Huskers Open Season with Scarlet vs. Cream

The Nebraska women's swimming and diving team opens its 2017-18 season by competing in its annual Scarlet vs. Cream Intrasquad meet at the Devaney Natatorium on Friday, Oct. 6, at 5 p.m.

Admission to the intrasquad meet is free.

The Huskers, who produced their best team finish since 2001 at the NCAA Championships in 2017, have the returning firepower and incoming talent to continue to rise on the national level this season.

Last year, the Huskers finished 33rd at the NCAA Championships for their second straight top-40 finish at the national meet under Coach Pablo Morales. They also produced a perfect 6-0 dual record, marking Nebraska's first undefeated dual season since 1997-98.

Nebraska's divers did the most damage for the Big Red throughout the season, led by first-team All-American Abigail Knapton. The sophomore from Omaha took fourth on the platform dive at the 2017 NCAA Championships - the highest finish ever by a Husker women's diver at the national meet. Knapton accounted for all 15 of Nebraska's points at the NCAA Championships, after winning the platform competition at NCAA Zone D Diving Championships.

While Knapton performed at an extraordinarily high level on platform in her first postseason at Nebraska, she was also a national qualifier on the one- and three-meter boards, giving Nebraska the possibility for even more points in the well at nationals in the future.

Knapton is not alone as a talented and experienced diver for the Huskers. Juniors Katrina Voge and Francesca Giganti have both competed in NCAA Zone competition and could be ready to make a step up to help the Huskers compensate for the departure of 2016 All-America diver Anna Filipcic to graduation.

While Knapton, Giganti and Voge give Diving Coach Natasha Chikina three talented and experienced performers, freshman Grace Tiernon will be looking to make an instant impact.

Tiernon, who was a two-time Junior National qualifier on the platform during her career at Heritage Christian High School in Indianapolis, was one of the top divers in the state of Indiana throughout her prep career.

“We feel like we have a strong group of divers who can contend at the conference and national levels,” Morales said. “Natasha Chikina does an outstanding job of leading our entire diving program and is really elevating the performances of each of our individual divers every year. She is developing a tremendous program for us, and we are looking for that to continue this year and into the future.”

While the diving corps continue to be among the best in the Big Ten and the nation, the Husker swimmers continue to develop speed and depth under Morales and Associate Head Coach Patrick Rowan.

“We're moving forward, the prognosis for the future is great,” Morales said. “We lost a small but mighty senior class, and we've got a great class coming in.”

The 2017-18 version of the Huskers will be led by senior swimmers Jordan Ehly and Katt Sickle.

Sickle, who will be in her sixth season at Nebraska after being granted a medical hardship for the 2016-17 campaign, has been a standout for the Huskers in the pool, in the classroom and in the community.

A three-time Big Ten Distinguished Scholar, the graduate student from Grain Valley, Mo., hopes to be healthy for strong swims in the distance freestyle events. She also hopes to earn her master's degree in teaching, learning and teacher education. She is also a two-time Nebraska Big Ten Sportsmanship Award winner.

Ehly, a senior captain from Albuquerque, N.M., also could be poised to make a push up the conference standings. Ehly is hoping to continue Nebraska's rich tradition in the breaststroke events that includes 24 total All-America awards in the 100 and 200 events combined, including 1996 NCAA Champion and Olympic Gold Medalist Penny Heyns.

Ehly produced Nebraska's top times in both the 100 (1:02.66) and 200 (2:14.67) last season after competing in the 200 breast at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Omaha. Ehly owns a trio of career top-24 performances at the Big Ten Championships.

“Jordan came to us as a fairly accomplished swimmer, and we think she is putting herself in a position to make a significant jump in performance,” Morales said. “Jordan is a really good leader, and she is unbelievable in training. We are looking forward to her bridging the gap in her training and her competitive performance because when she does, it could be pretty special.”

Sickle and Ehly make up a two-member senior class for the Huskers, who only have to replace three departed seniors from the 2016-17 campaign.

Nebraska's sophomore and junior classes each add nine members to the Husker roster to help lead the 11 freshmen who joined the program in 2017-18.

Juniors Kaylyn Flatt and Anna McDonald will carry much of the leadership load along with the Husker seniors in 2017-18. Flatt and McDonald were both named captains prior to the season, and both have proven themselves in the water for the Big Red.

Flatt, from Centennial, Colo., produced a pair of top-24 finishes in the 200 and 1,650 free events at the 2017 Big Ten Championships. Her time in the 200 free made the NCAA B standard, while she also captured seven individual wins in her events throughout the season.

McDonald, from Evergreen, Colo., also claimed a pair of top-24 finishes for Nebraska at last year's Big Ten Championships. Her times in the 200 IM and the 400 IM last season both qualified as NCAA B cuts.

Dana Posthuma, a junior from Omaha, joined Flatt and McDonald with a pair of top-24 Big Ten finishes a year ago. Her career-best times in the 100 and 200 butterfly events last season both earned her NCAA B standards as well. Posthuma's nine victories in the pool a year ago also lead Nebraska's returning swimmers.

Jacqueline Jeschke, a junior from Augusta, Ga., contributed a top-24 finish in the 200 backstroke at the Big Ten meet and her career-best time in the event is also well under the NCAA B standard.

Fellow juniors Lindsay Helferich (Odessa, Texas), Morgan McCafferty (Reynoldsburg, Ohio) and Bridget Pacilio (Colleyville, Texas) each own a pair of top-30 career Big Ten finishes and are working to break into the scoring column for the Big Red at the 2018 conference championships in Columbus, Ohio.

Nebraska's nine-member sophomore class could play a major role in the Huskers' improvement in 2017-18.

Tori Beeler leads a strong corps of Husker sophomore swimmers. The second-year competitor out of Parkville, Mo., just missed a pair of top-24 finishes at the Big Ten Championships in the 200 IM and the 200 breaststroke. She also led Nebraska's 2016-17 freshmen with eight victories on the year. Beeler's top times in both events during the season met NCAA B qualifying standards.

Sophomore Shea Bougie (Lakeville, Minn.) notched a pair of top-40 performances in the 200 IM and the 200 butterfly at her first Big Ten Championships, while claiming one dual victory on the season.

Sophomore sprint freestyler Allie Worrall (Phoenix, Ariz.) finished 34th at her first Big Ten meet in the 50 free in a time of 23.29, just off an NCAA B cut. She also notched four individual wins for the Huskers during the regular season.

Fellow sophomore Gwen Worlton produced strong inaugural efforts at the Big Ten Championships, including a 37th in the 100 breast and a 39th in the 200 breast.

Carla Gonzalez-Garcia (Medina, Venezuela) contributed a pair of dual victories during the season, while providing potential in the backstroke and freestyle events.

Abigail Greeneway, Savannah Savitt and Lindsey Stalheim round out Nebraska's strong contingent of sophomores. The trio contributed a total of 16 top-five performances throughout their first seasons for the Huskers.

Nebraska's 10 freshmen swimmers could make an immediate impact for the Huskers in 2017-18. One of the top distance freestylers to join the Big Red in several years, Autumn Haebig comes to Nebraska after capturing four consecutive Wisconsin Division 2 state title in the 500 free. Her 2016 state championship in the event came in a state-record time of 4:47.79, which would have been good enough for a top-16 finish at the 2017 Big Ten Championships.

Rachel Powers, also a freshman from Wisconsin, form a talented young tandem in the distance freestyle events for the Huskers. Powers won the 500-yard freestyle at the Wisconsin Division I State Championships in 2016, completing a sweep of the Division I and 2 crowns for the young Huskers. Powers is hoping to make an instant impact in the 500 and 1,650 freestyle events for Nebraska at the conference level.

Allison Kopas brings versatility to the Husker class by adding potential in the backstroke and IM events. Her personal-best time of 4:18.82 in the 400 IM would have placed her in the top-24 at the 2017 Big Ten Championships. Her older sister, Emily, is a senior at Michigan, where she is a two-time NCAA All-American. Her father, William, was the Big Ten champion in the 1,650 freestyle in 1986 at Michigan, while her uncle, Brice, was an All-American for the Wolverines in 1994.

Another Nebraska freshman with a strong family legacy in the pool is Jessica Pentlarge. A top sprint freestyle and backstroke competitor, Pentlarge captured California Interscholastic Federation San Diego Section Division II titles in the 100 freestyle and 100 backstroke in 2017.

Pentlarge is hoping to make an instant impact for the Huskers, as her personal-best times in those two events would rank among Nebraska's best times a year ago. Her mother, Carol, competed collegiately at Cal State Northridge, while her father, Jack, swam at UC Santa Barbara.

A specialist in the butterfly and backstroke events, Izzie Murray also is planning to provide immediate production for the Huskers. The freshman from North Bend, Ohio, owns a personal-best time of 2:02.11 in the 200 fly, which would have given her a top-24 finish at the 2017 Big Ten Championships.

The lone Nebraska native in a talented class of newcomers, Clara Walstad showed impressive improvement across the board at Lincoln Southwest High School. Walstad is hoping to make immediate contributions in the freestyle, butterfly and backstroke events for the Huskers. In the 100 back, Walstad has slashed nearly six seconds off her time since her high school freshman season and owns the Nebraska state meet record.

Gabby Baratta (Old Tappan, N.J.), Madison Coughlen (Frisco, Texas), Sutton Marvin (Austin, Texas) and Mira Rhodes (Oakwood, Ohio) round out Nebraska's talented freshman class.

The new mix of Huskers will hit the water for the first time at the Scarlet vs. Cream Intrasquad on Oct. 6, before opening the season at Northern Iowa (Oct. 13). Nebraska opens its home schedule by battling Iowa State (Oct. 21) at Devaney Natatorium.

The Big Red hit the road again to take on Arkansas (Nov. 3) and Kansas (Nov. 4), before Nebraska's divers compete at the Minnesota Invitational (Nov. 9-11). The swimmers will be in action at the Big Ten Dual Meet Challenge (Nov. 11-12) and Mizzou Invitational (Nov. 16-18). USA Swimming Winter Nationals will be held Nov. 29-Dec. 2 in Columbus, Ohio.

The Huskers return to the water for the spring semester at Omaha (Jan. 13), before closing their home dual season against Illinois on Senior Day at the Devaney Natatorium on Saturday, Jan. 20.

Nebraska travels to Piscataway, N.J., for the first time to take on Rutgers (Jan. 26-27), before tuning up for the Big Ten Championships (Feb. 14-17) with the Ohio State Winter Invitational (Feb. 10-11) both at McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion in Columbus, Ohio.

The NCAA Last Chance Meets (Feb. 24-25) and NCAA Zone Diving Meet (March 5-7) will conclude Nebraska's preparations for the 2018 NCAA Championships in Columbus, Ohio (March 14-17).