Blog
Illinois Weekend Review
AMES, Iowa- It was not the best week to be at Beyer Pool. It started on Monday when Jeli Nixt came down with illness and it began slowly picking people off. Next down was Jenny Vondenkamp, then Brianna Carlberg and it was capped off by Lindsey Behrens only 30 minutes before the team was to travel on Friday. Of the four, only Vondenkamp came through and was able to make the trip.
The effect was already felt Friday in Normal against Illinois State and Evansville. With Vondenkamp sitting out, Iowa State dropped the top three in the 1000 and finished second in the 500. Behrens was missed in the 200 free as the Cyclones missed out on the top three there as well. Freshman Marley Suckow did step up in the 200 breast and the 400 medley relay and coved for the abscent Nixt.
It still came down to the last race, the Cyclones needing to win the 200 free relay over Illinois State to prevent its first loss to the Redbirds since 1998. Abby Glaser, Frances Calzada, Chelsea Tomek and Kalyn Amundsen stepped up to take the race by just over a second and win the meet 128-115. ISU also took down Evansville 150-93.
Next stop was Illinois. That was where the abscenses began to creep up again. Vondenkamp was slated for the 200 free to cover for Behrens. However, Vondenkamp was missed in the 1000 ahead of her as the Illini swept the top three. No one knows if it would have made a difference but it is something that is wondered. It would have been quite a risk to swim Vondenkamp in the 1000 considering before Saturday, the last time she swam was on Tuesday.
Iowa State got swept in the 200 free after that. Freshman Dani Harris stepped up to take Jeli's spot in the 100 breast and she almost locked it up, finishing only .09 seconds behind first place. While the illness bug can be blamed for the struggles in the previously mentioned events, the same cannot be said for the 200 fly as the Cyclones got swept both days and for the second year in a row were swept by the Illini in the event. ISU also suffered a sweep in the 200 breast, an event which Nixt would have contended in. Iowa State got swept in the 500 free to cap off the struggles of the weekend.
It was not all negative for the Cyclones. Nan Liu has continued to show her value to the team. Liu contributed three wins on Friday and another three on Saturday. However, the amount being asked from Liu has began to take a toll on her after a year out of competition. Things will ease from here though. Liu was denied a fourth win Saturday by .03 seconds in the 100 fly by Abby Glaser. Glaser considers the Illinois meet a home meet of sorts, feeling obligated to perform well in her home state and she did that on Saturday.
Dani Harris continues to impress. She has the third fastest in-season time of any Cyclone currently on the roster in the 200 IM and she dropped almost half a second between Friday and Saturday, showing she can still go down. Her 100 breast effort against Illinois cannot be thanked enough. She also showed her skills in the 200 back, an event which she can also make an impact in this season.
It is off to South Dakota next weekend for meets against the Coyotes and Jackrabbits. Depending on how the illness stuff goes around will help shape the lineup quite a bit but it would be safe to assume that so much will be asked out of the teams better swimmers. This is also the Cyclones last competition until the Northwestern TYR Invitational on November 20-22.
Until next time, go Cyclones!
The effect was already felt Friday in Normal against Illinois State and Evansville. With Vondenkamp sitting out, Iowa State dropped the top three in the 1000 and finished second in the 500. Behrens was missed in the 200 free as the Cyclones missed out on the top three there as well. Freshman Marley Suckow did step up in the 200 breast and the 400 medley relay and coved for the abscent Nixt.
It still came down to the last race, the Cyclones needing to win the 200 free relay over Illinois State to prevent its first loss to the Redbirds since 1998. Abby Glaser, Frances Calzada, Chelsea Tomek and Kalyn Amundsen stepped up to take the race by just over a second and win the meet 128-115. ISU also took down Evansville 150-93.
Next stop was Illinois. That was where the abscenses began to creep up again. Vondenkamp was slated for the 200 free to cover for Behrens. However, Vondenkamp was missed in the 1000 ahead of her as the Illini swept the top three. No one knows if it would have made a difference but it is something that is wondered. It would have been quite a risk to swim Vondenkamp in the 1000 considering before Saturday, the last time she swam was on Tuesday.
Iowa State got swept in the 200 free after that. Freshman Dani Harris stepped up to take Jeli's spot in the 100 breast and she almost locked it up, finishing only .09 seconds behind first place. While the illness bug can be blamed for the struggles in the previously mentioned events, the same cannot be said for the 200 fly as the Cyclones got swept both days and for the second year in a row were swept by the Illini in the event. ISU also suffered a sweep in the 200 breast, an event which Nixt would have contended in. Iowa State got swept in the 500 free to cap off the struggles of the weekend.
It was not all negative for the Cyclones. Nan Liu has continued to show her value to the team. Liu contributed three wins on Friday and another three on Saturday. However, the amount being asked from Liu has began to take a toll on her after a year out of competition. Things will ease from here though. Liu was denied a fourth win Saturday by .03 seconds in the 100 fly by Abby Glaser. Glaser considers the Illinois meet a home meet of sorts, feeling obligated to perform well in her home state and she did that on Saturday.
Dani Harris continues to impress. She has the third fastest in-season time of any Cyclone currently on the roster in the 200 IM and she dropped almost half a second between Friday and Saturday, showing she can still go down. Her 100 breast effort against Illinois cannot be thanked enough. She also showed her skills in the 200 back, an event which she can also make an impact in this season.
It is off to South Dakota next weekend for meets against the Coyotes and Jackrabbits. Depending on how the illness stuff goes around will help shape the lineup quite a bit but it would be safe to assume that so much will be asked out of the teams better swimmers. This is also the Cyclones last competition until the Northwestern TYR Invitational on November 20-22.
Until next time, go Cyclones!
