The University of Iowa swimming and diving team began competition at the Massive Ten Championships in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Wednesday, February 18, 2026, with events continuing through Saturday, February 21, at the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center. Preliminaries are scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. Central Time each day, followed by finals at 5:30 p.m. CT.
The Hawkeyes are coming off a victory in their regular season finale against in-state rival Iowa State, winning 194-105 in the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series. Senior diver Lainey Woodward was a standout performer in that meet, securing wins on both the one-meter and three-meter springboards, and moving to eighth in Iowa’s record book on the one-meter with a score of 317.63 points.
Prior to the Big Ten Championships, Iowa also defeated St. Thomas 182-42 in its home finale and senior night meet. The Hawkeyes won nine individual events at that competition: Jenna Kerr in the 50 free (24.03) and 100 free (51.14), Payton Flowers in the 100 fly (55.13), Emilie Mosner in the 100 breaststroke (1:04.04), Josie Hood in the 200 free (1:52.43), Olivia Swalley in the 200 IM (2:04.51), Olivia Frantum in the 500 free (5:03.62), Lainey Woodward in the one-meter dive (304.60), and Geneva Pauly in the three-meter dive (313.85, season best). Both relays were also won by Iowa.
Seven Iowa seniors were honored before the St. Thomas meet: Olivia Asay, Meredith O’Malley, Sila Ozkazanc, Geneva Pauly, manager Lauren Trent, Leslie Wendel, and Lainey Woodward. Freshman Willa Hage recorded a personal best in the 200 IM (2:06.90) during the meet, while junior Hope Schimming updated her season best in the same event (2:10.10). The quartet of Flowers, Dildine, Kelly, and Olen also posted a season-best time in the 200 free relay (1:33.58).
At the 2025 Big Ten Championships, the Iowa swimming and diving team finished 14th overall with a total of 158.50 points. Junior Olivia Swalley finished 12th in the 400 IM B Final with a time of 4:10.91. During that competition, the Hawkeyes updated their program top-10 list four times.
Fans can follow the Big Ten Championships through multiple platforms, including the official Iowa Swimming and Diving ‘X’ account for live updates, MeetMobile for results, DiveMeets for diving results, and B1G+ for livestreaming of events.
