Iowa swimmers wondered if Title IX suit was ‘going to work’

By ERICA HUNZINGER
AP Sports Writer

Several women’s athletes at the University of Iowa sued the school in late 2020 after the athletic department said it was was cutting men’s and women’s swimming and diving, men’s tennis and men’s gymnastics. Sage Ohlensehlen was a senior and headed up the lawsuit, while Alexa Puccini was a freshman. The lawsuit was one of several that came during the pandemic, when schools needed to save money and cut women’s teams. Female athletes in turn fought back by threatening legal action or filing suit. The Iowa swimmers eventually settled with the school and the teams were reinstated.