Husker Swim & Dive Opens Season at Iowa

The Nebraska swimming and diving team opens its 2021 competitive schedule on Saturday when the Huskers take on Iowa at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center in Iowa City. The dual with the Hawkeyes is set to begin at 1 p.m. (CT) with a live video stream of the dual available to subscribers of BTN+.

Live results for the event will be available through Meet Mobile, Dive Meets and through live results on hawkeyesports.com.

Order of Events
200 Medley Relay
1,000 Freestyle
200 Freestyle
100 Backstroke
100 Breaststroke
200 Butterfly
50 Freestyle
1-Meter Diving
100 Freestyle
200 Backstroke
200 Breaststroke
500 Freestyle
100 Butterfly
3-Meter Diving
200 Individual Medley
400 Freestyle Relay

Nebraska's dual with the Hawkeyes was originally scheduled to be a triangular meet with the Wisconsin women, but the Badgers were forced to withdraw from competition due to COVID-19 protocols. The Iowa men's swimming and diving team will also be competing in an intrasquad format in place of the Badgers.

Five All-Americans Return to Lead Huskers
Nebraska returns five All-Americans to its roster for the 2021 campaign, led by four-time All-America diver Abi Knapton. The fifth-year senior from Omaha is a three-time first-team All-American on platform and will be shooting to become the first Husker in history to be a four-time first-team All-American in the same swimming or diving event. Knapton redshirted in 2019-20. Junior diver Sara Troyer added a pair of CSCAA All-America honors last season in the one-meter and three-meter dives. Knapton and Troyer anchor the most talented diving corps in school history for Head Diving Coach Natasha Chikina.

Head Coach Pablo Morales also has his most talented collection of Husker swimmers in his 20th season. Senior Autumn Haebig leads the Big Red after earning CSCAA All-America honors in the 200 freestyle last season. A third senior All-American, Madison Coughlen, returns to pursue more awards in the 200 butterfly, while junior Audrey Coffey will seek another CSCAA All-America award in the 1,650 freestyle in 2021.

Eight Seniors Provide Leadership for Big Red
A talented and deep eight-member senior class lead the Huskers into 2021. Nebraska's senior class features three All-Americans in Abi Knapton, Autumn Haebig and Madison Coughlen, alongside swimmers Izzie Murray, Gabby Baratta, Jessica Pentlarge, Rachel Powers, Mira Rhodes and diver Grace Tiernon.

Nebraska's senior class will be recognized on Senior Day with Illinois at the Devaney Natatorium on Saturday, Jan. 23 (11 a.m.).

Juniors Solidify Stronger Group of Huskers
All-America swimmer Audrey Coffey and All-America diver Sara Troyer headline a talented group of Husker juniors that got even stronger during the offseason. Nebraska's junior class was bolstered by the additions of All-Mountain West backstroker Madesyn Ronquillio and American Athletic All-Conference butterfly specialist Shannon Stott. Ronquillio came to Nebraska after Boise State dropped its program in July, while Stott became a Husker after East Carolina ended its program. Swimmers Taylor Acheson, Maggie Berning and Katelyn Kilpatrick join diver Hallie Roman in providing more proven contributors in Nebraska's junior class.

Sophomores Working to Make Splash
Nebraska's five-member sophomore class features four swimmers in Kaitlyn Barth, Kimberly Lanaghen, Berkely Livingston and Molly Rosenthal who worked hard in the offseason to make greater contributions in their second seasons after solid freshman campaigns. Redshirt sophomore diver Jessica Warak also hopes to return after redshirting in 2019-20. Warak was an NCAA qualifier for the Big Red as a true freshman in 2018-19.

Freshmen Could Make Instant Impact
The Huskers also feature five true freshmen swimmers and one redshirt freshman diver who could make instant contributions in 2021. Ella Stein, Sarah Barton, Gabby Donahue, Lexi Kucera and Catie Pentlarge hope the longer than usual offseason can help them make smoother transitions to collegiate swimming. Redshirt freshman Reagan Hinze also hopes to make an impact on the Husker diving corps after ending the 2019-20 season after just two competitions because of injury. Hinze was a four-time AAU All-American in her home state of Texas.

Olympic Legend Morales Guides Huskers in 20th Season
Three-time Olympic Gold Medalist and 11-time NCAA Champion Pablo Morales guides Nebraska in his 20th season as the Husker head coach. Morales has led the Big Red to 100 dual victories in his first 19 seasons at the helm. In addition to leading the Huskers to four consecutive top-40 NCAA team finishes, the CoSIDA Academic All-America Hall of Famer has also led Nebraska to three Herman Team GPA Awards and five Life Skills Team Championships as the Husker head coach. During the spring of 2020, the Huskers produced a program-record 3.747 team GPA, while Husker swimmers and divers combined for five CSCAA All-America awards in competition.

Chikina Leads Divers in 15th Season
Head Diving Coach Natasha Chikina is in her 15th year leading a nationally successful program at Nebraska. Chikina's divers have claimed at least one All-America award in six consecutive seasons, including five-time All-American Abi Knapton and two-time CSCAA All-American Sara Troyer who return to lead the 2021 diving corps. In addition to Knapton and Troyer, Nebraska's six-member diving group includes 2019 NCAA qualifier Jessica Warak, senior Grace Tiernon, junior Hallie Roman and redshirt freshman Reagan Hinze.