Huskers Fall Short to Rutgers in Piscataway

The Nebraska swimming and diving team just came up short in a tight dual against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights this weekend. The Huskers finished Friday's events down by a score of 88-79. Saturday morning, the meet came down to the final relay, but the Huskers fell by a mere nine points, 181-172.

On Friday, on the diving boards, Sara Troyer had a successful outing in the three meter dive. She captured first place (316.50), adding to her already impressive resume on the season. Hallie Roman also impressed, splashing to a third place finish (268.28).

In the 200 fly, Madison Coughlen set an impressive new standard for the University of Nebraska. Along with winning first place with a time of (1:56.39), she also eclipsed the school record previously set by current junior, Izzie Murray. Coughlen also established an NCAA B-cut qualifier with her time. Maggie Berning finished behind Coughlin, picking up second place (2:01.84) and Izzie Murray finished in fourth (2:07.52).

The Huskers picked up solid victories in both the 100 and 500 freestyle events, thanks to Autumn Haebig. In the 500 free, Haebig picked up first place with an NCAA B-cut qualifying time (4:45.35). Audrey Coffey swam to a third place finish (4:54.40), while Rachel Powers captured fourth (4:58.98). In the 100 free, Haebig again was victorious with a season best time (50.09). Carla Gonzalez also swam to a solid fifth place finish (51.59) in the tight race.

In the 200 breast, it was Gwen Worlton who finished before everyone else, picking up another Husker victory (2:15.78). She was followed closely behind by Tori Beeler, who grabbed third place (2:19.06).

In the 200 IM, three Huskers finished one after another consecutively to pick up third, fourth and fifth place. In third, it was Tori Beeler who swam a solid time (2:02.13). She was followed directly by Madison Coughlen in fourth (2:03.69) and Berkeley Livingston in fifth (2:05.91).

Rachel Powers finished off the evening's single events with a nice outing in the 200 backstroke, where she garnered a third place finish (2:04.17).

In relay action, the Huskers finished behind Rutgers in both the 200 medley and 200 freestyle. The 200 medley started off the night, where the Nebraska A relay featuring Gonzalez, Worlton, Coughlen and Beeler grabbed second place (1:44.15). The Nebraska B relay with Stalheim, Savitt, Murray and Barth swam right behind their teammates and picked up third (1:46.67). In the 200 free, the Nebraska A relay finished in third place (1:35.74) with Haebig, Gonzalez, Barth and Savitt, while the Nebraska B relay featuring Pentlarge, Marvin, Worlton and Stalheim finished in fourth (1:38.40).

This morning, the Huskers began the day at 10 AM and had 10 more events ahead of them to finish the 19 event meet.

Starting with diving again, Sara Troyer captured her second victory of the weekend and set a career-best time in the one meter dive (293.55). Hallie Roman secured another top five finish, grabbing fourth (222.67) while Grace Tiernon was right behind her in fifth (218.24).

The Huskers were again successful in the freestyle events this morning, getting two first place titles in three different events. In the longest freestyle event of the weekend, Audrey Coffey swam to a dominant victory in the 1650 free. Not only did she finish first, but she also qualified for an NCAA B-cut with a time of (16:28.89), which was also her career best in the category. Katelyn Kilpatrick swam to strong finish, picking up third (16:47.10) and Rachel Powers was able to snag fourth (16:49.87).

In the 200 free, Autumn Haebig took her third victory of the weekend. She swam to first place with another season best time of (1:47.14). Savannah Savitt swam close behind, finishing in third place (1:52.70), while Jessica Pentlarge snagged fourth (1:54.36). In the shortest freestyle event of the weekend, it was Kaitlyn Barth who was the first Husker to cross, as she picked up fourth place (24.16), while Gwen Worlton captured fifth (24.26) in the tight race.

Madison Coughlen continued her impressive performance from the night before, as she was victorious in the 400 IM. She secured first place with another great time (4:19.66), while Berkeley Livingston swam to another top-five finish, this time taking third place (4:25.31).

In the 100 fly, it was Coughlen who again took first place (54.80), good for her third event title of the weekend. Freshman swimmer Kimberly Lanaghen captured third place (55.85) for the Huskers, while fellow freshman Kaitlyn Barth swam to a fourth place finish (56.71).

Gwen Worlton swam to her second victory of the weekend, this time in the 100 breast (1:03.36). Tori Beeler swam to another solid finish, picking up third place (1:04.51) in the event.

Lindsey Stalheim finished off the solo events for the Huskers this weekend, swimming to a good third place finish (57.95) in the 100 backstroke.

The meet came down to the relays deciding who would finish with the most points. For the Huskers, they came up short in both the 400 medley relay and the 400 freestyle relay. In the 400 medley featuring Haebig, Worlton, Coughlen and Beeler in the Nebraska A, they swam to a solid second place finish (3:43.74) in the effort. The Nebraska B relay with Pentlarge, Baratta, Stalheim and Barth picked up fourth (3:53.41). In the 400 free relay, the Nebraska A relay with Haebig, Beeler, Gonzalez and Savitt grabbed second place (3:24.15), while the Nebraska B relay featuring Pentlarge, Marvin, Coffey and Stalheim finished in fourth (3:36.35).

The Huskers drop to 5-2 in duals on the year, with both losses coming on the road. The Huskers will meet the Scarlet Knights again along with the rest of the Big Ten in their next matchup in Iowa City for the Big Ten Championships. The Big Ten meet begins on Wednesday, February 19 at 6:30 PM and continues through Saturday, February 22. Preliminary races will begin at 10 AM, while the final qualifiers with continue each day beginning at 6:30.