Haebig Leads Huskers at U.S. Open

Autumn Haebig swam the 24th-fastest time of the weekend in the 400-meter freestyle to lead a solid Nebraska contingent at the U.S. Open Swimming Championships in Atlanta. Haebig, a junior from Grafton, Wis., posted a time of 4:16.77 to earn a spot in the C Final at the event, where she finished seventh (4:17.14). A total of 98 swimmers competed in the 400 free.

Haebig added a 51st-place finish (1:03.72) in the 100-meter backstroke, along with a 61st-place showing (2:04.35) among 118 swimmers in the 200-meter freestyle. She also competed in the 100-meter free (58.26) as Nebraska's busiest swimmer at the major national event.

Tori Beeler represented Nebraska well in three events, including a tie for 69th (2:19.71) among 160 swimmers in the 200-meter individual medley.  Beeler, a senior from Parkville, Mo., added a 77th-place finish (2:40.13) among 122 swimmers in the 200-meter breaststroke, while closing out her competition with a 97th-place finish among 129 swimmers in the 100 breaststroke (1:14.26).

Maggie Berning, a sophomore from Kettering, Ohio, produced one of the top performances of the weekend with her 33rd-place finish (2:17.22) in the 200-meter butterfly. Husker teammate Izzie Murray added a time 2:24.47 among the 94 swimmers in the event. Murray, a junior from North Bend, Ohio, also competed among 134 swimmers in the 100-meter fly, tying for 102nd (1:03.29).

A pair of distance freestylers performed well for Big Red, led by sophomore Audrey Coffey's (Naperville, Ill.) 31st-place finish in the 1,500-meter free (17:12.53). Katelyn Kilpatrick added a solid time of 17:25.40 in the event to take 40th. Kilpatrick, a sophomore from Ocala, Fla., added a tie for 94th in the 400-meter freestyle (4:31.29, 94th) to round out Nebraska's finishes at the U.S. Open.

Also over the weekend, Nebraska sophomore Hallie Roman managed a 15th-place finish in the three-meter competition at the Minnesota Diving Invitational. Roman produced a preliminary score of 256.60, before adding a score of 220.60 in the finals.

Nebraska will return to team dual competition by playing host to Omaha at the Devaney Natatorium on Saturday, Jan. 18. The action is set to begin at 11 a.m.