Olympic Spotlight: Hawkeyes Looking Strong Heading into Conference Play

As the weather starts to turn, Hawkeyes sports turn toward conference play. For Iowa sports this week, it was either the last weekend of non-conference play or the start of Big Ten competition.

If these past few weeks are anything to go on, we're likely to see more good things from Hawkeye sports this year. It was another undefeated week for the Hawkeyes, so let's jump right in.

Hawkeye field hockey picked up two more dominating wins last week, bringing their record to 8-0 as they head into conference play. The Hawks picked up a 5-0 win over Vermont (3-4) and an 8-0 victory over Merrimack College (0-7).

Against the Catamounts, the Hawkeyes followed a familiar formula. Freshman phenom Dionne van Aalsum scored her first goal of the game just three minutes into the game. Lieve Schalk put away another just before the halftime break. Sofie Stribos picked up a goal early in the 2nd half off a van Aalsum assist and then van Aalsum went back to her scoring ways, finding the back of the net twice more, giving her a third straight hat trick and the Hawks another shutout win. Iowa allowed just four shots in the match, only one of which was on target.

It was an even more impressive showing against Merrimack for the Hawkeyes. Three different Hawks put up multi-goal games, Alex Wesneski, Rachel Herbine, and Dionne van Aalsum and the team didn't allow a single shot. The Big Ten again recognized van Aalsum's incredible offensive performances, awarding her Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honors.

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She now has an NCAA-leading 21 goals on the season and is quickly approaching the Iowa freshman record of 27 goals, a record that is looking more and more precarious by the week. To put into context how remarkable her goal-scoring efforts have been, the next-highest scorer in the NCAA this season has... 10 goals (three different players).

The entire Hawkeye team is firing on all cylinders. The group leads the country in shutouts (5) and has allowed only three goals and just 18 shots on goal so far this year. The group is controlling tempo and pace in every game they play. They've been able to jump on the opposition from the opening whistle and not let up for four quarters. It's an impressive sight to see and one that looks poised to carry on into conference play.

As expected, Iowa retained the #1 national ranking after going undefeated over the weekend.

The Hawks will begin Big Ten play on Friday against Michigan (5-3) (5:00, BTN+)

Iowa volleyball (8-4) picked up a pair of straight-set wins last weekend, as they traveled east and beat Syracuse (2-8) and Cornell (2-7). The Hawks opened the weekend with a convincing win over the Orange. The Hawks won all three sets, 25-21, 25-20, and 25-15.

The Hawks looked composed throughout, pulling away late in each of the first two sets before taking a dominating 14-6 lead in the third set and riding the big lead to the match win. Anna Davis hit .600 in the match and middle hitter Delaney Mcsweeney was close behind, hitting .500.

Iowa carried Friday's momentum into Saturday, picking up another three-set win. The first two sets were close wins, 25-22 and 27-25, before Iowa again pulled away and took the third set decisively 25-11. The Hawkeyes fought off a Cornell run in set one to tie the game at 22 and then closed out the set, again showing composure and consistency.

Cornell wouldn't go away in set two either, but Iowa kept their foot on the gas and avoided any lapses to pull out the 27-25 win. Iowa showed they were the superior team in set three, taking a 7-0 lead that eventually ballooned to 21-8 and ultimately 25-11. Nataly Moravec notched 13 kills, Kaia Mateo led the Hawkeyes with 18 assists and Caitlan Buettner paced Iowa with 16 digs.

These were games the Hawkeyes should win, but it was encouraging to see them win in straight sets. The Hawks withstood runs and bounced back in a way they haven't in past matches and then pulled away as the matches wore on, leaving no room for doubt that they were the better team. The Hawks are about to take a major step up in competition as they enter Big Ten play, but they've got some definite momentum as they prepare for their toughest test of the season. They'll open conference play against #9 Minnesota (4-4) on Thursday (6:00, FS1).

Iowa soccer (6-0-2) opened up conference play with a 1-1 draw against Illinois (4-2-2) on Sunday. The Illini scored in the first half after a miscommunication at the back from the Hawkeyes, taking an early lead that they held through much of the game, despite Iowa peppering Illinois with six first-half shots.

Illinois held the lead late into the second half and nearly found a second goal, if not for a big one-on-one stop from Macy Enneking. Iowa was in full desperation mode in the 84th minute when Elle Otto sent a dangerous cross into the box that was emphatically headed home by senior Kelli McGroarty.

The Hawks will feel like they left points on the table after the goal was conceded on a mental error and Iowa outshot the Illini 15-8 on the day. Still, it was an impressive show of resilience from the Hawks to keep pushing for 90 minutes and ultimately finding the equalizer on the final shot of the match.

Illinois is right behind the Hawks in RPI, so it was always likely to be a close game. Iowa was able to get a taste of conference play and still come away with a point even when they weren't at their best. It's the next best thing outside of three points.

The Hawkeyes will look to nab their first conference win when they take on Wisconsin (5-1-3) on Thursday (7:00, BTN+) before hosting Minnesota (4-2-2)on Sunday (1:00, BTN+).

The Iowa women's cross-country team competed in the Redbird Invite over the weekend, finishing in 19th place. Ali Bookin-Nosbisch was the top finisher for the Hawks, running a career-best 22:41.8 in the 6,000-meter race, good for 19th overall. Clare Pitcher and Ava Rush also ran at the event finishing in 77th and 80th place respectively. The team has a week off before they'll next run, taking part in the Joe Piane Invite in South Bend.

Both the men's and women's Iowa golf teams are in action to start the week, with the men's team taking part in the Chicago Highlands Classic and the women competing in the Badger Invitational.

After two rounds, Noah Kent is shooting a solid -4, tied for 12th in the tournament. Kent fired a first-round 68 to vault himself up the leaderboard and shot an even-par 72 on Monday. Fellow Hawkeye Max Tjoa is tied for 23rd at -3 after a three-under 69 in the second round. The team is sitting in 10th place, one shot back of 9th place Rutgers

On the women's side, two Hawks are tied for 13th after two rounds. Madison Dabagia made five birdies on Monday to shoot a one-under 71 and now sits at +1 in the tournament, tied with Paula Miranda, who shot 73 and 72 over the first and second rounds respectively. The team is currently in 8th place, two shots back of fifth and seven shots back of third.