once they build them.

It will take a strong effort to turn set wins into match wins, but there is clear positive momentum for the group as they head into next week's matches. The Hawks will travel for a pair of road games next week, taking on Indiana (11-4) on the 29th (6:00, BTN+) and Illinois (6-6) on the 30th (6:00, BTN+).

The men's golf team finished competition at the Chicago Highlands Collegiate last week, while the women's team wrapped up their final rounds at the Badger Invitational.

Two freshmen led the way for the Hawkeye men, with Noah Kent and Max Tjoa each finishing at +1 on the tournament, good for a share of 30th. Kent used the longer holes to make up ground all tournament, shooting -9 on the par fives on the tournament. Mac McClear finished at +4 to earn a share of 48th place. The team finished 14th overall at the event and will be back in action next week at the Fighting Irish Classic.

On the women's side, the Hawkeyes were led by Paula Miranda, who finished 22nd at the event at +4. Madison Dabagia and Kaitlyn Hanna were both close behind for the Hawks, tying for 26th at +6. The team finished tied for 8th at the tournament and will next compete in the Texas Tech Invitational.