Iowa Hawkeye Athletics Week in Review

ICYMI: News from Iowa City for Sept. 18-24, 2023

IOWA CITY, Iowa - The fall sports seasons are in full swing and the winter teams will start practices soon. The most wonderful time of year for college sports teams sits just around the bend. 

We were reminded of that with the release of the Iowa Basketball schedules this past week after the Big Ten revealed its slate for 2023-24. The women made theirs public on Thursday. The men did the same a few days earlier. 

CBS and ESPN unveiled their way-too-early women's basketball Top 25s back in April. The Hawkeyes ranked third behind defending-champion LSU and Connecticut in both polls after reaching the national title game last season. 

Iowa welcomes back national player of the year Caitlin Clark along with a pair of sixth-year seniors in Gabbie Marshall and Kate Martin. Rotational pieces Molly Davis, Hannah Stuelke, Sydney Affolter, Kylie Feuerbach and Addison O'Grady should take on bigger roles this year. 

The Hawkeyes appear publicly for the first time during the Crossover at Kinnick exhibition game against DePaul on Oct. 15. They open the regular season Nov. 6 when they play host to Fairleigh Dickinson. That's followed by a showdown with fellow '22-23 Final Four participant Virginia Tech three days later. 

Iowa travels to Northern Iowa on Nov. 12 and Iowa State on Dec. 6, and plays host to Drake Nov. 19. It opens conference play on Dec. 10 at Wisconsin. 

The Hawkeye men seek a fifth NCAA Tournament appearance in a row. They would already be there had the '20 event not been canceled by the pandemic. Still, five in a row would match a program record ('85-89) for consecutive trips to the Big Dance.  

Patrick McCaffery returns for his fifth season after starting and coming off the bench a year ago. Tony Perkins is a returning starter and Payton Sandfort is primed for a larger role after starting seven contests last season. This team will need heavy contributions from the freshman and sophomore classes. 

Iowa opens the season with an exhibition against Quincy on Oct. 30 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The real games begin Nov. 7 with North Dakota coming to town. The Hawkeyes are in Omaha a week later for a Gavitt Games matchup with Creighton. 

The Hawkeyes are facing Oklahoma and either USC or Seton Hall in San Diego tournament during Thanksgiving and Black Friday. They begin conference competition on Dec. 4 at Purdue and head to Iowa State three days later. 

FIELD HOCKEY 

Top-ranked Iowa opened Big Ten play by knocking off No. 14 Michigan, 2-0, Friday in Ann Arbor. The Hawkeyes improved to 9-0 this season, which includes four wins against ranked opponents. 

Freshman Miranda Jackson gave the visitors a 1-0 lead with an unassisted goal in the third period. Alex Wesneski, a junior, added an unassisted tally late in the fourth. 

Sophomore keeper Mia Magnotta registered three saves, raising her total to 18 this season. It was the Hawkeyes seventh shutout. 

Freshman Dionne van Aalsum was held without a goal for the first time but still leads the nation with 21 of them. She was named the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Offensive Player of the Week for a second week in a row last Wednesday. 

SOCCER

The Hawkeyes lost their first match of the season, falling 1-0 Friday at Wisconsin. They earned a 0-0 draw with Minnesota Sunday at home. 

Hawkeye goalkeeper Macy Enneking equaled a season-best five saves Sunday. Her 16 career shutouts stand alone at third in the Iowa record book. 

Iowa returns to action Thursday at Purdue in a game that will be on Big Ten Network (5 p.m. CT). The Hawkeyes play host to Rutgers Sunday at noon for the annual Pink Game for breast cancer awareness. 

BASEBALL

Iowa posted a 25-6 win over the Mississauga Tigers in 14 innings on Thursday in its fall ball opener.

Michael Seegers had three hits, including a home run, and a team-high three RBIs. Blake Guerin and Connor Hennings also homered. Sophomore Gable Mitchell recorded three hits, while Jaixen Frost, Coy Sarsfield and Kellen Strohmeyer enjoyed multi-hit performances.

Brody Brecht started the game on the mound for the Hawkeyes, striking out two batters in his lone inning. Marcus Morgan, Cade Obermueller, Jack Whitlock, Ben DeTaeye, and Zach Voelker all recorded three-up, three-down frames. 

Iowa’s fall season continues Sept. 29 against Madison College at Banks Field. First pitch is slated for 3 p.m. and admission is free. 

SOFTBALL

Iowa defeated Kirkwood Community College, 11-0,  Sunday at Pearl Field. Four Hawkeyes recorded multi-hit games. 

Amber DeSena went 2-for-3 with an RBI single in the third inning that made it 2-0. The Hawkeyes broke it open in the fourth on a two-RBI single by Rylie Moss and a two-run home run from Skylinn Pogue. 

Mya Clark, Kelsey Winters and Haley Downe each threw two innings, allowing one hit apiece and combining for five strikeouts. Andrea Jaskowiak, Maren Judisch, and Jalen Adams covered the final three innings, allowing one hit and striking out five.

The Hawkeyes return to action Friday with a road trip to Northern Iowa First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m. CT.

GOLF

The golf teams were in action this past week. The women finished eighth at the Badger Invitational at the University Ridge Golf Course. 

Paula Miranda paced the team on the weekend, placing 22nd with a 220 (72-73-75). Sophomores Madison Dabagia and Kaitlyn Hanna both carded 222s to tie for 26th. Shannyn Vogler tied for 52nd place overall with a 226 (75-78-73).

Hanna’s 222 total is the lowest 54-hole score of her career. The Omaha, Nebraska, native had a career-low 72 during Round 2.

The men placed Iowa placed 14th at the Highlands Invitational. The event wrapped up last Tuesday at Chicago Highlands Club.

Noah Kent and Max Tjoa were Iowa’s top performers. Kent and Tjoa tied for 30th place with 54-hole scores of 217 (+1). Mac McClear was the next lowest finisher at 220 (+4) for the tournament. 

Iowa’s 4.67 stroke average on par fives was fourth in the tournament.

TENNIS

Iowa wrapped up play in the Charlotte (NC) Invitational on Sunday. The Hawkeyes went 3-1 on the day and finished the weekend with a split record of 10-10 overall, 6-9 in singles and 4-1 in doubles.

Sunday, the Hawkeyes went 2-1 against Kansas State. Daianne Hayashida and Barbora Pokorna picked up singles victories. Pokorna and Pia Kranholdt defeated Tereza Polakova and Aleen Quamar, 6-2 in doubles play.

TRACK & FIELD

Iowa track and field welcomed 15 student-athletes to the women’s program as part of the 2023 recruiting class, Director of Iowa Track and Field Joey Woody announced Monday.

“I’m very excited for this year’s incoming class,” Woody said. “We have a ton of talented and dedicated student-athletes joining us from all over the world, and we are eager to start working with this group to continue to compete for Big Ten titles and elevate our program at the NCAA Championships.”

NEW TRAINING CENTER

Iowa plans to begin construction of a new gymnastics and spirit squads training center this fall, pending approval by the State of Iowa Board of Regents. 

The new, climate-controlled practice facility will feature competition-style beams, vault runways, uneven bars and a floor-exercise space. In addition to nearly 21,000-square-feet of practice space, the facility will house locker rooms, meeting and athletic training rooms, office space and a multi-purpose room. The $20 million project — paid for by athletics department revenue and private gifts — will be built on the Hawkeye Campus, adjacent to the women’s soccer and field hockey facilities on Prairie Meadow Drive.

Women’s gymnastics has historically practiced in the Field House, which the school says is outdated and not adequately sized for the program. The Spirit Squads do not have a dedicated practice facility and have historically practiced at the Field House.

ROWING

Iowa rowing coach Jeff Garbutt added 31 student-athletes to the roster Thursday. The Hawkeyes finished 20th in the CRCA Pocock Final Poll for the first time since '19 last year and tallied 17 outright victories. 

The Hawkeyes look to build off last season’s fifth place finish at the Big Ten Championships for the second consecutive season earning 90 points, 15 more points from the previous year.

The 31 student-athletes named on Thursday tried out and made the team. The Hawkeyes will hit the water for the first time this year on Oct. 7 in a scrimmage against the Drake Bulldogs from 8-11 a.m. (CT) on the Iowa River.