By James Kay
Both the Hawkeye men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams dominated Northwestern on Jan. 21 on Iowa’s Senior Day.
“I was proud of our athletes stepping up in this situation,” Iowa head coach Marc Long said in a release. “It was Senior Day, and that can be emotional. The men and women stepped up and rose to the challenge. It was a lot of fun and an exciting finish.”
The men’s team won, 166-134, against a Northwestern team that had Olympian distance freestyler Jordon Wilimovsky.
The women’s team also faced an Olympian in Valerie Gruest Slowing, and held a tight 143-140 lead over Northwestern heading into the final event. Iowa prevailed, as Hannah Burvill, Meghan Lavelle, Allyssa Fluit, and Carly O’Brien led the way, edging Northwestern by 0.27 seconds.
“I had to do it; I didn’t give myself an option not to beat the girl next to me,” O’Brien said in a release. “I knew I could; it all came together at the end. I am glad the first part of the relay helped me out.”
Burvill, in her first season across the pond from her native country of England, accrued four wins. She was a part of Iowa’s 200-medley relay, while also taking the 100 and 200 freestyle in individual races.
On the men’s side, junior Jerzy Twarowski recorded two wins in the 100 and 200 fly. Sophomore Kenneth Moore took the 100 backstroke, and junior Thomas Rathbun won the 200 back.
The men’s team won seven events at the meet.
The Hawkeyes are slated to take on Northern Iowa and Western Illinois at 6 p.m. on Feb. 3 at home.
