Huskers Host Big 12 Relays

<?xml:namespace prefix="st1"?><?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Nebraska (1-0, 0-0) vs. 
Texas (0-0, 0-0)
Thursday, Oct. 12 - 6 p.m. Central
Devaney Center Natatorium ? Lincoln, Neb.
Series: Texas leads, 1-0
Last Meeting: Texas won, 182-60, on Oct. 10, 2002 in Lincoln
Media: Check Huskers.com for a full recap

 

 

 

 

Big 12 Relays

Friday, Oct. 13 - 8:30 a.m./1 p.m. Central
Devaney Center Natatorium ? Lincoln, Neb.
Last Year: Nebraska, 5th (43), on Oct. 14, 2005 in Columbia, Mo.
Media: Check Huskers.com for full recap

 

Nebraska (1-0, 0-0) vs. 
Texas A&M (0-0, 0-0)
Saturday, Oct. 14 - 9 a.m. Central
Devaney Center Natatorium ? Lincoln, Neb.
Series: Texas A&M leads, 3-2
Last Meeting: Texas A&M won, 169-117, on Oct. 12, 2002 in Lincoln
Media: Check Huskers.com for a full recap

 

The Nebraska swimming and diving team will endure one of the most notable stretches in its program’s history this week as the Huskers host three meets in three days at the Devaney Center Natatorium, beginning with a dual meet against defending Big 12 Champion Texas on Thursday at 6 p.m.<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

 

The matchup will mark the first time Nebraska and Texas have squared off in the pool since 2002, and will come on the eve of the Huskers’ hosting the Big 12 Relays on Friday at 8:30 a.m., before capping the week with a dual meet against Texas A&M on Saturday at 9 a.m.

 

Nebraska is 1-0 this season after a 156-87 win at MissouriState last Friday, and is one of only two teams in this week’s field that has had a regular season meet thus far. The win over the Bears marked the earliest starting point for the Husker swimming and diving team in school history.

 

Another first will be achieved this week as it will the first time men’s swimming has taken place at the Devaney Center Natatorium since the 2003 Big 12 Relays in Lincoln. Missouri, Texas A&M and Texas will compete for the men’s Big 12 Relay title on Friday, and the Aggie and Tiger men will meet again on Saturday morning in a dual meet, along with the Texas A&M, Missouri and Nebraska women. The Huskers and Tigers will not be scored head-to-head on Saturday due to their dual meet later this season.

 

Nebraska and Texas: Leaders of the Big 12

Thursday night’s meet will see a matchup of the only two teams in the Big 12 that have captured conference crowns during its 10-year history.

 

Following three straight Big Eight titles from 1994-1996, the Huskers won the first two Big 12 championships in 1997 and 1998. From that point on, Texas has ruled the conference by winning the last eight.

 

Nebraska and Texas have only faced off head-to-head one time in school history, a 182-60 Texas win in Lincoln on Oct. 10, 2002.

 

Scouting the Big 12 Women:

The Huskers are 1-0 after a 156-87 win at MissouriState last Saturday. In 2005-06, Nebraska was 7-2 in dual meets and finished fifth at both the Big 12 Relays and Big 12 Championships. Behind a ninth-place finish in the 1,650-yard freestyle from Lauren Bailey, the Huskers were 36th at the 2006 NCAA Championships.

 

Iowa State finished sixth at the 2006 Big 12 Championships after a 5-4 dual season, an improvement from 2004-05 when it went 3-6. The Cyclones were sixth at the Big 12 Relays last year in Columbia.

 

Kansas was fourth at the 2006 Big 12 Championships and Big 12 Relays. During the regular season, the Jayhawks had a strong 8-2 record. Sophomore Ashley Leidigh qualifed for the NCAA Championships in the 200-yard butterfly and finished 39th overall.

 

Missouri won the Show-Me Showdown championship last Saturday to open the 2006-07 season. Last year, the Tigers hosted the Big 12 Relays and Big 12 Championships and finished third at each meet. They were ranked No. 25 in the final CSCAA poll following a 6-2-1 dual season.

 

Texas A&M was runner-up at both the 2006 Big 12 Championships and Big 12 Relays. The Aggies were ranked 11th in the final CSCAA Top 25 last season after finishing 11th at the NCAA Championships. Texas A&M was 10-3 on the dual season.

 

The Texas Longhorns are the defending Big 12 champions and finished eighth at the 2006 NCAA Championships. Texas was also the 2006 Big 12 Relays champion and was tabbed at No. 10 in the final CSCAA Top 25 last year after a 4-4-1 dual record.

 

Scouting the Big 12 Men:

Missouri was third at the 2006 Big 12 Championships and opened this season by winning the Show-Me Showdown title last Saturday in Columbia. The Tigers were 3-2 last season and earned the first second-place finish in school history at the Big 12 Relays.

 

The Aggies were 17th at the 2006 NCAA Championships after finishing as runner-up to Texas at the Big 12 Championships. They started the season with a second-place finish at the Big 12 Relays and then went 3-6 during the dual season.

 

Texas had a solid showing at the 2006 NCAA Championships by finishing in fourth place. The Longhorns swept both the Big 12 Relays and Big 12 Championships in 2005-06 and were 5-3 in dual meets.

 

Direct Athletics Returns for 2006-07 Season

In conjunction with the Big 12 Conference, Direct Athletics at www.directathletics.com will once again be providing updated results throughout the 2006-07 swimming and diving season. At this site, fans and coaches can access the fastest times in the Big 12 Conference on a weekly basis by clicking “Performance Lists” in the upper righthand corner of the screen.

 

Last Year at the Big 12 Relays

Columbia, Mo.--- The trio of Kate Wheeler, Casey Schnack and Lauren Bailey won the women’s 1,500-yard freestyle relay to lead the Nebraska swimming and diving team to a fifth-place team finish at the 2005 Big 12 Relays in Columbia, Mo., last October.

 

The victory was the first at the conference event since Head Coach Pablo Morales took the head coaching reigns at Nebraska prior to the 2000-01 season, and helped the Huskers tally 43 points, four more than the 2005 total.

 

“The meet was highlighted by that 1,500-freestyle relay,” Morales said. “In the past, we have always felt like we had the ability to win that race, and (that day) we put it together. It is very satisfying from that standpoint as all the hard work this group has done the last few years was reflected in their improvement. It was exciting.”

 

The win came in a time of 14:49.68, and kept Nebraska in contention for a top-four team finish before slipping a spot in the last half of the meet.

 

Courtney Jolly gave the Huskers a spark on the boards with a second-place finish on the three-meter dive in her first collegiate competition. The Plantation, Fla., native was forced to sit out the 2004-05 season due to a back injury, but tallied a score of 239.00 to finish only behind Jessica Livingston of Texas.

 

Nebraska also gathered four fourth-place finishes in the swimming relays (100-yard medley, 200-yard medley, 800-yard freestyle, 100-yard freestyle).

 

Following the Big 12 Relays, the Huskers hit the road to take on Arkansas, where they defeated the Razorbacks, 184-115.

Review: HuskersMarchOverMissouriState

Springfield, Mo.--- Nebraska won its season-opening meet for the fourth straight year and the ninth time in the last 12 seasons as it defeated the Missouri State Bears, 156-87, in Springfield, Mo., last Friday.

The Huskers dominated their earliest regular-season meet in school history by winning nine of the 13 events, including three victories from senior Lauren Bailey in the 200- (1:55.21) and 500-yard freestyle (4:58.85) and also the 200-yard individual medley (2:08.96).

 

Senior Kate Wheeler, who had nine wins in 2005-06, won the 100- (53.24) and 1,000-yard freestyle (10.18.72), where she led a trio of Huskers. Senior Casey Schnack was second (10:33.35) and freshman Mariah Hutchinson was third (10:35.71) to give NU 16 points in the 1,000-free alone. Five events later, Hutchinson won the 100-yard butterfly in 58.40 to capture her first-career victory in her first collegiate meet.

 

Nebraska may not have had a stronger showing in the meet than on the diving boards, where the Huskers swept the top three spots on both the one- and three-meter boards. Senior Danielle Stansbury was the winner on the three meter, while junior Kaci Ressler won her first career meet on the one meter.