Huskers Open B1G Dual Season

The Nebraska swimming and diving team begins Big Ten Conference dual competition by battling Iowa at the Devaney Natatorium on Saturday at 11 a.m.

The dual marks the first time that Iowa has come to Lincoln to take on Nebraska since Nov. 15, 2013. 

The Huskers opened regular-season action three weeks ago at Devaney with a dominant 189-54 victory over South Dakota State. All-American and reigning Big Ten 200 freestyle champion Autumn Haebig (100 free), Shannon Stott (100 fly, 1,000 free), Madesyn Ronquillio (100 back), Madison Lloyd (200 IM), Beatriz Padron (500 free) and diver Sara Troyer (one meter, three meter) all collected event titles in the opener.

Troyer, a senior from Goshen, Ind., provided one of Nebraska's biggest highlights by putting up a career-best 345.68 on her way to victory on the three-meter board.

Padron, a 2020 Olympian from Costa Rica, won her race in the 500 free by more than seven seconds, while fellow freshman Madison Lloyd also won a title in her first college meet.

Other Nebraska freshmen who showed they were ready to contribute right away for the Big Red included JoJo Randby (Omaha), Milica Opacic (Serbia), Ilaria Murzilli (Italy), Maia Hall (England), Sydney McCracken (Kennett Square, Pa.) and Diana Brailita (Hastings).

The Huskers will be looking for improved times from swimmers against the Hawkeyes. In last year's head-to-head dual with Iowa, Haebig raced to victories in the 100 (50.11), 200 (1:46.82) and 500 freestyles (4:50.69), while Audrey Coffey added a win in the 1,000 free (9:53.80). The Huskers also swept the diving competitions on the one and three meter boards with departed six-time All-American Abigail Knapton taking titles, while Troyer added a runner-up finish on the three-meter board and third on the one meter.

The Hawkeyes notched wins in the other 10 events, including victories by Julia Koluch (100 back, 200 back), Aleksandra Olesiak (100 breast, 200 breast), Kelsey Drake (100 fly, 200 IM), Alyssa Graves (200 fly) and Sarah Schemmel (50 free) along with a pair of relay wins (200 medley, 400 free). Iowa captured a 170-128 in Iowa City (Jan. 16, 2021) to open the season.

Olesiak returns to lead the Hawkeyes in the water this season against the Huskers, but Koluch, Drake, Graves and Schemmel are all gone. Iowa's roster features just one freshman in Makayla Hughbanks.

The Hawkeyes do have one swimmer from Nebraska - Claire Hartley - a sophomore out of Omaha Marian, who joined Husker freshman JoJo Randby in leading Marian to the 2020 Nebraska Class A state championship at the Devaney Natatorium.

Three weeks after Nebraska's head-to-head dual with the Hawkeyes in Iowa City, the Huskers exacted a measure of revenge with a 152-147 win over Iowa at the Minnesota Triangular (Feb. 6, 2021). The Huskers also finished one spot ahead of Iowa in the final Big Ten Conference Championship standings, as Nebraska took seventh (542.5) and Iowa finished eighth (424). At the 2021 NCAA Championships, Nebraska finished 26th (33 points) while the Hawkeyes did not score.

Prior to last year's meetings, the Huskers had not competed in a dual against Iowa since Oct. 3-4, 2014, when the Hawkeyes raced to a 191-109 win.

Highlighting the Huskers
Autumn Haebig made history last season by becoming Nebraska's first Big Ten champion with her victory in the 200 free at the conference meet in a school-record time of 1:44.39. She went on to claim NCAA All-America honors in the event with her ninth-place finish at the 2021 NCAA Championships. She added All-America accolades with a 14th-place finish in the 500 free. The fifth-year senior from Grafton, Wis., was also a CSCAA All-American in the 200 free as a junior in 2020.

Fellow senior co-captain Audrey Coffey (Naperville, Ill.) just missed All-America honors of her own in the 1,650 free at the NCAA Championships last season. Nebraska's school-record holder in the event (16:14.19), Coffey captured CSCAA All-America recognition in the 1,650 in 2020.

In addition to Nebraska's returning All-Americans, the Huskers will bring their deepest and most talented swim team in Coach Pablo Morales' 21 seasons in Lincoln to the 2021-22 campaign.

Senior Maggie Berning (Kettering, Ohio) finished 15th in the 200 butterfly at the 2021 Big Ten Championships while adding a 21st-place finish in the 500 free.

Shannon Stott (St. Albans, Great Britain) added a top-20 Big Ten finish in the 200 fly, taking 18th in 2021. The second-year Husker also competed in the 200 and 500 freestyles. The East Carolina transfer contributed to Nebraska's 400 and 800 free relay teams last year at the conference meet.

Madesyn Ronquillio (Tracy, Calif.) another transfer who pitched in a pair of top-24 conference finishes last season joins Haebig, Coffey and Rachel Powers as co-captains this year.

Nebraska's strong distance freestyle corps will be bolstered by the return of Powers. The graduate student from Sun Prairie, Wis., took a redshirt season in 2020-21. She finished 15th in the 1,650 free at the 2020 Big Ten Championships.

Another distance freestyler, senior Katelyn Kilpatrick, has finished among the top 24 in the 1,650 free in each of the last three Big Ten Championships.

Berkeley Livingston and Kimberly Lanaghen lead Nebraska's junior class. Livingston, a Lincoln Southwest High School graduate, finished 20th in the 400 IM at the 2021 Big Ten meet. Lanaghen (Boulder, Colo.) added a 20th-place finish in the 500 freestyle at the 2021 Big Ten Championships.

Nebraska's group of juniors is strengthened by the return of Kaitlyn Barth, who posted NU's top time in the 100 fly (54.18) on the final day of the Big Ten Championships.

Sophomore Ella Stein (Hudson, Wis.) was NU's top breaststroker a year ago, taking 15th in the 200 and 23rd in the 100 as a freshman at the Big Ten Championships. Fellow sophomore Lexi Kucera (Hutchinson, Minn.) finished 23rd in the 100 free at the Big Ten meet and just missed the C-Finals in the 100 fly.

Two other sophomores return after posting Nebraska's top times of the season in individual events. Caitlin Cairns (Colorado Springs, Colo.) posted NU's top time in the 50 free (23.47), followed by Kucera (23.49) and Gabby Donahue (23.55). Donahue also posted NU's top time in the 200 IM (2:02.05).

Nebraska vs. Iowa Dual History 
(Iowa Leads Series 4-2)
Nebraska 152, Iowa 147 (@MINN, 2/6/21)    
Nebraska 128, @Iowa 170 (1/16/21)
Nebraska 109, @Iowa 191 (10/3-4/14) 
Nebraska 133, Iowa 167 (11/15/13)
Nebraska 107, @Iowa 192 (11/1/08)
Nebraska 170, Iowa 130 (11/3/07)    

Nebraska vs. Iowa
Saturday, Oct. 23, 2021 (11 a.m.)
Devaney Natatorium (Lincoln, Neb.)

Order of Events
200 Medley Relay
1000 Freestyle
200 Freestyle
100 Backstroke
100 Breaststroke
200 Butterfly
50 Freestyle
3 Meter Diving
100 Freestyle
200 Backstroke
200 Breaststroke
500 Freestyle
100 Butterfly
1 Meter Diving
200 IM
400 Freestyle Relay