Haebig, Rosenthal Earn Spots In Finals

Madison, Wisc.-- During the first full day of competition at the 2022 Big Ten Championships, fifth-year senior Autumn Haebig and junior Molly Rosenthal each qualified for a spot in the 500 freestyle finals on Thursday night. Haebig, a Wisconsin-native, led the way by finishing second in the B-finals to claim 10th overall with a 4:44.00. Swimming in her first conference finals race, Rosenthal (Glen Ellyn, Ill.) claimed 23rd with a 4:51.01 in the C-finals.

"It was a solid day. We had a lot of excitement today with Molly (Rosenthal) and Autumn (Haebig) in the 500 final," Nebraska head coach Pablo Morales said. "They did very well and improved their times from this morning. The first full day is all done and we are looking to continue to charge and battle these teams tomorrow. The team battle is shaping up there in the middle of the pack and that will inspire us to do better the next couple of days."

Junior Berkeley Livingston was the top finisher for the Big Red in the 200 IM, just missing finals. The Lincoln-native fired a 2:01.46, marking the ninth-fastest time in the event in Nebraska school history. Sophomore Sarah Barton rounded out the Huskers in the top-30, swimming a 2:01.96 to finish 27th. Both swimmers swam career-best times, with Livingston cutting off a second from her previous best and Barton swimming almost two seconds faster than her previous best. 

Sophomore Lexi Kucera claimed the top spot for the Huskers in the 50 freestyle with a 23.16 to finish 39th, which marked another career-best for NU.

The divers competed in their first event of the meet with the one-meter. Seniors Sara Troyer and Hallie Roman both qualified for the consolation finals. Troyer led the divers with an 11th-place finish with a score of 271.05. Roman stepped up to score a 258.75 to notch a top-15 finish.

Nebraska capped off day two with the 400 medley relay, where senior Madesyn Ronquillio and sophomore Ella Stein joined Haebig and Kucera to swim the second-best time in Nebraska history (3:37.08) and place ninth.

Ohio State remains on top in the team race with a score of 425.0, while Nebraska sits in eighth heading into day three.

The action will resume Friday at 10 a.m. for prelims. Finals to follow at 5:30 p.m. The event is set to be streamed on BIG+.

2022 Big Ten Women's Swimming and Diving Championships
Date: Feb. 16-19
Location: Soderholm Family Aquatic Center (Madison, Wis.)

Swimming Championship Schedule (All times Central)

Friday, Feb. 18, 10 a.m.
100 Butterfly Preliminaries
400 Individual Medley Preliminaries
200 Freestyle Preliminaries
100 Breaststroke Preliminaries
100 Backstroke Preliminaries
Three-Meter Diving Trials & Consolation Finals

Friday, Feb. 18, 5:30 p.m.
100 Butterfly Finals
400 Individual Medley Finals
200 Freestyle Finals
100 Breaststroke FInals
100 Backstroke Finals
Three-Meter Diving Finals
200 Freestyle Relay

Saturday, Feb. 19, 10 a.m.
200 Backstroke Preliminaries
100 Freestyle Preliminaries 
200 Breaststroke Preliminaries
200 Butterfly Preliminaries
Platform Diving Trials & Consolation Finals

Saturday, Feb. 19, 3:15 p.m.
1,650 Freestyle (all except last heat)

Saturday, Feb. 19, 5:30 p.m.
1,650 Freestyle (Last heat of timed finals)
200 Backstroke Finals
100 Freestyle Finals
200 Breaststroke Finals
200 Butterfly Finals
Platform Diving Finals
400 Freestyle Relay