Huskers Narrowly Miss Record in Session One

Minneapolis, Minn. - The Husker 200-yard medley relay team raced to the second-fastest time in school history, Payton Michaud and Anna Filipcic teamed up for a second-place finish in the three-meter synchronized dive exhibition, and the Nebraska swimming and diving team began competition at the 2014 Big Ten Swimming and Diving Championships on Wednesday at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center.

Nebraska's 200 medley relay team of Jacqueline Juffer, Bria Deveaux, Shannon Guy and Taryn Collura finished the meet's opening event in seventh with a time of 1:40.07, missing the school-record mark by less than a second. Head Coach Pablo Morales was elated with the way his squad followed last season's school record. 

"Last year's opening event was amazing," Morales said. "This year's relay team had two newcomers, but they were still able to come within a second of the record. Jacqueline Juffer was especially impressive, coming in with no experience at the Big Ten Championships and giving us a solid opening."

In the second event, the three-meter synchronized dive exhibition, Payton Michaud and Anna Filipcic took second place. According to Morales, the senior/freshman combination gained a great deal of confidence and added to the excitement of the entire team with their performance. 

In the session's final event, the Huskers took ninth in the 800-yard freestyle relay. The team of Morgan Flannigan, Bailey Pons, Kelly Dunn, and Natalie Morris finished in 7:17.04, earning the fifth-fastest time in Husker history.

Overall, Coach Morales was pleased with the way his team performed in the meet's opening session, claiming sole possession of eighth place through two events. He hopes they can keep their edge for the next three days and continue to put their season training on display.

"I thought it was a very positive first session," Morales said. "The 800 free relay girls got the most out of their talents, including a lifetime best from Morgan Flannigan to lead off the event. Overall, I thought today went really, really well, and our girls are excited to continue competition tomorrow."

Thursday's preliminary session will begin at 11 a.m. and finals will follow at 6:30 p.m. Check back in to Huskers.com and follow @HuskerSwim on Twitter for updates, as the Huskers continue competition at the 2014 Big Ten Swimming and Diving Championships. 

Women - Team Rankings - Through Event 2

1. Indiana University                             74

2. University of Minnesota                     72

3. Wisconsin, University of                    60  

4. Pennsylvania State University           58  

4. Ohio State University                        58  

6. Michigan, University of                      54

7. University of Iowa                             44

8. University of Nebraska-Lincoln        42

9. Northwestern University                     32  

10. Purdue University                            28  

11. University of Illinois                         24 

11. Michigan State University                24