Hawks need youthful help

IOWA CITY - When Big Ten swimming and diving championships kick off Wednesday, host Iowa will be relying on the performance of underclassmen for any team success.

The Hawkeyes have only three seniors on their roster and often are led by senior backstroker Grant Betulius and junior breaststroker Roman Trussov, but the coaching staff likely will be holding its collective breath for qualifying performances from underclassmen if they hope to gain enough points to win the Big Ten title.

Coach Marc Long thinks the Hawks should be up to the task.

'They know what they're getting into - there's a reason why they are competing in the Big Ten, which is a deep conference, a well-funded conference,” Long said. 'But we do not have a big senior class, so we have been relying on newcomers in certain events and a lot of kids have stepped in. We are asking them to fill some roles right away and they are, and have been doing a great job with it.”

Betulius, who ranks second nationally in the 100 back, has his goals set to finish as a finalist in the 100 and 200 backstroke events.

'The freshman class has really stepped up as whole,” he said. 'We, the upperclassmen, didn't know exactly what we were going to get out of them. But they have really exceeded the expectations that everyone else and I had.”

Among the impressive freshmen class are butterflier Jerzy Twaroski and freestylers Chris Dawson and Kyle Gannon, both of whom have competed well, particularly in the distance events.

'For Dawson and Gannon to really take control of the distance group and hold those events down for us has been huge,” Betulius said.

The Big Ten championships run Wednesday through Saturday at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center Natatorium. Qualifying swims are in the morning, finals in the evening. And the Hawkeyes, who have won six straight head-to-head matches since winning the Hawkeye Invitational on Dec. 7 and rank 21st nationally, look forward to the challenge.

'It's all about getting as many people in the top eight position as possible,” Long said. 'We've come a long way; we want people stepping up and winning titles. Some of the toughest competition in the world will be here this week, with so many international swimmers.

'It's all about racing and being the first one to touch the wall.”