Iowa State Leads South Dakota After Day One

AMES, Iowa – The Cyclones finish day one of their two-day meet, leading the South Dakota Coyotes, 121-103. The night had strong performances by all Iowa State athletes, creating some memorable moments and great feats.

How It Happened

The Cyclones came out firing to begin the meet. Emma Kuhn, Grace Swoboda, Keirlyn Mullica, and Jenna Polking strung together a win in the 200 Medley Relay, netting the Cyclones 11 points.

In the 1650 Free, sophomore Carlotta Gazzola grabbed nine points with her first event win of the season. She would go on to gain four additional points with a second-place finish in the 500 Free.

Junior Anja Peck followed up next with the top spot in the 100 IM, finishing in 58.84 seconds. Later in the meet, Peck gets her second event win of the season in the 200 Breast with a time of 2:14.79.

"[Anja] has been really hungry to find her rhythm, and she did a great job with her swims," said head coach Matt Leach.

Junior Grace Swoboda continued her winning streak, not in breaststroke, but in the 100 Free with a time of 52.01 seconds, her fastest in-season time in the event.

In the following event, senior Emma Kuhn came from behind to win the 200 Back, 0.11 seconds ahead of South Dakota sophomore Henley Hatzung.

Multiple Cyclone swimmers contributed to the tally with several podium finishes. Junior Beatriz Comini Romero earned a pair of third place finishes in the 200 Free & 200 Back. Freshman Claire Dobrydney earned a runner-up in the 200 Free. Freshman Audrey Lindstrom finished third in the 500 Free.

"We've got some more work to do…but I am really proud of how they handled our home opener," Leach said. "I am looking forward to more excitement tomorrow morning as we come back and swim & dive against the Coyotes. Go Cyclones!"

In 3-meter diving, Iowa State had excellent performances and featured a historic night. The Cyclones sweep the podium with freshman Katie Malm winning with a score of 333.25. Junior Abby Tollefson (283.25) and sophomore Iona Moffat (281.70) go 2-3, respectively. All three divers received NCAA Zone-cut qualifications for their scores tonight.

"I am very excited with six of our divers," said head diving coach Jeff Warrick. "They are all really strong. they've been working really hard, and if they can keep the consistency up, then I think we'll have a very good season."

With Katie's score of 333.25, she breaks a fourteen-year freshmen record held by Elyse Brouillette in the 2012-13 season. In addition, she is now third in the all-time top performers list in 3-meter (six dives), only behind Tien Tran in 2008-09 (338.55) and Michelle Schlossmacher Smith in 2021-22 (348.83).

"I couldn't be happier for her to be a part of our Cyclone team," Warrick said. "She has made a lot of progress…she worked with her club coaches coming in, and she has continued to progress and is getting more comfortable and confident by being up there more."

On Deck

The Cyclones will conclude their dual meet against the Coyotes tomorrow. Day Two sessions will begin at 11:00 a.m. at Beyer Pool.

Event Winners

200 Medley Relay – ISU-A (Kuhn, Swoboda, Mullica, Polking), 1:43.45

1650 Free – Carlotta Gazzola, Iowa State, 17:28.59

200 Free – Gabbie Ahrendt, South Dakota, 1:54.01

50 Free – Henley Hatzung, South Dakota, 24.10

100 IM – Anja Peck, Iowa State, 58.84

200 Fly – Maddie Schrank, South Dakota, 2:07.05

100 Free – Grace Swoboda, Iowa State, 52.01

200 Back – Emma Kuhn, Iowa State, 2:04.33

500 Free – Emily DiProspero, South Dakota, 5:08.84

3M Diving – Katie Malm, Iowa State, 333.25

200 Breast – Anja Peck, Iowa State, 2:14.79

400 Free Relay – ISU-A (Mullica, Polking, Marquardt, Swoboda), 3:28.59

Players Mentioned

Beatriz Comini Romero

Claire Dobrydney

Carlotta Gazzola

Emma Kuhn

Audrey Lindstrom

Katie Malm

Iona Moffat

Keirlyn Mullica

Anja Peck

Jenna Polking

Grace Swoboda

Abby Tollefson

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics

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