Huskers Dive into Season with Home Double-Dual

The Nebraska swim and dive team is set to kick off the 2024-25 regular season with a double-dual against Minnesota and South Dakota at the Devaney Natatorium on Friday, Oct. 4 at 4 p.m.  

Nebraska saw its first action in the water last week, as the Scarlet defeated the Cream 96-91 in the annual intrasquad meet at the Devaney Natatorium on Friday, Sept. 27.

Returning first-team All-American Gena Jorgenson led the Scarlet with wins in the 200 and 500 freestyle events, while fellow junior Maisie Gilford swept the 50 and 100 freestyles. Gilford, a newcomer from England, also contributed to a pair of second-place relays for the Scarlet.

Seniors Maia Hall and Caterina Bisiacchi shined for the Cream, with Bisiacchi scoring a team-best 20 points, while Hall added 12 with wins in the 100 breaststroke and 200 IM.  

Jorgenson, a junior from Aberdeen, S.D., captured All-America honors in school-record fashion in the 1,650 freestyle a year ago. She and fellow South Dakotan Jazmyn Lunn will be fired up to face the Coyotes. Lunn, a freshman from Brookings, was the top prospect in the state of South Dakota coming out of high school. She owns nine state records and 13 overall high point state titles. She won six championships at the 2024 South Dakota Class A state championship, including wins in the 50 free and 100 IM.

Junior Kelsey Clairmont leads a strong Husker diving corps into the season. Clairmont earned a top-20 finish on platform at the 2024 NCAA Championships. Newcomer Nettie Knapton adds to a group that includes Abby Baxter, Antonina Harned, Ellee Delcamp, Frankie Webb and Minnesotan Jordyn Schmucker.

The Golden Gophers, who traditionally field one of the Big Ten's top dive squads, were ranked 24th in the CSCAA Preseason Top 25 rankings after finishing 20th at the 2024 NCAA Championships. Nebraska took 30th at nationals after an eighth-place finish at the Big Ten Championships. Minnesota finished fifth at the conference meet.

Junior diver Vivian Del Angel (Veracruz, Mexico) leads the Gophers after winning the 2024 NCAA Championship on platform. Del Angel was the Big Ten runner-up on platform a year ago, while adding a third-place finish on the three-meter dive and an eighth-place finish on the one-meter board. Sophomore teammate Elna Widerstrom (Lund, Sweden) took bronze on the one-meter board at the Big Ten meet, while adding a fifth-place finish on the three-meter board. Widerstrom added first-team All-America honors of her own with her sixth-place finish on the one-meter event at the 2024 NCAA Championships as a freshman.

Del Angel (20) and Widerstrom (13) combined for 33 of Minnesota's 47 team points at nationals last season, with the other 14 coming from 2024 senior Megan Van Berkom's fifth-place finish in the 400 IM.

The Huskers faced the Golden Gophers and the Coyotes last year in Minneapolis. Nebraska defeated South Dakota 177-120, but fell to Minnesota 226-74.   

In addition to the competition between the Huskers, Gophers and Coyotes on the women's side, the Minnesota men's team will face the South Dakota men's team simultaneously with alternating events at Devaney Natatorium. The Golden Gophers men's roster includes Elkhorn, Neb., native Drew Kaelin.

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

A link to live results for Friday's double-dual will be available through Huskers.com and results can be accessed through the Meet Mobile app. A live video stream can also be accessed through Nebraska's YouTube channel.

Season schedule update: Nebraska's previously scheduled road dual meet at Iowa as been moved from Oct. 11 to Oct. 18. For the most up-to-date schedule information throughout 2024-25, please visit the schedule page on Huskers.com.