IN PHOTOS: Iowa's Sydney Affolter and baseball player BF Brennen Dorighi celebrate one-year anniversary with romantic snaps

Iowa Hawkeyes guard Sydney Affolter celebrated her one-year anniversary with her boyfriend, Brennen Dorighi, on Monday. The senior shared pictures with the former Iowa Hawkeyes baseball player on Instagram and wrote:

"365 w my best friend❤️ you make me the happiest girl ever! I love you B☺️"

Dorighi spent four years at Wofford before transferring to Iowa for his fifth and final college season in 2022.

After the exit of Caitlin Clark, Kate Martin and Gabbie Marshall, Affolter is expected to take the leading role for the Hawkeyes. In her junior season, the guard averaged 8.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.1 steals.

Clark spoke about Affolter's importance in the team to Hawkeye Insider in March, saying:

"Syd does things that don't show up in the box score. She's been scoring, she's been rebounding, but she does so many other things that don't show up in the box score, whether it's her physicality, whether it's her mentality of just diving on the floor for loose balls, whether it's boxing out hard every possession.

"Everybody on the team needs a player like Syd, and we're lucky to have her."

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Sydney Affolter's patience pays off with the captain's role

In her first two seasons with the Hawkeyes, Affolter did not start and came off the bench to play an average of 9.3 minutes in her freshman year and 10.3 as a sophomore. She started in 12 games last season, averaging 24.9 minutes per contest.

Former Iowa coach Lisa Bluder commented on Affolter's commitment to the team, despite having few minutes and starting roles.

"All year long I was telling her, you're the sixth player in our league," Bluder said. "You could be starting on every other team."

"She said, 'A lot of people jump when they're not getting the starting position or when they're not getting their playing time, and they jump to where they think the grass is going to be greener. I stuck with it because I love this place.' That meant so much to me that she made that comment."

Affolter's patience has paid off, as she is set to take on the captain's role for the 2024-25 season.

Speaking on her new role during her media session in July, Affolter said:

"I've been a leader since I was a little girl. I've always wanted to step up and be that voice. So I'm happy to be that person and just bring this new group along and it's really exciting. Everyone is super eager."

What are your predictions for Affolter and the Iowa Hawkeyes in the upcoming season? Let us know in the comments section below.