Huskers and Cyclones Tie in Season Opener

Lincoln Neb.- The Nebraska swimming and diving team battled the Iowa State Cyclones Saturday in their season opening dual which ended in a rare tie (150-150). This is not the first time Nebraska and Iowa State have tied in competition. The last time came at the Big 12 Relays in 2006 where they both tied for fifth place with scores of 41 each. 

"It was our first true test of the year," head coach Pablo Morales said. "We knew coming into this meet it was going to be a tough one. Iowa State came in ready to go. I am very proud of how our girls still battled until the very end. There aren't supposed to be ties in swimming dual meets but I guess we had one anyway." 

The Huskers won eight out of the 16 events on Saturday, including the 200-yard medley relay, 1,000-yard freestyle and a sweep in the butterfly events. A number of swimmers contributed to the victory, but junior Natalie Morris stood out, winning both the 100- (57.35) and 200-yard (2:06.21) butterflies. 

Senior Bailey Pons had an impressive meet as well, winning the 1,000-yard freestyle in an exciting race that came down to the finish. Pons out-touched Iowa State freshman Karle Clarete by three hundredths of a second and posted a time of 10:13.66. This time is only one second off her career-best 10:12.69. 

In the diving well, the Huskers swept both the one- and three-meter dives. Freshman Anna Filipcic had a break-out performance, taking first place in the one meter with a score of 279.30. In the three-meter dive Payton Michaud stood out with an impressive score of 304.80, which is only two points off her career-best dive in the event. 

Taryn Collura continued to shine in the sprint freestyle events, winning the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 51.91. She just missed out on her second victory of the day, getting out-touched in the 50 free and taking second place with a time of 23.78. 

Erin Oeltjen also added a victory in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 58.42.

"There are a lot of areas that we will continue to work on, but I'm definitely proud of how our girls stood up and battled today," said Morales.

The Huskers will take two weeks to continue practice before they hit the road for Fayetteville, Ark., to face the Arkansas Razorbacks on Saturday, Oct. 26, at 11 a.m. Check back in to Huskers.com for any and all updates regarding the Nebraska swimming and diving team.