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Notes: Iowa Set for badger invite

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Notes: Iowa Set for badger invite


THIS WEEK
The College of Iowa girls’s golf group heads to Verona, Wisconsin, for the Badger Invitational from Sept. 18-20. The occasion can be performed at The College Ridge Golf Course on the College of Wisconsin with 18 holes being contested every day.

FOLLOW LIVE
Followers can comply with the match stay through stay scoring at www.GolfStat.com.

LINEUP
The Hawkeyes’ lineup will embrace: sophomore Paula Miranda, freshman Madison Dabagia, freshman Riley Lewis, freshman, Shannyn Vogler and senior Jordan Amelon. Sophomore Caroline Grey can be competing as a person.

THE FIELD
Iowa will compete in opposition to a discipline of 13 groups that features: Colorado State, Delaware, East Carolina, Indiana, Nebraska, North Florida, Notre Dame, Outdated Dominion, Rutgers, UC Davis, Washington State and Wisconsin.
Seven of the groups at present are ranked within the prime 100 of the Golfstat rankings, together with: North Florida (45), Nebraska (69), Washington State (71), Wisconsin (91), East Carolina (84) and Colorado State (100).

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THE COURSE
The College Ridge Golf Course will get its identify from its distinctive panorama that was created by the final retreating glacier. This par 72,18-hole, 6,248-yard course has lengthy and wide-open fairways with rolling and well-manicured greens on the entrance 9 whereas its again 9 is framed by tall timber in all places. The course, which was constructed by Robert Trent Jones, was the positioning of the 1998 NCAA Division I Girls’s Golf Championship in addition to the 1998 NCAA Championships.

BACK FOR MORE
Sophomore Paula Miranda fired her collegiate career-best spherical final season on the Badger Invitational, posting a five-under par 67. The rating is tied for the second-lowest in program historical past. The Mexico native completed with a 222 (67-79-76) (+6) to complete in twentieth place total.

LAST WEEK
The Hawkeyes tied for fifteenth on the Department Legislation Agency/Dick McGuire Invitational final week of their season opening match, ending with a 54-hole complete of 901 (293-313-295). Sophomore Paula Miranda led the way in which with a 219 (+3) (72-76-71) to complete tied for twenty third. She completed at or beneath par in two of her three rounds.

FRESHMEN DEBUTS
Three of Iowa’s 4 freshmen made their debuts on the Department Legislation Agency/Dick McGuire Invitational final week in New Mexico. Riley Lewis’ first collegiate spherical was an excellent par 72 and Madison Dabagia had a closing spherical 73 (+1). Lewis and Dabagia tied for sixtieth with 227s, whereas Shannyn Vogler was 67th with a 228.

LOOKING AHEAD
The Hawkeyes could have two weeks off earlier than retuning to motion Oct. 7-9 on the Ron Moore Invitational in Colorado.

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Iowa

What do Fox Sports analysts think will happen during the IndyCar races in Iowa?

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What do Fox Sports analysts think will happen during the IndyCar races in Iowa?


NEWTON — This weekend’s IndyCar racing at Iowa Speedway will likely be better than last year’s processional races, but passing could still be hard, according to members of Fox Sports’ broadcasting team.

In 2024 a partial repave of all four corners resulted in processional racing where passing was almost impossible. Heading into the Saturday and Sunday races (July 12-13), drivers are uncertain whether the racing will be better, with some saying it will be and others saying it could still be hard to pass.

Fox Sports analyst James Hinchcliffe won at Iowa Speedway in 2018. Hinchcliffe thinks the racing will be better than in 2024.

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“I do think we’re going to see it much better than what we saw last year,” Hinchcliffe said.

Skyscraper-sized cumulus clouds loomed over Iowa Speedway on Friday, July 11. Sunny skies are forecast on Saturday and Sunday, but a practice scheduled for Friday afternoon was critical to giving drivers confidence to drive in the second lane, Hinchcliffe said.

“The reality is,” Hinchcliffe said, “and we’ve learned this doing this at a few different tracks. When you’re driving around in practice on your own, there’s not a whole lot of reason to go up into the high lane. When you get into the race you don’t want to go up there for the very first time when an incident is going to take you out of the race. So forcing the guys to get comfortable up there, for me I think it’s a placebo effect as much as anything. What I think it does more than anything is it gives drivers some experience up there, comfortable. Up there so early in the race that starts exploring and that just keeps that high line clean all night long and allows it to be useable.”

Will Buxton’s impressions of Iowa

Fox play-by-play announcer Will Buxton gained worldwide fame in the Netflix series “Formula 1: Drive to Survive,” serving as an expert on the series. He is in his first season as IndyCar’s play-by-play announcer for Fox. Buxton also had a cameo in the Brad Pitt movie “F1.”

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When Buxton, who lives in England, arrived at the track July 11 he wandered through the corn maze behind the backstretch, and he still had muddy boots to prove it.

“I didn’t realize. Have you been close up to those things, they’re freaky!” Buxton told Hinchcliffe and Fox pit reporter Jack Harvey of his first encounter with field corn. “The roots aren’t underground. They’re above ground, and it holds itself up. It’s like a tripod!”

About a quarter of the winners at Iowa have started from outside the top 10 and the track is known for producing great racing, Buxton said. Last year Will Power won the second race after starting 22nd.

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“This is renowned as being one of the best short-course oval tracks in the world,” Buxton said. “I think you come in expecting the unexpected. So even with the repave there’s still the opportunity for people to have astonishing races from wherever they started in the field.”

How did the repave impact IndyCar racing at Iowa Speedway?

The repave added a high amount of grip to the bottom lane. Think of winter roads. The old asphalt is like untreated ice where drivers slip and slide. It’s technically challenging to drive, but entertaining.

Think of the new asphalt as plowed concrete. It’s easy to drive on, but mundane. In highly aerodynamic IndyCars with faster speeds than stock cars the old surface created unpredictable IndyCar racing.

What is IndyCar doing to make the racing better?

In 2025 IndyCar lengthened both races at Iowa Speedway from 250 laps to 275 laps. Before the repave tire degradation was so high that teams never knew how long a full fuel stint could last, Hinchcliffe said.

“More often than not you were pitting for tires more than you were for fuel,” Hinchcliffe said.

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With the new pavement on repaved portions, tires lasted a lot longer and teams ran cars out of fuel. So teams realized they could stop for fuel one less time than what had traditionally been done there, Hinchcliffe said.

“By adding the extra laps they’ve made that window harder to achieve,” Hinchcliffe said. “Which takes the incentive to drive around to a fuel number out of the equation and hopefully means that drivers can push flat out for the entire race.”

Essentially IndyCar also “repositioned downforce on the car” to make the racing better, Harvey said. The amount of downforce allowed on cars is essentially what it was in 2024, but is in different places, Hinchcliffe said.

“I give IndyCar a lot of credit,” Hinchcliffe said. “They’re doing a lot to try to combat this issue that wasn’t of their making.”

Race needs to move to Saturday night

Saturday night racing on short-track ovals in IndyCar are as synonymous as church on Sundays. For years IndyCar scheduled its Iowa race on Saturday nights where the track gained a reputation for its unpredictable chess matches. Television schedules set times for races, but Hinchcliffe and Harvey said the racing and crowds could be better by holding the race at night.

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“It’s hot in Iowa in July,” Harvey said. “Let the temperature come down a bit. Let it cool off. I feel like that’s an easy win.”

“From a visual standpoint, open-wheel cars around the lights, sparks flying, it just looks cool,” Hinchcliffe said. “It’s almost always the case that the conditions in a night race are advantageous for racing.”

Philip Joens covers retail, real estate and motorsports for the Des Moines Register. He can be reached at 515-284-8184 or pjoens@registermedia.com.



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Iowa DNR reports of improved drought conditions in recent update

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Iowa DNR reports of improved drought conditions in recent update


DES MOINES, Iowa (KCRG) – The Iowa DNR stated drought conditions have slightly improved in a recent Water Summary Update.

According to the Iowa DNR, drought conditions have improved due to increased rain at the end of June.

Drought conditions across Iowa(KCRG)

Dry conditions have improved for most of the state. Western and southern areas continue to be under a drought watch.

Southern areas are expected to see less rainfall in July. Higher temperatures are predicted through Iowa in July.

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“Longer-term moisture deficits mean Western and Southern Iowa are under a drought watch. The latest seasonal outlooks indicate potential for drought removal in those areas of the state, though southwestern Iowa has a higher chance of less rain in July,” said Jessica Reese McIntyre, DNR Environmental Specialist.

Due to increased temperatures in July, an increased risk for widespread drought will occur if there is a lower amount of rain.



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Caitlin Clark became a legend at Iowa. Muffet McGraw, Notre Dame almost changed history

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Caitlin Clark became a legend at Iowa. Muffet McGraw, Notre Dame almost changed history


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Caitlin Clark became a national sensation at Iowa − but her rise to stardom nearly didn’t happen as a Hawkeye.

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The current Indiana Fever star is an Iowa native and attended Dowling Catholic High School in West Des Moines.

In her senior season in 2019, she was committed to playing at Notre Dame, which had just won a national championship in 2018. Clark’s desire to be part of the Fighting Irish is revealed in the upcoming book “On Her Game,” by USA TODAY Sports’ Christine Brennan.

Then-coach Muffet McGraw was among the top women’s coaches in the country, and her strong team was appealing to Clark. McGraw first saw Clark play at an AAU tournament when she was a high school sophomore and remembered how great of a passer she was.

“Just how much she wanted to win, her competitive spirit. I just liked her right away,” McGraw said. “I remember talking to her, thinking, ‘I want to coach her.’ I just could relate to her. I thought we had a pretty good connection, which doesn’t always happen, because as I got older and kids got younger, I have nothing in common with them. But with her, it was different.

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“I always came away from my conversations with her thinking, ‘Man, I really want her, I really want her to come here. I think she’d be great.’”

Clark’s ‘soft commitment’ raises questions

However, something was off. Even though Clark told McGraw she’d play for her, she didn’t publicly reveal it.

McGraw noticed the “soft commitment” and how Clark was in contact with Iowa coaches. The Notre Dame coach ran into one of the Iowa staffers at a funeral and asked why they were still talking to Clark, at which point the Hawkeye staff member revealed it was Clark who was calling them.

“That’s when I knew, yeah, okay, we’re done,” McGraw said.

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Clark told McGraw in November 2019 she would not attend Notre Dame, the same month she announced her commitment to the Hawkeyes.

Clark’s decision was widely expected by college basketball coaches, as several knew she wanted to stay close to home. Even though McGraw and other coaches missed out on having the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer, the two-time national championship winning coach believes Clark made the right call, adding her career could have been vastly different at a perennial women’s college basketball power such as Notre Dame or Connecticut.

“It would have been great to have her at Notre Dame, and our fan base would have loved her,” McGraw said. “But Iowa just made so much sense. She made a great decision, looking at how it turned out.”

Aside from scoring 3,951 points during her time at Iowa and becoming the No. 1 pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, Clark led Iowa to back-to-back Final Four appearances in 2023 and 2024, making it all the way to the national championship game in both seasons.

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(Reprinted from “On Her Game” by Christine Brennan, Simon and Schuster, 2025)





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