Huskers Keep it Close, Fall to Illini on Senior Day

The Nebraska swimming and diving team hosted the Illinois Fighting Illini on Senior Day in Lincoln at the Devaney Natatorium. In a close meet, the Illini came away with the dual win over the Huskers, 164 to 136.

The Husker senior class was honored before the meet was kicked off. Gabby Baratta, Madison Coughlen, Autumn Haebig, Abi Knapton, Izzie Murray, Jessica Pentlarge, Mira Rhodes and Grace Tiernon were all congratulated on successful years as members of the team.

Audrey Coffey got the meet started off hot, with a pair of top two finishes in the long distance freestyle races. In the 1000 yard freestyle, Coffey swam to a first place finish time of (10:18.47). Molly Rosenthal swam to a good third place finish (10:37.12) in the race. In the 500 freestyle, Coffey grabbed second place (5:05.03) in what was a solid day for the junior swimmer. Taylor Acheson came in fourth place for the Huskers (5:13.21).

Coffey would also take third place in the 400 IM, finishing with a time of 4:35.35. Madison Coughlen would land in fifth (4:38.33) for the Huskers as well.

In the sprint freestyle races, Autumn Haebig performed well in both the 100 and 200. She finished in second place in both events with good times, timing 52.54 in the 100 and 1:52.58, with both races coming down to the wire.

In the 50 freestyle, Alexa Kucera was the first Husker to finish, taking third place (24.75). A pair of Huskers, Kim Lanaghen and Caitlin Cairns, drew for fifth place (24.96), sharing the points.

Madesyn Ronquillio had a great day in the pool, winning both of the backstroke races. The junior transfer from Boise State won the 100 with a time of 57.09, while freshman Gabby Donahue swam to a third place finish (58.34). Ronquillio also won the 200 with a four second gap between her and second place, finishing 2:02.46. Sarah Barton's good swim gave her third place (2:07.49) in the event.

Freshman Ella Stein had a breakout day for the Huskers as well. The swimmer from Hudson, Wisc. took victories in both breaststroke races for Nebraska. In the 100, Stein swam to a great finish of 1:06.05, while in the 200, won her second race of the day in a close battle, 2:23.88.

In the 200 butterfly, Maggie Berning and Shannon Stott finished in the top three for the Huskers. Berning finished as the runner-up (2:05.92) in the race, while Stott came in third (2:07.21) for the Huskers.

Alexa Kucera and Izzie Murray would both finish in the top four, with Kucera taking second (57.41) in a good swim and Murray finishing in fourth (57.85) in the close race.

On the boards for the Huskers, it was a clean sweep of the top three spots in both the one meter and the three meter in what was really a perfect day in the deep water. Abi Knapton won the one meter with a score of 314.63, while Sara Troyer came in second place (289.28) and Hallie Roman in third (271.57).

In the three meter, Sara Troyer took the top spot for the Huskers with a score of 331.80. Abi Knapton came right behind in second place (315.00) and Hallie Roman took third (272.63) once again for Nebraska.

The relays played a big factor in the close battle. The Huskers opened up the day with a second place finish in the 200 yard medley relay, swam by Autumn Haebig, Ella Stein, Izzie Murray and Alexa Kucera (1:46.66). 

The final event of the day was the 400 yard freestyle relay, where Nebraska took second place (3:31.80) once more. Alexa Kucera, Gabby Donahue, Caitlin Cairns and Autumn Haebig swam the race for the Huskers.

Coach Pablo Morales had good things to say of the Huskers in the meet, especially with the seniors, on their final meet in the Devaney Natatorium.

"It was really a great day overall," Coach Morales said. "Great meet, good atmosphere and racing. Our event staff and supporting staff put together a really great meet, even though it's just the one meet here this year and it was a fitting tribute for our seniors. Talk about legacy when seniors start their careers, because they have four years to leave a lasting imprint on a program and each senior class does something positive with the program in their own way, and this class is no exception. We've got some amazing leaders and great talents in this class. All the great things about our program now, as a team, are due in large part to this senior class. They've certainly been through a lot in terms of the team and working on improving our culture each and every year. They've played a huge part in the positive building process and they are so special in how they've helped this program."

The Fighting Illini improve to 1-1 in duals on the year, while the Huskers drop to 0-2. Next weekend, Nebraska will travel to Minnesota for a triangular with the Golden Gophers and a rematch with the Hawkeyes from Iowa. The meet is set to take place in Minneapolis on Saturday, slotted for a 10 a.m start time.