UNI men’s basketball coach Ben Jacobson believes even in this era of the transfer portal and pay for play there is still room for a Mid-Major team to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament. The Sweet Sixteen begins Thursday night and all of the teams remaining are from power conferences.

Jacobson says most teams need some breaks to get to the second weekend. The Panthers made it to the Sweet Sixteen in 2010 and got to the second round in 2015 and 2016.

Drake was eliminated last weekend by Texas Tech under former coach Ben McCollum and Bulldog AD Brian Hardin believes Mid-Major teams are still competitive.

Hardin does not feel the bracket for this year’s tournament is a sign of things to come.

GIRLS

6. Wayne (53 points)— Top Finisher

2nd place: Ella Whitney – 200 meters (27.31) 

Boys 

4. Treynor (93.5 points) — Top Finishes

1st place: Brady Wallace – 100 meters (11.06) & – 110 meter hurdles (14.01 – Blue Standard)

1st place: Cauy Konz – 200 meters (22.50)  (School Record) 

1st place: – 4×100 meter relay (42.85) (Meets Drake Relays Blue Standard)

1st place: – Shuttle hurdle relay (58.12) (2A State Record) 

7. Wayne (53 points) — Top Finishes 

1st place: Karter Murphy- Long Jump (20-08.00) 

OLD HICKORY, Tenn. – The University of Iowa women’s golf team fired a final round 301 to claim the team title at the Nashville Invitational, which was being played at Hermitage Golf Course.  The Hawkeyes finished with a 54-hole total of 893 (294-298-301) – two shots better than Washington State.

The 893 team total was the team’s second-best 54-hole score of the season.

It is Iowa’s second team title of the year, as the Hawkeyes won the Diane Thomason Invitational in Iowa City in October.  It is the first time since the 1999-00 season that Iowa has won two tournaments in a single season.

The Hawkeyes got a career round from freshman Lily Huether on Tuesday, as she fired a one-over par 73 – a career-best – to lead the team.  Huether finished the tournament with a 226 total (77-76-73) to finish in 20th place, improving 12 spots from Round 2 to Round 3.

She fired her career-best 18-and 54-hole totals during the tournament to record the top finish of her career.

Sophomores Ximena Benites and Maura Peters led the team, both notching top 10 finishes.

Benites fired a final round 75 to finish with a three-round total of 219 (72-72-75) to tie for fourth place, which ties the highest placing of her career.  She has two top 10 and seven top 20 finishes this season.

Peters finished in a tie for seventh place – the best finish of her career – after finishing with a 54-hole total of 221 (73-74-74).  The score is a career best and it is her first top-10 showing.

Cal State Fullerton’s Louise Dahl was the medalist, finishing with an even par 216.

IOWA LEADERBOARD
T4. Ximena Benites 72-72-75= 219
T7. Maura Peters 73-74-74= 221
20. Lily Heuther 77-76-73= 226
T27. Paula Miranda 74-76-79= 229
T56. Riley Lewis  75-81-81= 237
1. IOWA 294-298-301=893

UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes return to action April 7-8, traveling to Dallas, Texas, for the 2025 Veritex Bank Challenge. It is the final tournament prior to the Big Ten Championships.

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The University of Iowa rowing team begins their competitive spring season down in Florida for the Sarasota 2K, also known as the Sunshine State Invite, Friday and Saturday. All racing will take place at Nathan Benderson Park, with time trials starting at 1:00 p.m. (CT).

FORMAT
The Hawkeyes will compete in a 2k time trial and heat on Friday, followed by finals on Saturday.

THE FIELD
The field features 18 teams: No. 18 Alabama, No. 1 Embry-Riddle, Florida, High Point, Iowa, Kansas State, Louisville, Miami (FL), Michigan State, Old Dominion, No. 6 Rollins College, Tampa, Tulsa, No. 25 UCF, UMass, No. 21 UNC, West Virginia, and No. 6 Yale.

No. 1 Embry-Riddle and No. 6 Rollins College are ranked in the Division II CRCA poll.

HEARD FROM HEAD COACH JEFF GARBUTT
“We are excited to race this weekend and bring it everything we’ve got. We are going to race the Iowa way, charging hard and forcing our opponents to earn everything. Competing against nationally ranked programs will help us to compete at the highest level and push our limits.”

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The University of Iowa softball team swept South Dakota State in a doubleheader on Tuesday afternoon at Bob Pearl Field. The Hawkeyes won game one, 7-1, and game two, 4-2.

Junior Jalen Adams (15-3) got the start in game one for Iowa. In her 15th start of the season, she threw her 10th complete game. Adams held the Jackrabbits to one run on three hits and struck out six. Eight different Hawkeyes recorded a hit, with four of them recording two. Sophomore Jena Young led the way, going 2-for-3 and tallying three RBIs.

The Hawkeyes went to freshman Talia Tretton (6-3) in game two. She threw her fifth complete game of the season picking up a career-high 10 strikeouts. Junior Echo Mattiello led the way offensively going 2-for-3 with three RBIs.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Game 1

Adams started out in the circle, and the Hawkeyes delivered a three up, three down inning. Two Hawkeyes managed to get on in the bottom of the first but were unable to capitalize to get on the board.

The Jackrabbits scored their lone run of the game in the top of the second inning on an RBI single after a leadoff double. Iowa answered back by loading the bases on two walks and a single. Young then singled up the middle to score Tretton and junior Avery Jackson to give the Hawkeyes the lead, 2-1. Junior Tory Bennett extended the lead on an RBI single to score senior Tatianna Roman. The bases were left loaded at the end of the inning for the but Iowa had the lead, 3-1.

South Dakota State stranded two runners in the top of the third. The Hawkeyes added insurance in the bottom of the inning. Sophomore Devin Simon and senior Hannah Lindsay had back-to-back singles and a sacrifice fly from Jackson scored Simon. One runner was left one, but Iowa extended its lead, 4-1.

Adams sat the Jackrabbits down in order in both the fourth and fifth innings. In the bottom of the fifth Rivera double started the inning with a double to right. Tretton followed with an RBI single to push the Iowa lead to four. Simon and Jackson drew back-to-back walks to load the bases and Young was hit by a pitch to walk in a run for Iowa. The Hawkeyes led, 6-1, after five.

Iowa continued to swing a hot bat in the sixth as Berry and Rivera reached on back-to-back hits to start the inning. Berry attempted to take home on Rivera’s double but was tagged out at home. With Rivera on third, Johnson drew a walk with one out. Simon cashed in with a sac fly to center, scoring Rivera, and giving the Hawkeyes their final run of the game, 7-1.

South Dakota State attempted to fight back by getting two runners on, but Iowa ended the game.

Iowa finished with seven runs on 12 hits. South Dakota State finished the game with one run on three hits.

Game 2

Iowa set the tone early for the game two with three up and three down to start. In the bottom of the inning, Bennett reached on a fielding error by the Jackrabbits, but no other Hawkeyes reached base.

Tretton retired South Dakota State in order in the top of the second picking up one strikeout. Iowa was first on the board with two runs in the second. Sophomore Devin Bowman singled with a runner on first and was able to advance to second on the throw to get two runners into scoring position with one out. Mattiello delivered for Iowa with a single up middle, scoring Simon and Bowman giving the Hawkeyes the early lead, 2-0.

South Dakota State picked up a one out double, but back-to-back strikeouts from Tretton ended the threat in the third. The Hawkeyes added another run in the bottom half of the inning. Berry doubled to center field, and Rivera scored her after a single through the right side, 3-0.

Tretton continued to keep SDSU quiet retiring the Jackrabbits in order, picking up two strikeouts in the fourth. Mattiello and Young both reached on singles, but neither found their was home for the Hawkeyes in the inning.

South Dakota State was retired in order, with Tretton picking up three strikeouts to start the fifth. Iowa managed to get another runner into scoring position but was unable to plate another run. Tretton picked up two strikeouts in the top of the fifth, set her new career-high with 10 in the game.

Jackson singled up the middle for Iowa in the bottom of the sixth, and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Mattiello was next up and reached on an error, while also scoring Jackson for Iowa’s last run of the game, 4-0.

South Dakota State attempted to come back in the top of the seventh. A walk followed by Jackrabbit double to center scored SDSU’s first run of the game. The Jackrabbits plated another run on an RBI single to cut the lead in half, 4-2. The Hawkeye defense ended the threat with back-to-back outs to end the game.

Iowa finished the game with four runs on nine hits. South Dakota State finished the game with four runs on nine hits and three errors.

HEAR FROM ACTING HEAD COACH KARL GOLLAN
“The hardest thing after an emotionally charged weekend can be regaining focus, but the team did a good job of staying on task. Especially the bench did a great job at keeping the energy and the players were engaged. Tonight was the definition of a team win.”

NOTABLES

• Berry is on a nine game hitting streak, with five straight multi-hit games.
• Over the last 10 games Berry is hitting .500 (15-for-30) with six RBIs
• Young leads the team with seven RBIs over the last 10 games.

UP NEXT
Iowa (21-9) travels to Madison, Wisconsin on Friday, March 28, for its three game series against Wisconsin. First pitch at Goodman Sports Complex is scheduled for 4 pm CT on Friday and will be streamed on B1G+ ($).

Normal, Ill. – The University of Iowa baseball team fell to Illinois State, 10-8, on Tuesday evening at Duffy Bass Field.

The Redbirds plated one run in each of the first three innings and scored seven in the fourth to jump ahead, 10-0. Illinois State did not score the rest of the game, finishing with 10 hits while batting .303 overall.

“That one just didn’t start out well for us,” said head coach Rick Heller. “The first four innings were a nightmare on the mound. In the first six innings offensviely we had some traffic at times, but we had a lot of empty at bats.”

The Iowa offense totaled 12 hits and notched seven RBIs while leaving 11 on base.

The Hawkeyes’ first run came in the top of the sixth inning off of an RBI single from Jaixen Frost. Iowa inched closer in the eighth inning when Blake Guerin hit a two-run shot, his fifth of the season, and Kellen Strohmeyer scored on a wild pitch.

Frost notched another RBI single, and Kooper Schulte hit a three-run dinger to cut Iowa’s deficit to two in the ninth inning, but the Hawkeyes couldn’t complete the comeback.

“The one thing I will say is that we kept playing,” said Heller. “If you keep playing and not worry about what the score is, a lot of times the game will come back to you. That’s what happened tonight. We kept playing and made a run at the end and had opportunties to score more but didn’t get the hit. We fought back. We didn’t quit. We didn’t give up.”

Gable Mitchell finished the game 3-for-4 with a double, a walk and a stolen base. Frost went 2-for-3 with two RBIs.

Twelve Iowa pitchers saw the mound on Tuesday in a scheduled bullpen game. Gannon Archer made the start for the Hawkeyes and pitched 2/3 of an inning. He gave up one run on two hits and struck out a batter.

The Iowa pitching staff combined for 10 strikeouts while walking 11 Redbird hitters.

UP NEXT

The Hawkeyes will head to Minneapolis for a three-game series with the Minnesota Gophers on March 28-30. The series will be streamed on B1G+ (subscription) and broadcast on Hawkeye Radio Network.

Ben McCollum is now the head coach of the school he grew up cheering for. The former Drake coach was introduced as the 23rd basketball coach at Iowa. McCollum led Drake to a school record 31 wins and a trip to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. He takes over a Hawkeye program that has missed the NCAA Tournament the past two seasons.

McCollum grew up watching Tom Davis coached teams in the 90’s and wants his team to have the personality of the late Chris Street.

McCollum says his teams have thrived by being tough and unselfish.

Drake was the top defensive team in the country this season and McCollum says that starts by being efficient on offense no matter what the pace of play is.

Some of McCollum’s players at Drake could be joining the Iowa program and he also hopes to retain several of the current Hawkeye players who are in the transfer portal.

McCollum says he took the Drake job because of its potential to win a championship and feels that can also be accomplished at Iowa.

McCollum says the transfer portal is a valuable tool to rebuild a roster but it is about getting the right kind of players.

McCollum replaces Fran McCaffery, who was fired after 15 years at the helm.

Spring drills are underway for the Iowa State football team and difficult decisions are ahead for Cyclone coach Matt Campbell. Beginning next season FBS football programs will be limited to a roster size of 105 players. The average roster size up to this point has been around 128 players.

Campbell says the new rule impacts programs like Iowa State with successful walk on programs.

Campbell says the key will be communicating with players to let them know if a roster spot will be available.

The Cyclones are coming off an 11-3 season that included a win over Miami in the Pop Tarts Bowl.