In the 200 medley relay, sophomores Paul Gordon and Ryan Phelan, and juniors Sean Hagan and Max Dittmer finished ninth (1:29.02) out of 10 teams. Michigan finished first with a time of 1:25.72.

The Hawkeyes finished fourth in the 800 free relay. Freshman Jordan Huff, sophomores Duncan Partridge and Paul Gordon, and senior Brian Farris posted a strong time (6:27.66) to help move them up in the point standings.

Iowa continues competition tomorrow with the 500 free, 200 IM, and 50 preliminary races at 11 a.m. and finals at 6 p.m.

— by Patrick Rafferty

The Hawkeyes (10-1) earned their tenth victory with a 162-52 win over Western Illinois during the final meet at the Field House.

Seniors Brad Jones and Matt Ryan ended their senior season with success as well. Jones won the 50 yard freestyle (21.70) and the 100 freestyle (47.65), while Ryan won the 50 breastroke (26.86).

Iowa will return to action for the Big Ten Championships in Columbus, Ohio on Feb. 24.

— by Patrick Rafferty

After the first day, Iowa leads Denver 78-29 and Notre Dame 66-43, while staying tied with Missouri at 54.5 points apiece.

Sophomores Ryan Phelan and Duncan Partridge, junior Sean Hagan, and freshman Jordan Huff opened the meet with a win in the 200 free relay (1:22.36).

The Hawkeyes then went on to place first in two of the next four events, with sophomores Paul Gordon placing first in the 500 free (4:30.16), and Partridge placing first in the 50 yard freestyle.

After the Iowa’s wins, Missouri went on to win the last two events to keep pace with the Hawkeyes

Iowa continues action tomorrow at 9 a.m. Central time, with the final heats taking place at 4 p.m.

— by Patrick Rafferty

Sophomore sensation Sonja Molnar dropped both sets to No. 29 Kristy Frilling, 0-6, 3-6. Frilling and partner Kali Krisik also defeated Molnar, and junior Lynne Poggensee-Wei, 1-8, in doubles play.

“I thought as a whole, we competed well — certain spots better than others,” Iowa head coach Katie Dougherty said. “We started slow. We got to come out tomorrow and jump on them. I think part of it was not playing — it being out first match. It looked like it was our first match of the year, and it just happened to be against a good team who exposed that quickly.”

Junior Alexis Dorr from prevented a Notre Dame sweep after taking Notre Dame’s Kristen Rafael to an extra game. Dorr then went on to win, 7-6, 5-7 , and 4-10, in overtime.

“I’m proud of the way she went out there and took care of business,” Dougherty said of Dorr. “She did a nice job of stepping up. It’s tough to win those 10-point tie breakers.”

Iowa hosts Eastern Michigan at the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Center on Sunday at 10 a.m.

– by Patrick Rafferty

Hoping to prove last season’s win over the Wildcats in Iowa City was no fluke, Iowa sealed another triumph away from home. Iowa led the until a late surge by Northwestern put the Hawkeyes on their toes.

With the meet coming down to the last 400 yard relay, Iowa swept the top two spots to win.

The relay team of freshman Jordan Huff, sophomores Paul Gordan and Ryan Phelan, and junior Richard Salhus took first (3:02.31). Seniors Brad Jones, Jake Moore, sophomore Duncan Patridge, and freshman Mitch Taylor took second (3:04.50) to capture the event and the meet.

Iowa returns to action next weekend in South Bend, Ind., for the Shamrock Invite.

– by Patrick Rafferty

The Iowa women’s tennis team is seeing double.

Set to play in the Midwest Regional tournament, the Hawkeyes will split up to compete in separate locations.

Freshman Sonja Molnar and junior Lynn Poggensee-Wei are slated to compete at Northwestern, while the rest of the team will travel downstate to compete at Illinois beginning today.

Iowa Assistant coach Mira Radu said Molnar and Poggensee-Wei were paired together because the two have been doubles partners recently. They are also the team’s No. 1 and No. 2 individual players currently.

“I think it’s a pretty important tournament, and I think the girls are excited to compete,” Radu said. “It’s the last tournament of the fall. We’re a little bit tired, but I think they’re ready to go.”

With doubles play lacking in recent years, this season’s pairings have shown considerable improvement, which have inspired to the Hawkeyes.

While the team has yet to settle on its perfect combination, the women have seen success with three different pairings.

“We’ve worked on doubles more,” Radu said. “We lost some important doubles points during the last season, so we put some more emphasis on it. We’re trying to figure out better ways to practice for it and match different doubles teams.”

Seniors Merel Beelen and Suzana Chmelarova are 4-2 in competition. The duo of senior Kelcie Klockenga and junior Jessica Young share the same record, and Molnar and Poggensee-Wei are 5-1.

Last weekend, Beelen and Chmelarova were nearly perfect, winning two of three matches. Chmelarova’s play for the Hawkeyes have surprised the team in a positive way.

Also doubling down is the play of Klockenga and Young.

“Well, I think it helps that we’re really good friends, and we communicate well. Doubles is about communication,” Young said. “Our styles match up really well together. She’s really consistent, and I’m really aggressive.”

While this season may have produced great results for the duo, that hasn’t always been the case. In the fall of 2007, Klockenga and Young went 2-4.

“We have played together before and have done well, but this year it’s just clicked,” Klockenga said. “It’s really worked. We’ve really been doing a lot better in doubles and I think a lot of it is our attitude and the type of practices we’ve been having.”

One Hawkeye who has yet to see any doubles action this year is Ally Majercik. The sophomore returned last weekend to partake in singles play but has yet to pair up with a teammate.

The team held Majerick out of the first competition and practice to begin the year.

“We were just kind of checking her,” Radu said. “She had some kind of headaches. They were just checking to see if it was something major or dangerous.

“It’s never a good feeling on the team when someone’s hurt. So it’s really great to have her back and play.”

Despite the athletic department advertising for the position on the university’s Human Resources website from Oct. 5-16, the team has yet to word of a new leader, Iowa volunteer assistant coach Chris Lueth said.

“To my knowledge no one has been brought to campus yet,” he said.

The Hawkeyes are allowed to meet with potential coaching candidates brought in by the athletic department. Lueth said the team is really close with each other, and the new coach has to enjoy the players’ company as well.

“The most important thing is that [the women] want someone who they get along with well, and who will step in and do a good job of maintaining the team unity,” he said. “There’s a solid foundation amongst the players.”

Even without a coach, the Hawkeyes have remained committed to their normal routine, continuing to practice and prepare for the Midwest Regionals.

“The girls have maintained a very good demeanor,” Lueth said. “They’ve been going through practices and going through the tournaments with the right kind of attitude. They haven’t been sidetracked or distracted by that very much at all.”

— by Patrick Rafferty