Huskers Claim a Win in Minnesota Triangular

The Nebraska swimming and diving team finishes it’s Saturday at the Minnesota Triangular while picking up a dual win in the process. The Huskers faced both the Minnesota Golden Gophers and the Iowa Hawkeyes this morning and afternoon in Minneapolis. The Gophers managed to defeat the Huskers in their dual, 193-107, while Nebraska edged out a victory from Iowa, 152-147. The Nebraska win is one of revenge, as Iowa defeated the Huskers 170-128 earlier this season.

The Husker athletes had a nice day in the water, led by senior captain Autumn Haebig who had herself a fantastic outing. Haebig won three event titles Saturday, capturing victories in the 100 free (49.74), 200 free (1:46.69) and the 500 free (4:48.82). Her time in the 200 free gives her an NCAA B-cut time, beating the qualifying time of 1:47.12.

Several Huskers performed well in other races on Saturday, many of them being close to an NCAA qualifying time.

Audrey Coffey led a good team performance in the 1000 free, as she finished in second place (9:59.77). Two other Huskers finished close behind, with Molly Rosenthal grabbing third place (10:06.80) and Katelyn Kilpatrick finished in fourth (10:08.55).

Madesyn Ronquillio continues to perform well in her first year as a Husker. She finished as the runner-up in the 200 backstroke (1:58.97) and taking third in the 100 back (55:33), tying with Kennedy Gilbertson of Iowa.

Freshman Ella Stein had another good outing in the breaststroke. The swimmer from Hudson, Wisconsin finished in third place in both the 100 breaststroke (1:03.20) and the 200 breaststroke (2:17.94).

In the butterfly, Izzie Murray led the charge, garnering two top-five finishes. She first received fourth place in the 100 fly (55.41) and fifth in the 200 fly (2:00.66). Maggie Berning, the junior from Kettering, Ohio, defeated Murray in the tight-race, taking fourth place (2:00.41).

Berkeley Livingston swam the 400 IM on Saturday, capturing fourth place for the Huskers (4:22.57).

In another top five finish, freshman Lexi Kucera snagged fourth place in the 50 free (23:49).

Abi Knapton led the way on the diving boards for the Huskers in the meet, grabbing two top-five finishes. The redshirt senior from Omaha captured second in the three-meter dive (339.50) and fourth in the one-meter dive (294.15). Both dives qualified for a potential postseason appearance for Knapton.

In the team relays, Nebraska fared well, taking second place in both the 200 medley relay and the 200 freestyle relay. In the medley relay, the Husker team with Madesyn Ronquillo, Ella Stein, Caitlin Cairns and Lexi Kucera tied with the relay from Iowa for the runner-up finish (1:42.11).

The 200 freestyle relay was swam by a team of Lexi Kucera, Caitlin Cairns, Kaitlyn Barth and Autumn Haebig, who swam to a second place finish of 1:32.97.

Nebraska finishes the Saturday meet 1-1 after beating Iowa and falling to Minnesota, bringing the team’s record to 1-3 on the season. The Huskers will return to Minneapolis, Minnesota for the Big Ten Conference Championships, which are taking place from Tuesday, Feb. 23 through Saturday, Feb. 27. The Husker divers will be in West Lafayette, Indiana for the Big Ten Diving Championships around the same time, starting on Wednesday, Feb. 24 through Saturday, Feb. 27.