Olympic Spotlight: Hawkeye Swimmers and Track in NCAAs
Welcome to the best sports week of the year. The entire winter/spring sport transition season is what sports fans' dreams are made of, with all the winter sports going through postseason competition just as the weather turns and the spring sports get started. It's the perfect combination, especially when a school is excelling in as many sports as Iowa has been lately.
There's a lot to cover this week so let's dive in.
TRACK & FIELD
Iowa track and field sent five athletes to the NCAA Indoor Championships over the weekend and all five put together strong performances. Myreanna Bebe earned 2nd-team All-American honors in the 60m hurdles, tying her own school record. She narrowly missed qualifying for the Finals in the event.
James Carter Jr. earned 2nd-team All-American honors in two different events. His 7.80-meter long jump tied for 10th and his 15.55-meter triple jump was good for 15th in the nation. Grant Conway finished 12th in the 60m hurdles, finishing in 7.83 seconds.
Iowa's last two competitors were Peyton Haack and Austin West, who competed in the heptathlon. Haack had a rough opening day and sat in 15th place coming into the second and final day, but bounced back with a huge performance on day two to finish 5th and earn 1st-team All-American honors. Haack set a school record in the pole vault (5.26m) and set a total Heptathlon record for Iowa with 6,048 points. West wasn't far behind, finishing ninth with 5,965 points to earn 2nd-team All-American honors.
It was a good finish for a team that has shown itself to be well-rounded throughout the year. Five All-American honors are a solid accomplishment and seeing these Hawkeyes put together their best performances when the lights are brightest was a treat. Track and Field is the one sport that has National Championships and then starts another brand-new season a week later, so each of these athletes, and the team, will have a chance to carry the momentum from their strong indoor season into their outdoor competitions. Iowa's first outdoor meet is scheduled for March 17th when the Hawkeyes will take part in the Hurricane Invitational in Miami.
SWIMMING AND DIVING
Iowa swimming and diving sent five athletes of their own to compete in the NCAA Zone D Championships last weekend, all on the diving side. Makayla Hughbanks qualified for the finals in the 1-meter dive, ultimately finishing 14th with a score of 542.55. Lainey Woodward (255.50), Geneva Pauly (245.65), and Sarah Ballard (236.90) also competed in the event, each barely missing qualifying for the finals.
Pauly, as well as Claire Hartley, also competed in the platform dive event. Pauly placed 20th in the preliminary round with a 204.0, while Hartley qualified for the finals and finished in 17th (418.50).
Pauly completed the trifecta on the weekend, competing in the 3-meter dive, where she had her best finish, qualifying for finals and earning 18th place with a 588.45.
It was an impressive achievement for the Hawkeyes to send anyone to the national championships this season, given what the group had to go through last year to survive the chopping block. Even better, three of the five athletes that competed were underclassmen and the last two (Hartley and Ballard) are only juniors. The future, once thought to be non-existent for this team, is looking bright. Congrats to the entire Iowa swimming and diving team on their season.
GYMNASTICS
The Hawkeye gymnastics squad traveled to Southern Utah last weekend to compete in a tri-meet with the Thunderbirds and San Jose State. Iowa won all four event titles and posted a 196.425 to finish 2nd at the meet.
Adeline Kenlin won the beam title, scoring a 9.950, JerQuavia Henderson won the floor title with a 9.975 (her 7th career floor title), Gianna Masella and Karina Munoz posted matching career-high 9.900s to tie for the vault title, and Munoz used another 9.900 on the bars to tie for first in that event as well.
It was another solid performance for the Hawkeyes, who look to be over the minor midseason slump from a few weeks back. Kenlin, Henderson, and Munoz, as well as Linda Zivat are all poised to make noise at next week's Big Ten Championships and the Hawkeye squad should be in the thick of the team competition as well. The Big Ten is home to some of the top gymnastics programs in the country, including a Michigan squad that took down #1 Oklahoma last week, but the Hawks aren't far behind. It will be an exciting weekend that the Hawkeyes get to host and it all starts March 18th at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa.
SOFTBALL
The Iowa softball team went 5-1 last week at The Spring Games in Madeira Beach, Florida. The Hawks started the weekend with a pair of solid wins, beating South Alabama 4-2 before shutting out UT-Chattanooga 6-0. Nia Carter and Denali Loecker continue to be key pieces for the Hawks. Carter was 4-6 on the day with an RBI and Loecker pitched three innings of hitless relief between the two games, striking out four. Grace Banes launched a key three-run home run against South Alabama and Breanna Vasquez pitched five scoreless innings against Chattanooga.
Iowa split their Day 2 games, shutting out Princeton 6-0, before losing to Lehigh 7-1. Vasquez was back on the mound against Princeton and put together another gem, pitching a complete game shutout and striking out five. Banes and Tory Bennett each went 2-3 against the Tigers and Loecker launched her sixth home run of the year. Carter continued her strong season with a 3-3 effort against Lehigh.
The Hawks continued a strong weekend Sunday with a 3-0 shutout of Bucknell. Devyn Greer pitched very well for Iowa, going five scoreless innings and allowing just three hits. Tristin Doster was a standout both at and behind the plate, going 3-3 with three RBIs and throwing out three would-be base stealers for good measure. Carter was big at the plate again, going 3-4. She is currently on a 10-game hitting streak.
The Hawkeyes closed out The Spring Games with an 8-0 win over Lafayette on Tuesday. Vazquez continued her standout weekend on the mound, throwing a complete-game one-hitter and striking out eleven. Tatianna Roman led the way at the plate, going 3-3 and scoring three runs.
It was a strong bounce-back weekend for the softball team and an especially strong weekend on the mound. Freshman Jalen Adams has been learning on the fly and has held her own, while Vasquez has been strong all season. Four shutouts in six games will always going to be a good recipe for success. At the plate, Carter continues to be a star. She's been a key cog in the Hawkeye lineup for multiple years now and looks to have found another level this season. The Hawks will stay in Florida this week to take part in the USF Tournament beginning Friday.
BASEBALL
Iowa baseball dropped two of three games in their weekend series against Texas Tech. The Hawks lost the opener 17-5, and dropped the second game 8-3, before bouncing back to win 10-9 on Sunday.
Both teams had ample opportunity to score runs in game one, but it was the Red Raiders who ultimately capitalized, breaking through with an 8-run fifth inning to pull away from the Hawkeyes. The Hawks had opportunities to score and plated a few runs early, but couldn't overcome the deficit after the big 5th inning. Brennen Dorighi and Radier Tello each had two hits on the night.
Game two was a competitive affair, but a 4-run 8th inning for Texas Tech ultimately decided the game. The Hawks led 1-0 early and Brody Brecht put together another strong start, going 5 2/3 innings and allowing two earned runs. Iowa rallied in the top of the 8th to cut the deficit to 4-3, but the Red Raiders responded with four runs in the bottom of the inning to put the game away. Kyle Huckstorf's massive 474-foot home run was the highlight for the Hawkeyes at the plate.
Iowa showed impressive resilience on Sunday, battling back from the two earlier losses to pull out a tight 10-9 win. The Hawks trailed 5-4 after three and could have easily suffered from similar pitfalls as the first two games, allowing a big inning and letting the lead balloon to an insurmountable amount. Instead, the #23 Hawkeyes fought back over and over. Iowa led 6-4 after five, but Texas Tech wouldn't go away, tying the game at 7-7 in the 7th inning. Once again, Iowa responded. The Hawkeyes scored three in the ninth and needed every single one, holding off a late Red Raider comeback attempt to come away with a 10-9 win. Huckstorf and Dorighi were both 3-5 at the plate, including another Huckstorf home run, and Chase Moseley came through with two huge RBI in the ninth inning.
It was a good test for the Hawkeyes this weekend against another ranked opponent in #21 Texas Tech. The Hawks hung with the Red Raiders, but there are certainly things to improve on coming out of the weekend. It was a good reminder of the level the Hawks will need to compete at if they want to achieve their season goals, as well as a good temperature check before Iowa turns towards conference play. The Hawkeyes will host St. Thomas on Wednesday before welcoming South Dakota State to town for a three-game series starting Friday.
GOLF
The men's golf team took part in the Johnnie-O at Sea Island to start the week, while the women's team competed in the Briar's Creek Invitational. The men's team finished +24, tied for 8th, while the Women's team finished in 10th at +27.
The top finishers for the men were Mac McClear, who finished tied for 22nd at +4, and Hogan Hansen, who finished tied for 25th at +5. McClear put up the top round for the Hawks with a 69 (-1).
The women's team was led by Paula Miranda, who finished tied for 10th at Even Par. Miranda used nine birdies throughout the tournament to help her earn her 2nd-career Top-10 finish.