The Iowa State Cyclones topped the West Virginia Mountaineers on senior day in just the second matchup between the two programs. Iowa State won 157-143.
Full results are available here.
Iowa State senior Amanda Paulson entered with 96 career victories, meaning a perfect four-for-four performance would give her 100 for her Cyclone career.
Paulson would win three out of four, as the Cyclones dropped the 400 medley relay. Iowa State took second in 3:52.57 to West Virginia’s 3:51.58. To her credit, Paulson anchored with a 51.63, closing a deficit of over two and half seconds to just under a second.
She would go on to win the 50 freestyle in 23.41, over .6 tenths faster than the rest of the field, and the 100 freestyle in 51.78, almost a full second faster than fellow senior Sarah Deis.
As the lead off leg for the victorious 200 freestyle relay, she put Iowa state in front with a lead the Cyclones would not relinquish. Paulson’s 23.60 gave the Cyclones a comfortable cushion enroute to their 1:35.14 finish.
After the medley relay, West Virginia got rolling with a win from Emma Skelley in the 1000 freestyle. Skelley touched in 10:16.32. The sophomore also won the 500 with a 5:03.35.
Iowa State answered back, however, with a 1:53.90 from Deis to win the 200 freestyle.
Kasey Roberts of Iowa State and Jenelle Zee of West Virginia traded wins in the breaststrokes. Jennelle took the 100 in 1:04.36 to Robert’s 1:04.73. Later, Roberts topped Zee by almost four seconds in the 200, 2:19.97 to Zee’s 2:23.68. Roberts opened with a 1:07.35 to Zee’s 1:08.45, and did not look back.
Roberts added a second win in the 400 IM with a 4:30.40.
A West Virginia sweep of the 100 fly from Julie Ogden, Celia Martinez de La Torre, and Natalie Johnsen helped to keep things close for West Virginia. Ogden finished in 56.99, Martinez de La Torre and Johnsen tied for second in 57.90.
Ultimately, however, it would be the Cyclone’s day, as they beat West Virginia for the second straight season.
