Even a win over Iowa State the night before couldn’t save the Illinois swimming and diving team from falling to 2-3 on the season after a devastating loss to Iowa.

On Friday, the Illini smoked the Cyclones 194-106 after driving ahead early and claiming wins in the first four races.

“To win those first four events and have that momentum was huge for us and was kind of a springboard as it carried us through the rest of the meet,” head coach Sue Novitsky said.

Junior Courtney Pope and sophomore Alison Meng led their team in individual victories, Pope winning the 500 free (5 minutes, 3.21 seconds), while Meng won the 100 back (56.69) and 100 free (53.11). Pope and Meng were also part of the wins in the 400 medley relay (3:51.14) and the 200 free relay (1:37.18).

Across the pool, senior divers Keri Eberhardt and Darragh McDermott rocked the boards by taking second and third in the three-meter dive, respectively. Later, McDermott captured a win in the one-meter dive with Eberhardt finishing second.

With two additional fourth-place finishes by sophomore Erika Murphy, the divers cumulatively contributed a strong 24 points to the overall score.

“It really just comes down to every individual dive and making sure that you’re on,” McDermott said. “We brought it back in the one-meter and made sure we were calm and didn’t let the three-meter affect us.”

Novitsky said she was pleased with how clean and sharp the swimmers were off the walls, saying that it made the difference as the meet went on and they got tired.

The Illini’s endurance would only continue to be tested, as they would be back at it the next morning against a Big Ten competitor at their fifth annual Splash Bash — an event where family and friends were invited to enjoy snacks and partake in games while watching the meet.

Being at home again promised a certain energy Novitsky said she was counting on, but she wasn’t about to let her swimmers lose track of what was important.

“(We were) just reminding them that a lot of their family is here and it’s not a night out with them,” Novitsky said. “They’ve got a job to do.”

Disappointment filled the pool nevertheless, as Illinois barely managed to secure three wins the entire meet. With a final of 196-102, the Illini dropped to 1-2 in the Big Ten and brought back haunting ghosts of seasons past, where they finished in the lower half of the Big Ten Championships.

“We can’t control what Iowa did,” Novitsky said. “We need to work on doing a better job of getting ourselves ready to go, day-to-day, session-to-session.”

With the Big Ten Championships five weeks away, Pope and Meng said they trust their coaches will help them have a good taper.

“It’s always hard to come back (from a meet the night before),” Meng said. “But that’s what we need to learn for the Big Tens and how to prepare for it.”

Novitsky also said she isn’t letting the fast-approaching Big Ten Championships bother her, and intends to keep her swimmers focused.

“My concerns are working on my team and making them a better team,” Novitsky said. “I can’t be concerned with what the 11 other schools are doing.”

Illinois will host its final dual meet of the 2012-13 season against Nebraska next Saturday at 11 a.m.

J.J. can be reached at

[email protected] and

@TheWilson9287.