Aiming to make a splash
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The Iowa men’s swimming and diving team is coming off one of its best seasons in quite some time.
What you should know
The Iowa men’s swimming and diving team head into the 2009-10 season after putting together its most successful season in the last decade. Iowa defeated four ranked teams during the 2008-09 campaign en route to the first undefeated home dual-meet record since 1998.
The Hawkeyes ended the season on a bittersweet note, finishing in ninth place at the Big Ten championships.
“It didn’t show up in the rankings, but we broke some long standing records and had some huge time drops,” head swimming coach Marc Long said. “We feel we’re in a really good position to make a move in the Big Ten next year.”
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Whom you should know
Junior-to-be Conor Dwyer has led the Hawkeyes in each of the last two seasons. Dwyer collected a fourth-place finish in the 200 freestyle at the Big Ten championships after winning an impressive 28 races during the dual-meet season.
“We made big strides this year in the dual-meet season,” he said. “We’ve got all of our [Big Ten championships] points returning next year, so we’re looking to make big gains at Big Tens.”
Dwyer was named Big Ten Swimmer of the Week twice during his sophomore campaign.
Seniors-to-be Mike Gilligan and Frank Van Dijkhuizen return as the top divers from last season. Van Dijkhuizen was named Big Ten Diver of the Week for the fifth time in his career this past season.
Main rivals
Wisconsin and Northwestern have the potential to be tightly contested meets for the Hawkeyes. Iowa defeated both teams this season for the first time in more than a decade.
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