Four Northwestern seniors swam their final home meet Saturday, but there weren’t any tears at the Norris Aquatics Center.
“I feel kind of like an old man, but I’m not sad about it,” Matt Weaver said.
Weaver and No. 14 NU defeated Iowa 171-131, winning 15 of 18 events.
Sophomore Matt Grevers won two events — the 200-yard freestyle and 100-yard backstroke.
Sophomore Mike Alexandrov broke a pool record in the 400-yard individual medley and set a pool and school record in the 200-yard breaststroke.
“Iowa hasn’t been swimming well this year,” Weaver said. “It was just kind of like a last minute prep before the big show.”
The Cats used the Hawkeyes (3-10, 0-9 Big Ten) as tuneup for the Big Ten Championships, which begin Feb. 24 in Minneapolis. NU (5-4, 2-3 Big Ten) is looking to build on last year’s third-place finish.
Facing easy competition, Weaver said the Cats spent much of Saturday’s meet working on their tactics, like ensuring tight turns.
“As a team we’ve been constantly getting better throughout the season,” senior Phil Mercier said.
He credited Gustafson, a senior who didn’t swim last season, for winning the 200-yard IM against Iowa. Gustafson also finished second in the 400-yard IM.
“We just congratulated him because it was the best time of his career so far,” Mercier said.
Coach Bob Groseth said Gustafson’s performance “bodes well for him,” heading into the Big Ten Champsionships.
Former teammates cheered the seniors in their final meet, which came quickly to Mercier.
“You never think about it,” Mercier said. “Freshman year goes by pretty slow and you wake up one day, and you’re a senior and it’s your last meet. It went by really fast.”
Reach Brian Sumers at [email protected].