Huskers Host No. 24 Missouri on Senior Day

The <?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Nebraska swiming and diving team will wrap up regular season action Saturday as it honors its eight-person senior class against the 24th-ranked Missouri Tigers at the Devaney Natatorium at 1 p.m.<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

 

The Huskers are 7-5 (1-3 Big 12) on the season after defeating Nebraska-Omaha last night, 159-83. Nebraska also defeated Northern Iowa and Iowa State on the road last weekend to keep a perfect road dual record, which now stands at 5-0. The No. 24 Tigers are 7-2 (2-1 Big 12) and were most recently defeated by No. 13 Indiana, 166-121, last weekend in Bloomington. The Mavericks hold a .500 mark at 3-3 (1-1 NCC) and are coming off a tough one-point loss to South Dakota (150-149) back on Jan. 12. With just one win this week, Nebraska would reach the seven-win mark for the fourth straight season and 17th time since the program was instituted in 1975. Two years ago, Nebraska was 8-0 heading into the final meet with Missouri when the Tigers slipped past NU, 151-149, in Lincoln. The Huskers had already achieved a school best by becoming the first NU team to win its first eight dual meets, but were also aiming to also become the first 9-0 team in school history before the two-point loss to the Tigers.

 

Although this Nebraska team is not chasing a school record Saturday, the 2007 senior class that will be honored includes some of the best swimmers in school history. It’s a group that includes two NCAA Championship qualifiers, one school-record holder and six Academic All-Big 12 selections. Over four years, this group has amassed 141 individual event wins en route to a 28-10 overall record. In 2005, they were part of the Huskers’ third-place finish at the Big 12 Championships, the highest finish by NU at the conference meet in the past six seasons. Their 28 dual wins are the most in a four-year span since the senior class of 1993 had 32 wins from the 1989-90 season to 1992-93.

 

“This senior class represents an extrememly important class in our development and improvement the over past four years,” Head Coach Pablo Morales said. “The contributions that we’ve had from the standpoint of peak performance, work ethic and intensity really has pushed up the level of our program tremendously.”

 

Huskers Say Goodbye to Dynamic Distance Duo

Since their arrival in Lincoln in August of 2003, seniors Lauren Bailey and Kate Wheeler have established themselves as two of the best distance swimmers in the 32-year history of Nebraska swimming and diving.

 

Together, Bailey and Wheeler have totaled 114 wins during their careers and been the primary leaders to Nebraska’s success the past four years. Both are returning NCAA Championship qualifiers and each has placed their name on Nebraska’s all-time top-five list in three events. Bailey will leave the University of Nebraska with school records in the 1,000 (9:51.91) and 1,650 freestyle (16:16.06). Both the previous times are pool records at the MizzouAquaticCenter, while she has also set pool bests at the Devaney Natatorium in the same events, as well as in the 400 IM (4:25.63) at Kansas’ Robinson Natatorium.

              

Scouting the Mavericks and Tigers

The 3-3 Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks have battled a tough schedule during the 2006-07 season. Although the Mavs have lost to two Big 12 teams in Kansas and IowaState, they have defeated Nebraska-Kearney twice and South Dakota once, before losing its rematch with the Coyotes just two weeks ago.

 

The Missouri Tigers have cruised to a 7-2 record with Big 12 wins coming over Kansas and Iowa State and its lone conference loss coming to No. 5 Texas A&M. Missouri’s most impressive non-conference win came against Louisville. The Tigers finished third at the Big 12 Relays in October.

   

Last Year against the Mavericks

Nebraska won 13 of 16 events to defeat in-state foe Nebraska-Omaha at the Devaney Center Pool on Friday, Oct. 21 to kick off Parent’s Weekend.

 

Lauren Bailey dominated in her first 1,650-yard freestyle race of the season by setting an NCAA-provisional qualifying mark of 16:43.03 to take first, but it was two freshmen, Jenny Toler and Christina Yemm, who had the most surprising performances.

 

The pair took two victories in the meet in lifetime best performances, as Toler won the 200-yard freestyle in 1:54.99 and Yemm won the 100-yard butterfly in 58.70. Each also took a runner-up finish, with Yemm finishing second in the 200-yard butterfly behind Bailey (2:11.53), and Toler claiming second in the 50-yard freestyle behind Lynn Siemert (25.00), while edging out Jenna Stroud and Kate Dulgar.

 

Amie Buoy controlled the diving boards by sweeping the competitions for the second straight weekend with scores of 292.45 on the three-meter and 253.70 on the one-meter.

 

Kate Wheeler and Rachel Schlatter combined for four victories, as Wheeler took first in the 100- (53.62) and 500-yard freestyles, and Schlatter captured both the 100- (1:06.94) and 200-yard (2:24.87) breaststroke events.

 

Bailey Ingles picked up the Huskers’ remaining individual victory in the 100-yard backstroke (1:00.57), and NU wrapped up its win total in the 400-yard medley relay (Emilee Crawford, Adrienne Goodman, Alex King and Jenna Stroud).

 

The win improved Nebraska’s all-time record against UNO to 10-0.

 

Last Year against the Tigers

Lauren Bailey captured three individual titles, including the 1,000-yard freestyle where she swam a school-best time of 9:53.86, but it was not enough as Nebraska fell to Big 12 rival Missouri, 170-129, on Saturday, Feb. 4 at the MizzouAquaticCenter.

 

Bailey’s time in the 1,000-yard freestyle was more than one second faster than the previous school record (9:55.00) set by former All-American Michelle Butcher in 1990. The victory moved the San Mateo, Calif., native to 4-0 in the 1,000-free this season. In all, Nebraska won five events, but dropped to 7-2 overall and 1-2 in league competition.

 

Bailey also swam a season-best time of 2:07.58 to win the 200-yard individual medley ahead of teammates, Bailey Ingles (2:08.64) and Christina Yemm (2:09.92). Bailey made it a trio of first-place finishes with a time of 4:52.63 in the 500-yard freestyle.

 

Kate Wheeler was Nebraska’s only other individual winner on the day as the co-captain won the 200-yard freestyle in a season-best time of 1:50.22. Wheeler was also runner-up in the 500-yard freestyle (4:56.61) behind Bailey and in the 100-yard freestyle in which she tied with teammate Jenny Toler with a time of 52.53. The mark was a season-best for Toler.

 

Amie Buoy placed second on the one-meter dive with a score of 252.90 for the highest finish by an NU diver. Kaci Ressler finished behind Buoy in third with a career-best score of 242.55, while Becky Johnson was also third for Nebraska on the three-meter dive with a score of 255.75.

 

The 400-yard freestyle relay team of Wheeler, Toler, Michelle Criss and Jenna Stroud ended the meet with a win in a time of 3:32.89.

 

Review: Huskers Sweep Iowa Road Trip

Nebraska fell behind early but used a strong push to win four of the last seven events and earn its first Big 12 Conference win of the season with a 153-145 win over IowaState last Saturday afternoon in Ames, Iowa.

 

The win was Nebraska’s fourth straight over the Cyclones and second in a row in Ames to improve its overall record to 6-5 (1-3 Big 12). The narrow eight-point margin did not come as a surprise after the two teams tied for fifth at the Big 12 Relays in October with 41 points.

 

Senior Lauren Bailey got the Huskers off to a solid start when she swam a season-best and NCAA-provisional qualifying time of 16:47.54 to win the 1,000 freestyle in the second event of the day. It would be the only win for Nebraska through the first five events of the meet until the Huskers swept the top three spots of the 200 butterfly, led by another senior, Bailey Ingles (2:08.67). Sophomore Christina Yemm (2:10.83) and freshman Mariah Hutchinson (2:13.27) came in second and third. Hutchinson later won the 100 butterfly in 58.55.

 

Bailey gave the Huskers more needed help after the halfway point of the meet with wins in the 200 backstroke (2:05.46) and 500 freestyle (4:59.87), but it was diver Courtney Jolly that gave Nebraska its most crucial points by sweeping both the one- and three-meter diving competitions.

 

Jolly, a sophomore from Plantation, Fla., won the one meter with a score of 264.30 and then followed that performance with a winning total of 270.61 on the three meter. Even though Jolly’s win on the three meter was the last victory on the day for Nebraska, it was just enough to push Nebraska over the top as Yemm and freshman Kaitlin Arntz’ second- and third-place finishes in the 200 IM wrapped up the team win for Nebraska in the second to last event of the meet.

 

The night before, freshman Hailey Dean, Bailey and Wheeler won two events each as Nebraska won the first nine events overall and cruised to an easy 121-81 win over Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls.

 

Many Huskers competed in a wide array of events, but that didn’t slow Nebraska from a quick start after the 400 medley relay team of sophomore C.J. Bray, Dean, senior Bailey Ingles and sophomore Jenna Stroud won the first event of the meet in 4:03.95, nearly five seconds ahead of the competition. Dean then went on to win the 50 (25.18) and 100 freestyle (54.25) races to give her three total wins on the day.

 

Wheeler swam the 200 IM for the first time since last season’s dual against Northern Iowa on Oct. 22, 2005 and won the event in 2:13.50, while freshman Colleen Criss (2:16.18) and Michelle Criss (2:17.06) finished second and third. Wheeler dominated the 1,000 freestyle by 42 seconds (10:23.53) for her other win.

 

Bailey broke the one-minute mark to win 100 butterfly in 59.93 and also took first in the 200 freestyle in a time of 1:54.75. Bailey had not competed in the 100 butterfly in a regular season meet since her sophomore season on Jan. 28, 2005 against Nebraska-Omaha/Northern Colorado.

 

Ingles and freshman Mariah Hutchinson had NU’s remaining two wins as Ingles won the 100 backstroke (1:01.01), while Hutchinson took the 500 freestyle (5:08.29) ahead of Sarah Broker in second (5:16.74).

 

Following Hutchinson’s win in the 500 freestyle the Huskers had clinched the victory and Nebraska swam the final two events (100 breaststroke and 400 freestyle relay) exhibition.