Huskers Hit Austin for 2008 Big 12 Championships

Following its fifth straight winning campaign with a 7-2 dual record during the 2007-08 regular season, a confident <?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Nebraska swimming and diving team heads to Austin, Texas for the 2008 Big 12 Championships, which begins this Wednesday, Feb. 27 and concludes Saturday, March 1.<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

 

The meet will kick off with a pair of events Wednesday evening at 6 p.m., before Thursday starts three straight days of preliminary races at 10 a.m., followed by finals at 6 p.m. The University of Texas will provide live stats and updates, while Huskers.com will post recaps for each of the seven sessions.

 

“The Big 12 Championships seem to be getting more and more competitive each year,” head coach Pablo Morales said. “Everyone is making strides and the quality from top to bottom has definitely improved. I think we’re seeing times that continue to rank higher and higher and show that the Big 12 Championships is a very high quality meet.”

 

The Huskers’ 7-2 record in dual action also marked the fifth consecutive year the Big Red has won at least seven meets in a season. Additionally, Nebraska was undefeated (7-0) at home this year, the third time it has not lost at the Devaney Natatorium in the past five seasons. 

 

This year marks the first time since 2003-04 that the conference meet will be held in Austin. In that meet, the Huskers finished fourth after back-to-back sixth-place finishes in 2002 and 2003. It was the beginning of strong momentum for Nebraska, as it then placed third in 2005. Since the 2003-04 season, head coach Pablo Morales has led the Huskers to a 36-13 dual record. This week, the Huskers are looking to return to the top half of the conference race, following fifth-place finishes in 2006 and 2007.

 

Nebraska faced three Big 12 teams in dual action this season, defeating IowaState and dropping meets to Kansas and Missouri. At the Big 12 Relays in October, the Huskers finished fifth with 34.5 points.

Nebraska Historically at the Big 12 Championships

 

The Husker swimming and diving program has won 10 conference titles in school history, including the first two Big 12 championships after the formation of the conference prior to the 1996-97 season.

 

The pair of Big 12 titles in 1997 and 1998 ended a streak of five-straight conference championships that began in 1994-95 as members of the Big Eight Conference. The Huskers’ most recent conference title included NU’s last undefeated dual season, as it was 7-0 in 1997-98, before finishing 11th at the NCAA Championships.

 

Morales’ highest success at the Big 12 Championships has been coaching former Husker Lauren Bailey to three individual titles (2004, 400 IM; 2006, 1650 Free; 2007, 1650 Free). Under Morales, Nebraska’s best conference meet came in 2005 in College Station, Texas, when the Huskers finished third behind Texas and Texas A&M.

 

Nebraska boasts a total of 11 individual Big 12 champions that have won a combined 23 titles, led by Shandra Johnson who won eight championships from 1998-2000.

 

Giehl, Grushecky Lead NU Swimmers in Total Victories

Two Husker freshmen - Julie Giehl and Kelsey Grushecky - have come up big in their first seasons at the collegiate level, as each won nine races during the 2007-08 regular season.

 

Giehl’s resume includes a 500 free victory in the Huskers’ win over Iowa State on Feb. 2, concluding a season that saw the Boulder, Colo., native win races in freestyle events at the 200-, 500- and 1,000-yard distances. Her season-best marks of 1:52.17 (200 free) and 5:00.24 (500 free) are second among Husker swimmers during the 2007-08 season.

 

Grushecky enters the Big 12 Championships as the conference’s reigning Swimmer of the Week. The freshman won three races in the Huskers’ regular-season finale at No. 21 Missouri. It continued a streak that saw Grushecky win at least one race in every dual meet this season except Nebraska’s loss at Kansas.

 

Jolly Looks for Continued Success at Big 12 Championships

For the third consecutive year, Courtney Jolly will be heavily relied upon for Nebraska’s success on the diving boards. The junior redshirted her freshman season and has battled injuries much of her career, which continued during the 2007-08 season. Despite not performing at full strength, Jolly won eight events this year (four each on the one- and three-meter) to lead a young Husker diving squad into the Big 12 Championships.       

 

“We could have had much bigger goals this year (for Courtney), but unfortunately with injuries we had to kind of take a little break in the middle of the season,” diving coach Natasha Chikina said. “We’ve just tried to keep her healthy so she can go through the conference meet and do her best.”

 

Jolly finished seventh on the one-meter and ninth on the three-meter at the 2007 Big 12 Championships to qualify the NCAA Zone Diving Meet. Once again, this week’s meet in Austin will put Jolly against some of the nation’s best. In Big 12 dual meet action this season, Jolly won both boards against IowaState, but did not pick up a victory against Kansas or Missouri.

 

Sophomore Duo Looks to Step Up

In order for Nebraska to replace valuable points from last year’s senior class, it will look heavily upon a pair of sophomores who performed magnificently at the 2007 Big 12 Championships as only freshmen.

 

Mariah Hutchinson brought home a pair of top-10 finishes from the conference meet, including a sixth-place finish in the 200-yard butterfly. The performance came with Nebraska’s fastest time (2:03.13) since 2001 after an 11-win regular season. Classmate Kaitlin Arntz nearly matched Hutchinson’s accomplishments, by finishing eighth in the 200-yard breaststroke, just the second Husker to reach the top eight in the event since 2001. She also finished 10th in the 100-yard breaststroke. 

 

This season, indications show the duo is poised for a similar showing. Hutchinson enters the Big 12 Championships with Nebraska’s fastest time in three events (200 Free, 500 Free, 200 Fly), as well as three wins and six runner-up finishes. Arntz has a win and seven runner-up finishes on her 2007-08 resume and is Nebraska’s No. 1 200 breaststroke and 200 individual medley performer.

 

Huskers Return to Austin With High Hopes

Just over two months ago, Nebraska traveled to Austin and competed in the Texas Invitational. Racing against some of the highest competition in the nation, the Huskers finished sixth out of 15 teams with 198 points. It was the sixth time Nebraska has competed in Austin the past eight seasons.

 

“Historically, we’ve had great meets in Austin,” head coach Pablo Morales said. “It’s a great atmosphere. It’s a nice pool. It seems to seems to suit us very well, at least (it has) in the past.”

 

At the 2007 Texas Invitational, the Huskers set season-best times in 13 of 19 swimming events, including two relays (200 freestyle and 400 medley). Additionally, each butterfly, backstroke and breaststroke season-best time was set at the Texas Invitational.            

 

“I believe that having that experience in Austin is going to be especially beneficial for our freshmen,” Morales said. “They’ll be going in there to a familiar venue. They’ve competed in that pool against some of the fastest competition in the country, so they’re used to a peak performance meet in a highly competitive situation.”

 

Grushecky Named Big 12 Swimmer of the Week

Husker freshman Kelsey Grushecky was announced as the Big 12 Swimmer of the Week for meets from Feb. 5-18, released Feb. 20 by the league office.

 

The award is the first for Grushecky, who is the second Husker swimmer to be honored since the 2003-04 season. NU diver Courtney Jolly was named Big 12 co-Diver of the Week Nov. 28, 2007.

 

Grushecky earned the award after she won three races in the Huskers’ dual at No. 21 Missouri. The West Newton, Pa., native was first in the 200 butterfly (2:03.19), 100 butterfly (56.67) and 200 freestyle relay (1:36.25).

 

On the season, Grushecky has tallied nine wins, which ties the freshman for the team high.

 

Huskers Earn 25 Spots on Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll

The Nebraska swimming and diving team made a big splash on the 2007 Big 12 Commissioner’s Fall Honor Roll, as 25 former and current swimmers and divers earned the academic honor.

 

Nineteen members from the 2007-08 Husker swimming and diving team were joined by six former student-athletes to meet the minimum 3.0 or better grade-point average during the fall semester. This marks the second-straight term in which Pablo Morales’ squad has set a record, as it had 21 selections in the spring 2007 semester.

 

Of the honorees, four achieved perfect 4.0 grade-point averages in Kaitlin Arntz, Lauren Bailey, Kate Wheeler and Sarah Ziegelmann.

 

Overall, an impressive list of 298 Nebraska student-athletes across all sports claimed spots on the Big 12 Commissioner’s Fall Honor Roll. Among the 298 student-athletes who achieved 3.0 or better grade-point averages during the semester, 35 Huskers posted perfect 4.0 GPAs.

 

Home Sweet Home

Capped with a 190-109 victory against IowaState on Feb. 2, Nebraska finished the home season with an undefeated record for the third time in the past five years. The Huskers won all seven of their home competitions in 2007-08, including victories over Big Ten foes Illinois and Iowa and defending WAC champion Nevada. Nebraska’s other perfect home campaigns the past five seasons came in 2003-04 (4-0) and 2005-06 (5-0).            

 

Review: Huskers Fall to No. 21 Missouri, 173-122

Nebraska finished the 2007-08 regular season with a 7-2 record (1-2 Big 12), as it dropped a 173-122 decision at No. 21 Missouri in its last meet on Feb. 9.

 

The Huskers were faced with a tall task in their final dual, as the nationally-ranked Tigers moved to a 12-1 (3-1 Big 12) on the year, with its lone loss coming to No. 6 Texas A&M.

 

Although Nebraska didn’t pick up a win until freshman Kelsey Grushecky’s victory in the 200-yard butterfly (2:03.19), the Huskers hung tough with Missouri through the early stages, picking up three runner-up finishes in the first five events.

 

Grushecky proved to be Nebraska’s bright spot for the day, as the West Newton, Pa., native also won the 100-yard butterfly (56.67), tying her for the team lead in wins with nine this season (also freshman Julie Giehl). With Saturday’s performances, Grushecky won at least one race in every dual meet in 2007-08 except Nebraska’s loss at Kansas.

 

Overall, the Huskers had four event wins against the Tigers, as junior Christina Yemm won the 400-yard individual medley (4:35.98) before Nebraska took the final event of the meet, the 200-yard freestyle relay, in 1:36.35, one one-hundredth of a second ahead of Missouri.

 

Junior diver Courtney Jolly had a pair of runner-up finishes on the boards, as she trailed only Missouri’s Kendra Melnychuk on the one- (259.65) and three-meter (270.15) competitions.

 

2008 Husker Swim Camp with Pablo Morales

Nebraska swimming coach Pablo Morales and his outstanding coaching staff will host the 2008 Husker Swim Camps this coming summer! Camps will be conducted during the following dates ? June 8-13, June 15-20 and July 20-25.

 

To take part in the 2008 Husker Swim Camp with Pablo Morales, please click on the link at the top or bottom of this page and send the filled-out application with a $100 deposit to the following address.

    Husker Swim Camp

    107F BobDevaneySportsCenter

    Lincoln, NE68688-0653

 

“Our aim is to provide you with the best swim camp experience?period. In 2007, for the first time, Husker Swim Camps offered an all-inclusive camp format that combined the very best of what in the past has been our two separate and specialized stroke and training camp formats. No longer do our campers have to choose whether to focus on technique development or get that training camp experience, because now they will get it all in a single camp format. This change is designed to provide a more comprehensive and, we believe, more attractive experience that includes two areas critical to the successful development of competitive swimmers. Along with the new format, Husker Swim Camps will continue to offer the very best in camp essentials and take great pride in providing unique and innovative elements to your water-time experience. Outside the pool, you will be exposed to a great lineup of presentations that complement the camp format. And, of course, we want to make sure you have fun along the way. In short, our objective is to provide a way for you to swim faster and increase your appreciation and enjoyment of competitive swimming. What you take with you will be memories of fun and friendship that will last a lifetime.”

 

For more information on the 2008 Husker Swim Camps, click the link on the right side of this screen.

   

Coming Up Next in Husker Swimming and Diving

This week at the Big 12 Championships the Huskers are aiming to qualify athletes for the NCAA Championships, which take place March 20-22 in Columbus, Ohio. Nebraska divers will also have a chance to prolong their season, as the NCAA Zone Diving Championships are March 14-16.