Huskers Host Iowa State on Senior Day

The Nebraska swimming and diving team will look to send out an accomplished group of student-athletes on a high note on Saturday at 1 p.m., as eight Huskers will compete in their last home meet when NU takes on Iowa State at the Devaney Natatorium at 1 p.m.

Nebraska is 6-1 in dual meets this year and is looking to rebound from its first loss of the season after dropping a 176-124 contest at Kansas on Jan. 14.

The Nebraska coaching staff will honor the eight-member senior class beginning with a Senior Day ceremony that will start at approximately 12:50 p.m. This year’s group of seniors was Morales’ first full recruiting class upon his completion of his inaugural season as head coach in 2001-02. The class has since led the Huskers to the best start in school history (8-0 in 2004-05) en route to a third-place conference finish at the 2005 Big 12 Championships, the highest finish by a Nebraska team since 2001. The seniors also hold a 24-11 career dual record, including a 10-1 mark at home over the past three seasons.

"This class came to a program that was really in its very infancy and uncertainty with its direction since it had gone through such an amazing transition," Head Coach Pablo Morales said. "It really means a lot to this program that this group put their ability, approach and desire toward swimming to get to the next level at Nebraska. We are extremely fortunate to have this group."

The Iowa State Cyclones are 3-2 this season and 0-1 in the Big 12. They lost their only conference meet of the season to Missouri (169-126) on Jan. 20 in Ames.

The Huskers and Cyclones have faced two common opponents this season as they have each defeated Northern Iowa and South Dakota State. Nebraska defeated ISU in team invites at the Big 12 Relays (43-30) and Minnesota Invitational (479-129).

"Iowa State has always been a great rival for us," Morales said. "It is a very intense, but respectful, rivalry. "Duane Sorenson (ISU head coach) always has his swimmers ready to go, and they have a great diving group as well. We expect a lot from them."

Nebraska defeated Iowa State last season in Ames 189-110 for its historical eighth-straight win of the year. The Huskers will be looking for their 25th all-time win over the Cyclones as they hold a 24-4 edge in the all-time series.

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Lana Baker came to <?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Nebraska as a High School All-American and quickly developed into a prominent breaststroker for the Huskers. As a freshman, Baker became the first Husker to qualify for finals when she placed sixth at the conference meet in the 100-yard breaststroke in a time of 1:04.17, 11th on the all-time list. She has been a consistent top 15 breaststroker in the Big 12 throughout her career and her swim of 2:23.93 in the 200-yard breaststroke at last year’s Big 12 Championships is 20th in Nebraska history.

Amie Buoy has established herself as one of the most successful divers in Nebraska history. Last season, Buoy became the first Husker diver to qualify for the National Championships in nearly 15 years as she capped a magnificent season that included a runner-up finishes on the one and three-meter dives at the Big 12 Championships. She is a two-time Big 12 Diver-of-the-Month recipient and fifth on the all-time chart on the three-meter dive with a score of 500.45. She is also a first-team academic All-Big 12 selection and has been named to the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll six times.

Mackenzie Clark was Pablo Morales’ first commit from this year’s senior class and developed into a leader of Nebraska’s successful distance corps during her career by tallying five career victories in distance races. Clark set an NCAA-provisional cut in the mile as a junior, and has five top-10 finishes at the Big 12 Championships, including a fifth-place finish in the mile as a sophomore. Clark is 11th on the Nebraska all-time list in the 500-yard freestyle and is in the top 10 in two events as she is seventh in the 1,000-yard freestyle and ninth in the mile. She is a four-time Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll selection.

Kate Dulgar has improved every season at Nebraska en route to becoming a top sprint freestylist for the Huskers. Dulgar set career bests in all three of her specialty events at last year’s Big 12 Championships and also picked up a trio of top three finishes in the 50-yard freestyle during the regular season. She is a four-time Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll honoree, a second-team academic All-Big 12 selection and one of three California natives among the senior class.

Esmie Holderman earned her first career victory in just her sophomore season with the Huskers and has only continued to improve throughout her career. Holderman set three career-best marks last season that included two top-15 finishes at the Big 12 Championships. Her 1,000-yard freestyle time of 10:19.94 against Kansas last season is 18th on the all-time list. In the classroom, she is a first-team academic All-Big 12 selection and a five-time member of the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll. She has recently been accepted to graduate school where she will study physical therapy.

Becky Johnson immediately proved to be a top diver for the Huskers when she qualified for the NCAA Zone diving meet as just a freshman. Since then, Johnson has earned three career victories and ranks 16th all-time on the three-meter, and placed third on the one-meter at last year’s Big 12 Championships. More impressively, Johnson has been named to the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll every semester during her collegiate career and is a first-team academic All-Big 12 selection.

Alex King earned her first of six career victories against Wyoming as a freshman. On that day, her 200-yard freestyle win helped Pablo Morales to his first victory at Nebraska and catapulted her to six top-20 finishes at Big 12 Championships over the next three years. Her 100-yard freestyle time of 51.72 at the 2004 conference meet is 15th all-time in school history. She is also first-team academic All-Big 12 selection and is the second Husker in the senior class to be named to the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll every semester.

Rachel Schlatter is one of the most successful breaststrokers in recent history. She ranks seventh and ninth in the 100- and 200-yard breaststrokes on the NU all-time list, and has five top-10 finishes at the Big 12 Championships. During her career, Schlatter was a two-time Husker Power Swimming Lifter of the Year and set one NCAA-provisional cut. She is a five-time Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll member, a first-team academic All-Big 12 selection, and was part of the 2005 Homecoming Court.

Review: Huskers Drop First Dual to Kansas, 176-124

Juniors Kate Wheeler and Lauren Bailey combined for five of Nebraska’s six total victories, but it wasn’t enough as the Huskers (6-1) suffered their first loss of the season to the Kansas Jayhawks, 176-124, on Jan. 14, in Lawrence, Kan.

Nebraska won two of the first three events, kicked off by Bailey’s win in the 1,000-yard freestyle in a time of 10:06.21. The victory moved her to 3-0 on the year in the 1,000-yard freestyle and ran her team-leading win total to 13 on the year after she also won the 500-yard freestyle (4:56.99) and 400-yard individual medley in a Robinson Natatorium pool-record time of 4:25.63.

Wheeler won the 100- (52.52) and 200-yard freestyle (1:51.85), while sophomore Lynn Siemert added Nebraska’s final victory in the 50-yard freestyle (24.36).

Review: Huskers Enjoy Trip to the Bahamas, Defeat MSU 107-98

The Huskers have been out of regular-season competition since Nov. 20 when they took sixth at the Minnesota Invitational, but they got a taste of high-level action last week while on their Holiday Training Trip in Nassau in the Bahamas when they defeated Big 10 foe Michigan State, 107-98, on a long-meter course at the Betty Kelly Kenning National Aquatic Center.

Juniors Kate Wheeler and Lauren Bailey led NU with two victories each as Wheeler won the 100- and 200-yard freestyle, while Bailey took first in the 200-yard IM and 100-yard backstroke.

Junior Bailey Ingles also won the 100-yard butterfly to give the Huskers five victories.

Nebraska flew to Nassau on Jan. 2, and aside from training for five days, the team enjoyed the beach, visited the world famous Atlantis resort and found time for shopping.

"This was the best Christmas training I have seen since I was a freshman," senior Mackenzie Clark said. "I think that the change in locations (Lincoln to the Bahamas) helped switch things up. And being in the Bahamas made it fun to train and added an aspect that this team really took advantage of.

"The adventure to the Bahamas wasn’t the only training for the Huskers, as they endured a five-day practice period in Lincoln prior to leaving for Nassau.

"Overall, Christmas training went really well," Morales said. "Our strategy was to spend a good portion of our time in Lincoln. During that time, we had unlimited access to our facility and no time limitations and we were able to get a great deal of training accomplished. That took some pressure off the next week in Nassau, but we were still able to get some great training done. Our quality of training was excellent and our team had a great time enjoying the surroundings in Nassau, while training really hard. The end result was extremely productive."

Huskers Sign Seven in Early-Signing Period

Head Coach Pablo Morales has announced the signing of seven recruits that will join the Nebraska swimming and diving team next season.

The class is the largest Morales has signed in the early recruiting season since he arrived at Nebraska in 2001, and includes athletes from six different states.

"We are very happy with the early-season recruiting success, which gives us great momentum for the spring recruiting season," Morales said. "This class continues our trend of signing quality student-athletes who have high improvement potential."

Morales, along with Head Assistant Coach Doug Humphrey, managed to cover every stroke in this class that includes multiple-time state champions, four high school All-Americans and one Olympic trial qualifier.

Kaitlin Arntz of Omaha, Neb. (Millard West) has seen much success at the Nebraska state meet. Arntz, a Junior National Qualifier, claimed her first of three golds at the state meet as a freshman on the 200-yard medley relay team that included current Husker Bailey Ingles and earned Millard West a runner-up team finish. Arntz went on to win individual golds as a sophomore in the 100-yard butterfly and last season as a junior in the 100-yard breaststroke to earn high school All-America honors.

Colleen Criss of Omaha, Neb. (Marian) is the second Nebraska native in the class and is the younger sister of current Husker swimmer Michelle Criss. The 2004 high school All-American has collected three gold medals at the Nebraska state meet, most notably anchoring the 200-yard medley team at the 2005 state meet that earned her high school All-America status. She has qualified for the state meet every year and placed as high as third individually each in the 100-yard breaststroke and 200-yard IM to contribute to Marian’s amazing run that has seen the Crusaders rattle off six straight state titles and counting.

Hailey Dean of San Diego, Calif. (Christian) will be the eighth California native on the Husker swimming and diving roster since Morales began his career at Nebraska. Dean was a 2003 high school All-American in the 100-yard breaststroke after winning the San Diego region at the high school championship. She followed up the first-place performance with a third-place showing in the same event last year.

Mariah Hutchinson of Topeka, Kan. (Topeka) is also a U.S. Junior National Qualifer. Hutchinson guided Topeka High to a historic win over Manhattan High School last year in which she won three golds to win the 1-70 league title and stop Manhattan’s 18-year streak.

Kelsey Ida of Highlands Ranch, Colo. (Mountain Vista) will be the second Colorado native in Morales’ tenure following current Husker, senior Mackenzie Clark (Colorado Springs, Colo.). Ida was fourth at the state meet last season in the 100-yard backstroke and sixth in the 100-yard butterfly. She earned high school All-America honors both in the pool and scholastically. Ida has also accepted a New Nebraskan Scholarship.

Brittany Legal of Bainbridge, Ohio (Hawken) nearly reached the pinnacle of swimming when she qualified for the 2004 Canadian Olympic trials in the 400- and 800-meter freestyle, reaching the finals of the 800. Legal was the runner-up in the 500-yard freestyle at the Florida state meet as a sophomore before moving to Ohio where she placed third in the 500-free while helping Hawken to the state title. She is also a Junior National and U.S. Open Qualifier. Much of her success has come from her trainers that include Bud McAllister, Peter Banks and Jerry Holtrey. Under their instruction, she has swam with Olympic gold medalists Janet Evans, Brooke Bennett and Diana Munz.

Sarah Ziegelmann of Fargo, N.D. (Fargo North) is a former North Dakota high school state champion in the 50-yard freestyle and 200-yard freestyle relay. She has also excelled in the classroom by ranking No. 1 academically in her class which helped her earn a prestigious New Nebraska Scholarship. Last season, she was runner-up in the 50-yard freestyle at the state meet.