IOWA CITY, Iowa – The University of Iowa softball team fell to Minnesota, 7-5, in game one of a three-game series on Saturday afternoon at Bob Pearl Field.

 Sophomore Jalen Adams (9-13) got the start for the Hawkeyes and stranded five gophers in her first two innings of work.

Minnesota got on the board in the top of the third on a solo home run. The Hawkeyes were unable to capitalize in the bottom of the third despite loading the bases with one out. The Gophers capitalized on free passes in the fourth plating four runs on four hits and three walks to extend their lead, 5-0.  

Junior Haley Downe took over in the circle to start the fifth inning. Minnesota pushed the lead to seven in the top of the fifth on a two-run home run. Iowa load up the bases in the bottom of the fifth on singles from Skylinn Pogue and Jena Young and a walk to Tory Bennett. Senior Sammy Diaz brought in the first Hawkeye run on an RBI single up the middle.

Iowa capitalized on Gopher errors in the bottom of the sixth. After Adams led off the inning with a walk, sophomore Avery Jackson laid down a bunt and came all the way around to score on two Minnesota throwing errors to make it, 7-3.  

The Hawkeye fight was alive in the bottom of the seventh as the first two batters reached base to open the inning. Freshman Jena Young dodged a tag at home to score on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Diaz. With runners on the corners the game entered a weather delay. After the delay, senior Brylee Klosterman brought home Bennett on a sacrifice fly to make it, 7-5. The Gophers retired the next two Iowa hitters to close out the game.

Iowa finished with five runs on nine hits and no errors.

DETROIT — University of Iowa All-America punter Tory Taylor was selected by the Chicago Bears in the fourth round of Saturday’s NFL Draft. Taylor was the 122nd player picked overall and first punter selected in this year’s draft. He becomes the second highest drafted punter since 2012 and is the first Hawkeye punter ever to be drafted.

Taylor is the third Hawkeye to be selected in the 2024 NFL Draft. Defensive back and return specialist Cooper DeJean was selected by Philadelphia in the second round, while tight end Erick All was chosen minutes earlier in the fourth round.

Taylor was the recipient of the 2024 Ray Guy Award, presented annually to the nation’s top collegiate punter, and a consensus All-American. The Melbourne, Australia, native, also earned the Eddleman-Fields Big Ten Punter of the Year honors and was a first-team all-conference selection.

The native of Melbourne, Australia, broke an NCAA all-time punting yardage record, that was set in 1938, in the Citrus Bowl. He finished the season with 93 punts for a record 4,479 yards in 2023. He also had the best career punting average (46.3), single-season punting average (48.2) and most career games averaging 40 or more yards (43) in NCAA history.

Taylor, a four-year starter, had 40 punts of 50+ yards (seven punts of 60+) and 32 downed inside the 20, 11 inside the 10 and six inside the 5 last year. He finished his career with 295 punts for 13,657 yards — both Iowa career records.

Chicago won seven games last season, finishing fourth in the NFC North. The Bears most recently drafted an Iowa player in 2018 when they chose offensive lineman James Daniels in the second round.

Iowa has had at least one player drafted in every NFL Draft since 1978. Taylor is the 88th player coached by Kirk Ferentz at the University of Iowa to be selected in the NFL Draft.

To see the University of Iowa’s NFL Draft Central Page, visit Iowa’s Draft Central.

DETROIT — University of Iowa tight end Erick All was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the fourth round of Saturday’s NFL Draft. All was the 115th player picked overall.

All is the 13th tight end selected in the Kirk Ferentz era and fourth in the last five years. Sam LaPorta was picked in the second round by Detroit in 2022, while T.J. Hockensen and Noah Fant were each chosen in the first round of the 2019 draft.

The native of Fairfield, Ohio, started seven games before suffering a season-ending injury in 2023. All had 21 catches leading the team in receiving yards (299) and touchdown receptions (3) last fall. He averaged 14.2 yards per catch and 42.7 yards per contest. All was an honorable mention all-conference selection by the league coaches.

Cincinnati won nine games a year ago finishing fourth in the AFC North. The Bengals most recently drafted an Iowa player in 2012 when they picked defensive back Shaun Prater in the fifth round. All is the seventh Hawkeye selected by Cincinnati.

Iowa has had at least one player drafted in every NFL Draft since 1978. All is the 87th player coached by Kirk Ferentz at the University of Iowa to be selected in the NFL Draft. All is the second Hawkeye to be drafted in the 2024 NFL Draft;  defensive back and return specialist Cooper DeJean was selected by Philadelphia on Friday in the second round.

To see the University of Iowa’s NFL Draft Central Page, visit Iowa’s Draft Central.

Raleigh, N.C. – The University of Iowa rowing team competed in the Lake Wheeler Invitational on Saturday at Lake Wheeler Park.

 Hawkeyes competed in the 1V8, 2V8, 3V8, 1V4, and 2V4 against five of the nation’s top-20 teams along with three teams receiving votes (No. 8 Syracuse, No. 10 Penn, No. 14 Duke, No. 15 Tennessee, No. 19 Washington State, RV Alabama, RV Miami (FL), RV UCF.

Iowa’s top placement of the day came from the 2V4 finishing in second place. With a stacked playing field, the Hawkeyes put up a fight and placed seventh overall with 32 points.

 The Hawkeyes will return back in action on May 4 in an exhibition against the Drake Bulldogs on the Iowa River.

A total of 27 records were broken at the Drake Relays over the weekend, including one of the oldest. John Reniewicki (ren-ih-wick-ee) won the men’s 15 hundred meter run and broke Steve Scott’s 40-year old record in the process.

Reniewicki was focused on the win and not the record.

Reniewicki also competed in the U-S Road Mile Championship last week and says the two races were good preparation as he bids for a spot on the U-S Olympic team.

Canada’s Aurora Rynda just missed a Drake Relays record in winning the women’s 800. The former Michigan standout has a goal of earning a spot on Canada’s Olympic team.

Rynda credited Relays Director Blake Boldon for arranging a challenging and competitive early season race.

The Atlantic Trojans boys tennis team is coming off a 7-2 Hawkeye 10 Conference regular season win over Red Oak on Thursday. The Trojans are currently 9-6 overall record and 8-5 conference record in the Hawkeye 10 Conference.

The Trojan boys tennis team has been playing well now three-fourths of the way through the season.

Coach McDermott commented on his top performers for the season.

The Trojans got a third place finish at the Atlantic invite.

The Trojans team has made strides throughout the year but coach McDermott wants to see the athletes improve rest of the year.

The Trojans boys next tennis matches will be at the Hawkeye 10 Conference Tournament (today) Monday April 29th in Atlantic. That Tournament will start at 9:30 a.m.

LINCOLN, Nebraska — The University of Iowa baseball team was defeated, 7-4, by Nebraska on Friday night at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park.

The Hawkeyes jumped out to an early lead plating three runs in the first inning. Nebraska responded by loading the bases in the third, but Iowa held them to one run.

“We did a good job of getting traffic early,” said head coach Rick Heller. “We got Sear’s pitch count up and got him out of the game in the fifth inning. We felt pretty good about things.”

The Hawkeyes plated a run in the fourth after three singles to extend their lead to 4-1. A Husker three-run home run in the fifth drew the game level, and it was all Nebraska the rest of the way.

Marcus Morgan started on the bump for Iowa. He threw 4 2/3 innings and allowed four runs on five hits, he struck out four and walked three.

“Marcus Morgan having to step up and bump up a day was good early,” said Heller. “He worked out of the jam in the third when he gave up one. But unfortunately, he couldn’t get out of the fifth. Gave up the  two-out, three-run homer to tie the game and after that our offense didn’t do much.”

Anthony Watts entered in relief and threw 2 1/3 innings and allowed two runs (one earned) on two hits and three walks, he struck out four.

Ben DeTaeye threw 2/3 of an inning and allowed a run, before Zach Voelker got the final out of the inning.

Three Hawkeyes had two hits in the contest: Andy Nelson, Sam Petersen, and Kyle Huckstorf. Raider Tello had an RBI triple and he and Davis Cop joined Petersen and Huckstorf as Hawks with an RBI.

“Just disappointing,” said Heller. “I mean, the effort was there, the energy was good. We played hard, but we made a couple errors. One was costly. We just didn’t play well enough to win and we still had too many free bases. We had three walks in the eighth inning of a tight ball game, that just can’t happen, I don’t think Nebraska had a free base after the fifth inning and that’s how it has to be done if you’re going to win.”

Nebraska had four two-out RBIs compared to Iowa’s one. The Huskers hit .400 with runners in scoring position compared to the Hawkeyes .267.

AUSTIN, Texas – In Friday’s penultimate Big 12 series-opener, Iowa State (18-26, 5-14 Big 12) fell to No. 1-ranked Texas (40-6, 18-4 Big 12) by a score of 5-2 at Red & Charline McCombs Field.

Top-ranked Texas took a 5-0 lead into the fifth inning and Iowa State threatened to come back in the sixth, scoring two and loading the bases, but Texas escaped the jam and was able to earn the series-opening win.

Four Cyclones collected hits on the evening, as Milaysia Ochoa, Angelina Allen, Carli Spelhaug and Camille Marin had hits. Both Allen and Spelhaug had RBI doubles while Tatum Johnson had two walks on the night.

Jaiden Ralston (4-7) got the start in the circle for the Cyclones. She went 4.1 innings and allowed just one run on three hits, walking a lone Longhorn. Lauren Schurman pitched in middle relief, allowing four runs on five hits.

Texas’s Katie Stewart had a three-hit night, driving in three runs to lead both teams. Five more Longhorns collected solo hits on the night, as they outhit the Cyclones 8-4 on the evening.

Teagan Kavan (14-2) went six innings for the Longhorns, collecting eight strikeouts and limiting ISU to just two runs. Mac Morgan (3) picked up the save for Texas and helped UT clinch the win.

Friday Notes

Home Runs

Iowa State: N/A

Texas: Mia Scott (5), Katie Stewart (8)

WP – Teagan Kavan (14-2): 6.0 IP, 4 hits, 2 runs, 3 walks, 8 strikeouts

SV – Mac Morgan (3): 1.0 IP, 0 hits, 0 runs, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts

LP – Jaiden Ralston (4-7): 4.1 IP, 3 hits, 1 run, 1 walk, 0 strikeouts

On Deck

The Cyclones and Longhorns will meet tomorrow in the second day of action of the weekend series. Tomorrow’s game is set to start at 1 p.m. and will be streamed live on the Longhorn Network.

Iowa All-American Cooper DeJean is a member of the Philadelphia Eagles. DeJean was taken in the second round of the NFL Draft by the Eagles with the 40th pick.

DeJean is known for his versatility, He may be looked at as a corner, slot corner and safety with the Eagles. He was also one of the nation’s top punt returners before getting injured late in the season.

DeJean does not care where he ends up playing on defense.

DeJean says playing a variety of roles at Iowa prepared him for the NFL.

DeJean says playing in the Big Ten was also a benefit.

Boys 400 Meter Dash 

6. Ryce Reynolds, Mount Ayr (48.43)

Boys 110 Meter Hurdles Finals

4. Brady Wallace, Treynor (14.52)

6. Hunter Wauhob, Bishop Heelan (14.86)

Girls 100 Meter Dash Finals

3. Elliana Harris, Sioux City East (12.16)

Boys 800 Meter Run

14. Ryce Reynolds, Mount Ayr (1:58.71)

Boys High Jump

6. Wanding Hosnyang, LeMars (6-03.00)

6. Jaron Bleeker, Bishop Heelan (6-03.00)

Girls 4×200 Meter Relay

4. Sioux City East: Alex Flattery, Elliana Harris, Mia Rice, Grace Erick (1:43.87)

13. Glenwood: Zoie Carda, Brooklyn Schultz, Allison Koontz, Danika Arnold (1:44.87)

14. LeMars: Aubree Leusink, Stella Hector, Madi Huls, Sienna Kass (1:45.19)

Boys 4×200 Meter Relay

2. Harlan: Lukas Francis, Matthew Sorfonden, Brehden Eggerss, Cade Sears (1:27.52)

17. Sioux City East: Fitzy Grant, Louden Grimsley, JJ Ghosh, Christopher Ford (1:30:54)

400 Meter Wheelchair

2. Eli Johnson, Bedford (1:05.92)

5. Titus Steng, Shenandoah (1:24.37)

Boys Shot Put 

7. Max Tiarks, Underwood (52-07.75)

16. Morgan Cooley, East Union (48-10.50)

Girls Long Jump

10. Paycee Holmes, Hamburg (16-03.50)

Girls Sprint Medley Relay 

11. Sioux City East: Shamya Grant, Grace Erick, Elliana Harris, Alex Flattery (1:51.12)

12. Leksi Gannon, Murray (12.82)

25. Jerzee Knight, Clarinda (13.06)

Boys 110 Meter Hurdle Prelims

3q. Brady Wallace, Treynor (14.51)

5q. Hunter Wauhob, Bishop Heelan (14.71)

11. Jack Follmann, CAM (14.88)

18. Gabe Funk, Lenox (15.27)

20. Peyton Cook, Griswold (15.29)

21. Mason Boothby, Underwood (15.30)