Huskers Set for Saturday Showdown

Nebraska swim and dive is ready to hit the road to take on Illinois on Saturday, Jan. 22 at 11 a.m. (CT) at Arc Pool.

The trip to Champaign, Ill. will be the first dual in 2022 for the Big Red. The last time the full roster competed was in a victorious intrastate battle against Omaha on Dec. 10.

The Huskers enter the weekend with a 5-1 dual record, with their solo loss coming from Big Ten foe, Minnesota (Oct. 29). The Fighting Illini are sitting at 5-2 (1-1 Big Ten) on the season and are coming off a big 204-87 win against Iowa (Jan. 15). The Hawkeyes are the only common competitor among these two teams this season, a team that the Huskers produced a 193-59 victory against.

In the meeting a year ago, the Fighting Illini came out on top with a score of 164-136. They were led by Cara Bognar, Abigail Cabush and Lily Olson who recorded a combined seven individual victories on the day. All three swimmers are back this year and will compete against the Huskers on Saturday. Prior to last season, the Huskers won five straight duals against Illinois, dating back to January of 2016. 

NU fifth-year senior Autumn Haebig has had an impressive start to the season, tallying eight individual victories, including two wins (200 free, 500 free) at the competitive Mizzou Invitational in November. Sophomore Lexi Kucera and junior Emily Haimes have been difference-makers in the short sprints. Kucera has recorded career-bests in four different events this season and had seven finishes within the top two. 

Freshman Maia Hall and sophomore Ella Stein have coupled to make a dominant breaststroke duo, with each of the swimmers providing top-ten finishes at the U.S. open. Senior Madesyn Ronquillio has owned the backstroke events, picking up six wins in the events so far.

Senior Shannon Stott has nine individual wins, the most of any Husker swimmer so far this season. Five of her wins are in the 200 butterfly, including a title at the Mizzou Invitational. Ilaria Murzilli, a freshman from Italy, and senior captain Audrey Coffey anchor the distance corps for the Big Red. Junior Berkeley Livingston is another swimmer to watch, as she owns 13 top-three finishes on the year, including a career-best performance in the 400 IM at the Mizzou Invitational that earned her the title.

Sara Troyer leads the Huskers in diving, tallying nine wins this year so far. The senior from Indiana is coming off of two top-five finishes at the Bruin Diving Invitational last week and an appearance at USA Diving Winter Nationals in December.

Fans can follow the Huskers on Twitter at HuskerSwimNDive for live updates during the meet. Live stats will also be available on the Meet Mobile app.

Nebraska vs. Illinois

Saturday, Jan. 22 2022 (11 a.m.)

Champaign, Ill.