University of Minnesota Athletics
Meet Preview: Iowa
10/26/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming & Diving
| MINNESOTA VS. WISCONSIN | |
| Men's Meet Time | Friday, Oct. 28 - 6:30 p.m. |
| Women's Meet Time | Saturday, Oct. 29 - 11 a.m. |
| Location | Minneapolis, Minn. / Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center |
| Live Stats | |
| Links | CSCAA Poll (Oct. 26) | Look Up Times | Wisconsin Dual Results |
| Swimming World Q&A with Kierra Smith | |
| Social Media | @GopherSwimDive / Facebook / Instagram |
The Golden Gophers will host Iowa for "Pack the Pool" weekend Oct. 28-29. The men's meet will be Friday at 6:30 p.m., with the women following on Saturday at 11 a.m. The Gopher men are ranked 12th in the season's first CSCAA poll, and the women are ranked 16th.
PACK THE POOL
Both meets will be free to attend. On Friday night, Olympic medalist and program alum David Plummer will be at the Aquatic Center for a meet and greet and autograph session from approximately 6-7 p.m. Goldy will also make an appearance. The first 50 University of Minnesota students to arrive at the meet will receive free throwback t-shirts. On both Friday and Saturday, Gophers student-athletes will toss free t-shirts into the crowd.
LAST TIME OUT
On Oct. 13, the Gopher men beat Wisconsin 185-115, and the women fell 158-142 to open the season. Yu Zhou and Matt Barnard earned Big Ten Diver of the Week accolades after each picking up an individual win and second place finish. Daryl Turner, Conner McHugh, Brooke Zeiger and Danielle Nack won multiple individual events.
"I saw the results of a lot of work we've done on details," head coach Kelly Kremer said. "We've set the tone for the type of work we want to do in the pool in terms of details, and it came through against Wisconsin. I saw it, and I think the team saw it, so it's reassuring that we're heading in the right direction."
THIS WEEK'S MATCHUP
Minnesota's men and women both beat the Hawkeyes last year in Iowa City. The women won 192-105 and the men won 169.5-130.5. Returners who won multiple individual events are: Nack, Zeiger, Yu Zhou, Rachel Munson, Zoe Avestruz, Michael Messner, Jakub Maly and Matt Barnard.
While Kremer would like to see his teams get the sweep like last season, he would also like to see improvements made since Minnesota's Oct. 13 meet.
"I'd like to see us build off what we did against Wisconsin," Kremer said. "The detail work and how we're performing underwater on our kicks, our pullouts, and handling starts and turns-I'd like to see that progression continue in a positive way. On the women's side I would like to see us be more competitive in the 50 and 100 freestyle. …They're all working on details. Each individual's trying to get a little bit better."
EARLY SEASON SPEED
After the first competition of the season, a handful of Gophers' times rank at or near the top of the Big Ten. On the men's side, McHugh holds the conference's top times in both breaststroke races, with John Bushman right behind him in the 200. Turner ranks second in the 100 butterfly. Bowe Becker has an NCAA "B" cut in the 50 freestyle. Two of the men's relays rank second in the conference.
Nack posted NCAA "B" cut times in both butterfly events. Kierra Smith swam a "B" cut in the 200 breast in her first race since the Olympic final. Freshmen made a strong first showing, as Lindsey Horejsi ranks second behind Olympic gold medalist Lilli King in the 100 breast, and Tevyn Waddell has a "B" cut in the 100 backstroke.
"It speaks volumes," Kremer said. "We had some people who went lifetime bests in that meet. We were certainly tired and we didn't do anything special for it, so I like where we're at. When you get some positive feedback as an athlete, I hope what it does is inspire them to keep the process going and keep trying to get a little bit better every day."
Players Mentioned
