The weather continues to heat up, and so are Iowa's spring sports teams. We've got a full slate this week so let's jump right in.

Iowa softball (25-16, 7-6 Big Ten) swept Maryland (15-25, 3-13 Big Ten) last weekend, besting the Terps 6-1, 9-0, and 7-2 in their best weekend of the season before falling to Iowa State (21-18, 9-6 Big 12).

The series opened with a Saturday doubleheader which the Hawkeyes dominated. In the opening game, Jalen Adams took the mound and pitched a complete game gem, striking out three and allowing just one run. Maryland scored its one run in the bottom of the first, but the Hawkeyes roared back to control the game.

Soo-Jin Berry tied the game on a RBI triple in the top of the second inning and Alyssa Ramos drove in Berry one batter later to give Iowa the lead. Jena Young's RBI single pushed the lead to 3-1 and Iowa would add one more before the inning ended, flipping the game putting the Hawkeyes up 4-1.

Two insurance runs in the top of the fourth pushed Iowa's lead to 6-1 and the Hawkeyes cruised from there as Adams retired the final nine Maryland batters she faced.

The Hawkeyes wasted no time in the second game of the day, jumping out to a 4-0 lead after two runs in each of the first two innings. Desiree Rivera's double gave Iowa the initial 2-0 lead before Young and Echo Mattiello each drove in runs in the second to doble the Hawkeye lead. Talia Tretton was locked in on the mound, pitching a complete game shutout. The game remained 4-0 into the fifth inning when Iowa piled on five more runs led by Tretton's three-RBI double.

Tretton held the Terps scoreless in the bottom of the fifth to earn the run rule win for Iowa.

The Hawks completed the sweep on Sunday with another big win. The game was scoreless into the third inning, but the Hawks were first on the board when Young drove in a run with a sac fly. Iowa added another in the fourth when Tory Bennett's sac fly drove in another and the lead grew to 3-0 when Young bunted to drive in a run in the fifth. Maryland got on the board with one in the bottom of the inning, but the Hawks refused to let Maryland back in the game, adding two more runs in the sixth.

The Terps plated another in the bottom of the sixth to cut the lead to 5-2, but the Hawkeye bats slammed the door shut when Berry smashed a two-run shot to right in the top of the seventh to give Iowa the 7-2 lead and series sweep.

Unfortunately, the Hawkeyes fell to Iowa State 9-5 in Tuesday's game. A rough fourth inning saw the Hawkeyes fall behind 6-1, and while the team rallied with a four-run fifth, the Cyclones answered with three more in the bottom of the sixth to take the 9-5 lead they would not relinquish.

There's been no shortage of obstacles for the Hawkeyes this season, but they've refused to make excuses and continue to battle each weekend. The team has shown significant improvement from last year and earned their first sweep since the 2023 season. Young and Berry have developed into major threats at the plate and Tretton has shown promise both at the plate and on the mound. The team has exceeded last year's win total and has fought its way into the top half of the Big Ten standings.

Perhaps most encouraging, almost all of the Hawkeyes' biggest contributors have eligibility remaining next year. It will require a leap of faith for the players to choose to stay as the coaching staff is remade, but the players are clearly close and are playing for each other. Hopefully, they'll want to be part of the next era of Hawkeye softball. Penn State (20-20, 6-7 Big Ten) comes to town for a three-game set this weekend.

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Iowa baseball (24-11, 14-4 Big Ten) took two of three from Nebraska (16-20, 5-10) over the weekend, continuing their successful run in conference play and added a midweek win over Bradley (5-27, 1-11) for good measure. The Hawks won a tense 1-0 game Friday, blew out the Huskers 11-6 on Saturday and fell in the series finale 6-4.

Friday night's opener was a pitcher's duel in the fullest sense. Cade Obermueller was tremendous on the mound, striking out eleven Huskers and allowing just two hits in seven innings of work. Anthony Watts was lights out in relief, pitching two innings and giving up only a single hit. Iowa's lone run came in the bottom of the second on a Kooper Schulte solo home run.

It was an impressive opening victory for the Hawkeyes, who have been blowing out opponents at the plate often in the last few weeks. Obermueller has blossomed into a bona fide top of the rotation starter and Watts was clutch in relief as he kept the shutout intact.

Saturday's game was a barn burner, with Iowa staging a late comeback to come away with the 11-6 series-clinching win. Daniel Rogers put Iowa up with an RBI in the first inning, but Nebraska answered with two in the second to take a 2-1 lead. Gable Mitchell tied the game in the bottom of the third after an 11-pitch battle.

The Huskers again pulled ahead in the fourth inning, plating three to take a 5-2 lead. The Hawkeyes continued to battle back and pulled within one after a Miles Risley two-run shot in the bottom of the fifth.

The teams traded runs in the seventh and it looked as though Nebraska might sneak away with a 6-5 win until Iowa's offense exploded in the bottom of the eighth. Ben Wilmes tied the game with a leadoff home run and the Hawks followed it up with two walks and a single to load the bases. A sac fly and RBI single gave Iowa a two-run lead before Andy Nelson broke the game open with a three-run bomb to left field.

Nebraska plated one more, but the Iowa bullpen was more than up to the task, slamming the door and giving Iowa the 11-6 win.

The offense carried the day Saturday, responding to every Husker rally with one of their own before breaking through for a clutch late-inning rally. The series' opening games are the perfect showcase of the multiple ways the Hawkeyes can win, dominating on the mound and rallying at the plate. The group may not have the star power that the past few iterations of the teams have had, but the team believes in itself and fights to the final out. That's more than once turned games and series that looked like losses into momentum-building wins.

Sunday's game was another back-and-forth affair, but this time it was the Huskers who broke through late. After a Jackson Beaman double gave Iowa a 1-0 lead in the second, but Nebraska answered with a run in the third and two in the fourth. The Hawkeyes tied the game in the bottom of the fourth behind errors and a Mitchell sac fly, and took a seventh-inning lead when Daniel Rogers doubled to drive in a run. Two Iowa errors gave the Huskers the lead in the eighth and a ninth-inning insurance run gave Nebraska a 6-4 win.

The Hawkeyes battered Bradley 12-5 on Wednesday to keep up their hot streak. The Hawks actually trailed 4-0 after the top of the third, but Iowa responded with a 6-run third inning to take the lead. The Hawks kept the line moving, notching four RBI singles, a RBI double and a groundout that scored a run. Iowa added another in the fourth and two in the 5th to push their lead to 9-4 and pushed another run across in the seventh, along with two in the eighth, to cruise to the 12-5 win.

Even with Sunday's letdown, it was yet another successful weekend for the Hawkeyes. They continue to be an exciting watch and an easy team to root for, hitting for power and racking up strike outs. The Hawkeyes have won all six Big Ten series so far this season and sit second in the Big Ten standings.

They'll travel for a three-game set against Michigan (22-14, 8-7) this weekend.

The Iowa track and field team won four events at last weekend's Jim Duncan Invite, continuing their hot start to the outdoor season. Wisdom Williams won the women's shot put with a huge 16.15m toss, a personal-best and 4th all-time at Iowa, Jaiden Itson won the women's 800m race in 2:12.50, Duke Faley won the men's discus, throwing a career-best 54.75m, and Austin Busch won the men's hammer throw by throwing 65.30m.

The Hawkeyes added 2nd place finishes in the women's discus from Sydnie Smith and the men's 1,500m (3:56.92) from Armaan Chopra (3:56.92).

It was a quiet weekend in terms of competitors for the Hawks, but the team still managed to earn multiple event wins. It was yet another showcase of the depth of this team and the breadth of their talent. They'll be split across California, Kansas, Florida, and California for meets next weekend.

#31 Iowa (12-8, 6-5 Big Ten) dropped a pair of matches against top-25 opponents last week, falling 4-2 to #22 UCLA (12-7, 7-3 Big Ten) and 4-0 to #16 USC (13-5, 7-3 Big Ten).

Against the Bruins, Iowa dropped the doubles point, but battled hard during the singles portion of the match. UCLA claimed the first two singles points on courts 4 and 1, but Iowa responded in kind with wins from Pia Kranholdt on court 5 (7-6, 6-3) and Nikita Vishwase on court 6 (6-3, 1-6, 6-2). Daianne Hayashida pushed her opponent to three sets on court 2, but ultimately fell just short and UCLA clinched the 4-2 win.

The Trojans were impressive on Sunday, sweeping the Hawkeyes without dropping a set. USC's two top-60 ranked players kept the Hawkeyes' best at bay and proved too much for the talented Hawkeyes to overcome.

Even with the two losses, the Hawks still are above .500 in the conference this season and have a chance to secure on of their best finishes in recent years. The team is full of Hawkeyes who have steadily improved over their four years and now have the group poised for a top half conference finish. They'll finish the conference season with matches against Oregon (8-12, 1-10) and Washington (17-3, 9-2).

Iowa rowing was a force last weekend, racking up wins at the Kansas Double Duel. On Saturday morning, the Hawkeyes picked two wins, finishing 1st in the 1V8, and 3V8 races. Iowa's 1V8 boat won its race by more than eight seconds, and the 3V8 boat won by more than 10 seconds.

On Sunday, Iowa added six more victories, winning the 1V8, 2V8, 3V8, 4V8, 1V4, and 2V4 races. The 1V8 boat won its race by nearly 14 seconds while the 3V8 and 2V4 boats each won by more than 20 seconds.

It was a great early-season weekend for the Hawkeyes, piling up the wins and showing continued improvement. The Hawks will take a step up next weekend when they compete against top-25 opponents at the Big Ten Invitational.

Iowa men's golf finished 3rd at the Hawkeye Invite over the weekend, finishing with a team score of -7. Sophomore Max Tjoa and Gage Messingham were the Hawks' top finisher, tying for 7th (-3). Three final round birdies powered Tjoa to a strong finish and he was the best par-3 golfer in the tournament. Messingham carded 13 birdies on the weekend.

Chance Rinkol finished tied for 13th (+1) for Iowa, while Ian Meyer finished tied for 17th (+3).

A tough opening round proved too much to overcome for the Hawkeyes, but the final two rounds will hopefully build some momentum as the Hawkeyes head into the regular season's home stretch. They'll compete in their final regular season tournament next weekend at the Boilermaker Intercollegiate.