Hawkeye Sports weekend recap after the first weekend in April

Hawkeye Sports were in full swing over the weekend. During the first full weekend in April, Iowa had a big performance on the track, Naomi Simon made the USA Under-20 squad, and tennis and softball picked up huge wins. Here is your weekend recap.

Iowa Track and Field re-writes the record books

Iowa Track and Field traveled to Gainsville, Florida, over the weekend to compete in the Pepsi Florida Relays. The Hawkeyes re-wrote 10 entries in the program's record books during the weekend.

One of those performances came from senior runner Alli Bookin-Nosbisch in the 800-meter race. Bookin-Nosbisch ran the 800 in 2:02.92, she set the Iowa program record and broke the previous record she set (2:03.24).

Freshman standout Chioma Nwachukwu also had a record-setting day. She secured second place in the 400-meter race. Nwachukwu finished the 400-meter race in second place with a time of 51.44 seconds.

This put Nwachukwu in third place in Iowa history all-time.

Namoi Simon wins big at the Women's National Championship

Iowa Wrestler Naomi Simon had a big weekend in Spokane, Washington, at the 2025 Women's National Championship. Simon took first place in the 76-kilogram weight class, and secured her roster spot on the United States Under-20 squad for the second consecutive season.

Simon made short work of her opponents, pinning five en route to the championship title.

Simon, a Decorah, Iowa native, will represent the United States at the 2025 World Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria, this August.

Iowa wrestlers Lilly Luft (62 kg) and Cadence Diduch (64 kg) each finished in second place in Spokane and will represent the USA at the 2025 Pan American Championships in Lima, Peru, in July.

Ava Bayless (50 kg) finished second in her weight class at the Under-23 qualifiers and will represent the USA at the 2025 Pan America Championship in Queretaro, Mexico, on April 10.

Women's Tennis picks up a huge victory in New Jersey

On Sunday, the No. 28 Iowa Women's Tennis traveled to Piscataway, New Jersey, to take on Rutgers. The Hawkeyes dominated from start to finish and took a 4-1 victory over the Scarlet Knights.

The doubles teams of Barbora Pokorna/Pia Kranholdt and Tereza Dejnozkova/Nikita Vishwase won their doubles matches to secure points for the Hawkeyes. The final doubles match went unfinished with the Hawkeyes leading 5-2.

Daianne Hayashida won her singles match 6-2, 6-1 to secure her 50th singles win, and a point for the Hawkeyes.

Dejnozkova lost her singles match 3-6, 3-6, to give Rutgers their only point of the day. Pokorna and Vishwase each won their singles match to seal the Hawkeyes' victory 4-1.

The Hawkeyes head back to Iowa City this weekend for their final homestand of the season.

Iowa Softball upsets No. 21 Nebraska in the series finale

Iowa Softball welcomed rival Nebraska to Iowa City for a three-game weekend series at Bob Pearl Field. The Cornhuskers dominated the first two games, winning 12-0 and 14-1.

The Hawkeyes struggled at the plate in the first two games. They scored one run with five hits and 15 strikeouts. Iowa re-wrote the narrative in Sunday's finale.

Junior Jalen Adams (16-5) started on the mound for the Hawkeyes and threw a gem. She notched her 11th complete game and had seven strikeouts in the victory.

The game was scoreless until a big third inning. The Cornhuskers would plate two runs in the top of the inning to take a 2-0 lead, but the Hawkeyes would respond in the bottom. After the first two batters struck out, Iowa loaded the bases.

With two outs, Allyssa Ramos had a run-scoring single and Talia Tretton plated two more runs on a single to give Iowa a 3-2 lead. After a hit-by-pitch, the Hawkeyes would load the bases once again. The Cornhuskers hit two more Hawkeyes batters, and Iowa would end the inning with a 5-2 lead.

This was Iowa's second win against a top-25 opponent this season and their first win against Nebraska since 2023.