A false start disqualified the Gophers in their first event of Friday’s meet.
But they overcame that en route to a commanding 195-105 victory over Iowa at the University Aquatic Center.
“On the women’s side, I think so many people stepped up and did a great job. It’s hard to pick out just one or two [performances],” head coach Kelly Kremer said.
Senior Kiera Janzen made a strong impact, winning both the 1,000-yard freestyle and the 500-yard freestyle, along with earning a second-place finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay.
“She really took control of the races and got out in front and gave us some big wins in the distance freestyles,” Kremer said.
Janzen said she has been changing her stroke this season, adding that she’s finally seeing results of the change.
“It has been kind of a frustrating process because anytime you make major stroke changes, it is kind of hard to see it in practice and hard to see it in meets,” Janzen said. “This meet, I felt like I am starting to see it more and starting to feel that difference in the races.”
In addition to dominating in the pool, the Gophers were successful in diving.
Sophomore Yu Zhou finished first in the 1-meter competition, while sophomore Lexi Tenenbaum placed first in the 3-meter.
Men win tight meet
Despite splitting event victories with the Hawkeyes at the meet, the Gophers came out with a victory on Friday, thanks to the efforts of senior CJ Smith and sophomore Jakub Maly.
The Gophers and Hawkeyes were close going into the final individual event, the 200-yard individual medley, when Maly came through with a crucial first-place finish that put the team in the lead.
“That’s my event,” Maly said. “I know the race, [and] when I do my job and do what I have to do, I can just do great.”
Kremer said he was proud of the performances by Maly and senior Andrew Hartbarger, who took second in the 200-yard individual medley.
“They knew that they needed big swims, and they went out and did it for us,” Kremer said. “That was just outstanding.”
Smith finished the meet placing first in both the 1,000-yard and the 500-yard freestyle.
“I think that I did what I needed to do for the team, [and] I think a bunch of the other guys did as well,” Smith said. “So that was mostly [what was] on my mind, and times were second. I was just happy to see the team do well.”
Junior Manny Pollard swept both the 1-meter and 3-meter diving competitions for his fourth and fifth event victories of the season.
Minnesota lost its last Big Ten meet but rebounded against Iowa.
“We are getting better every week,” Kremer said. “That was our goal coming into this meet. We just wanted to be better than we [have been] so far this season, [and] I know the progress we are trying to make is there.”
