The Iowa men’s swimming and diving team splashed up short against rival Minnesota on Oct. 30 in their home dual meet.
The No. 21 Hawkeyes (2-1) fell to the No. 14 Gophers (1-3), 169.5 to 130.5.
“We came in wanting to walk away with the victory, and obviously, that didn’t happen, so we’re a little disappointed,” senior Jackson Allen said. “I know I could’ve done better, and the feeling is if we would’ve just given a little more, it could’ve been different. That’s just how swimming is, though.”
The Hawkeyes started the event with a splash in the 400-medley relay, winning in a time of 3:15.96. Freshmen Kenneth Mende and Jack Smith, along with sophomore Jerzy Twarowski and senior Roman Trussov raced to the fourth-fastest time in the country this season. Trussov had a strong leg in the butterfly to put Iowa ahead for good in the event.
Iowa could not pick up the win in the 1,650 free but did manage to get two swimmers into the top three. Freshmen Drew Eisen and Ben Colin placed second and third.
Trussov started a stretch of five-straight victories for the Hawkeyes, picked up his second title of the day in the 100 breaststroke with a winning time of 55.98.
Twarowski followed up with a win in the 200 fly, taking first in 1:48.28. Twarowski also picked up a win in the 100 fly, with a NCAA B qualifying mark of 48.04.
Iowa had a strong showing in the 50 free as well, with Allen touching the wall first in 20.51. Junior Jackson Halsmer placed second in 20.65.
In the 100 free, Smith tied for first with Paul Fair of Minnesota at 45.29.
Rounding out the winning streak for the Hawkeyes was Mende in the 200 backstroke in 1:49.37.
“As a freshman, that’s great,” head coach Marc Long said. “That’s a good start for him. There are good things for him down the road.”
Mende, who redshirted last season, competed in his first meet as a Hawkeye.
The native of Chemnitz, Germany, helped Iowa pick up two wins and placed second in the 100 backstroke in 49.00.
“I think I did pretty well,” Mende said. “The first time competing for Iowa, I was really proud. It was a great feeling. I’d been waiting since December when I got here to compete. I can’t wait for the rest of my four years.”
The Hawkeyes were ultimately overpowered by Minnesota in the meet, but there were some bright spots.
The freshman class impressed observers yet again with wins from Smith and Mende and strong showings from Eisen and Colin.
The more experience the young Hawkeyes can get, the more formidable they will be in the tough Big Ten.
“I’m proud of a lot of the events, a lot of the racing, the effort, but ultimately, we didn’t get the win,” Long said. “And that’s what we were looking for.”
