Morales Praises Huskers for Historic Season

Despite a surprise start and end to the season, the Nebraska swimming and diving team rewrote the school record book in a memorable 2019-20 campaign.

In a year that began with unexpected redshirt seasons for All-American Abi Knapton and fellow 2019 NCAA qualifier Jessica Warak in the diving well, the Huskers relied on outstanding leadership from their returners to train and compete with a unity of purpose and a commitment to a team-first attitude that propelled Nebraska to new levels of success.

Although the season came to an abrupt end because of the coronavirus outbreak just days before the NCAA Championships were scheduled to be held in Athens, Ga., Nebraska was able to celebrate the success of three swimmers and one diver who qualified for nationals. The four qualifiers marked the most for Nebraska since 1999-2000.

“It was really an awesome and rewarding season,” Nebraska Coach Pablo Morales said. “We had swimmers putting together record-setting performances, generating excitement and bringing ‘wow’ kind of moments all season long, especially at the Big Ten Championships. The momentum created by Autumn Haebig, Audrey Coffey and Madison Coughlen just kind of fed off itself and spread to the whole team.

“But it wasn’t just the success of the three NCAA qualifiers, it was the leadership, team-building and commitment to training showed by our seniors. It was the espirit de corps of our entire distance freestyle group. It was the toughness shown by our divers led by another NCAA qualifier, Sara Troyer, even though that group was challenged by redshirts and injuries. It was the growth of the freshmen and sophomores and the number of lifetime bests produced throughout the season.”

Morales, who completed his 19th season leading the Huskers in 2019-20, knows plenty about measuring true success in and out of the pool. The son of Cuban immigrants, Morales was an 11-time NCAA champion and a CoSIDA Academic All-American at Stanford. He helped the Cardinal to three straight NCAA titles and earned three Olympic golds and two silvers (1984, 1992), and served as a U.S. team captain in 1992.

“The fact that we had four competitors qualify for nationals was a wonderful accomplishment. Sure, it was disappointing to have the season end like it did because of something that was way bigger than swimming. But the pride that was drawn from the accomplishments of so many members of our team is genuinely satisfying. There is also strength that comes from knowing the kind of work they put in and the results that followed.”

Autumn Haebig, a junior from Grafton, Wis., qualified for the 2020 NCAA Championships with her school-record time of 1:44.94 in the 200-yard freestyle. Her performance came on the opening leg of NU’s 800 free relay, before she added a 1:44.95 to take ninth individually in the 200 at the Big Ten meet. She was also set to swim in the 100 free and the 500 free at nationals. She finished eighth in the 500 at the Big Ten Championships and added a 16th-place finish in the 100 free in a career-best time of 49.30. Haebig also competed in three events at the 2018 NCAA Championships.

“Autumn really solidified her spot as our most accomplished swimmer,” Morales said. “She means so much to our team, not only as a top performer in her individual events, but also as a leadoff in four of our relays. She had an outstanding season, and we know she will be preparing for a great senior year next season.”

Fellow junior Madison Coughlen secured her first berth at nationals with a school-record 1:55.78 in the 200-yard butterfly at the Big Ten Championships. She posted Nebraska’s top individual finish at the conference meet with her sixth-place showing in the event. Coughlen (Frisco, Texas), was also set to compete in the 400 IM after racing to a career-best 4:13.02 to finish 11th at the Big Ten Championships.

“Madison has learned a lot and fully dedicated herself in all phases of her training,” Morales said. “She met the challenges of her freshman year and learned from them and we started seeing her grow and mature as a sophomore. It really started to come together for her in training this year and she was able to compete at a higher level. As we watched her performances throughout the year, it was like, ‘wow, there is still a lot more here.’ We could see her talent really starting to show, and we know there is a lot more ahead for her.”

Audrey Coffey capped Nebraska’s trio of NCAA qualifying swimmers by earning a spot in the 1,650-yard freestyle. The sophomore from Naperville, Ill., raced to an eighth-place finish at the Big Ten Championships in a time of 16:18.56 – the second-fastest time in school history. It also represented nearly a 16-second improvement over her time in the same event at the conference meet in 2019. Coffey also shattered the school record in the 1,000-yard free with a time of 9:48.15.

“Audrey went on a quest to make the Olympic Trials starting at the end of last season. She accomplished that with her time in the 1,500-meter free over the summer. That success kind of just built more success for her. She was a key part of a great distance freestyle corps that showed great spirit and a great camaraderie, and that helped drive her to even higher levels this season. She is still learning and working to put together even better races. It was truly exciting to see her growth this year.”

Sara Troyer continued a terrific run of success for Nebraska divers in 2020. The sophomore from Goshen, Ind., earned an NCAA bid by taking fourth in the three-meter dive with a career-best 342.00 in the finals of the NCAA Zone D competition in Dallas, Texas. She was also set to compete on the one meter at nationals. It marked the seventh consecutive season that at least one Husker diver qualified for nationals under the tutelage of Head Diving Coach Natasha Chikina.

Troyer, who took fifth on the three meter and 10th on the one meter at the 2020 Big Ten Championships, earned 10 victories throughout the season. Her emergence as a sophomore could give the Huskers one of the best diving corps in the nation next year with the potential returns of four-time All-American Abi Knapton and 2019 NCAA qualifier Jessica Warak, after redshirt seasons in 2019-20.

“Sara is a real gamer and competes well under pressure,” Morales said. “She was awesome at zones, competing and outperforming some of the best divers in the nation. It is a testament to her talent and mental toughness to carry the banner for our divers this year. It is also a tribute to Natasha, who brought her along and helped her lay a foundation to compete in the top echelon at the zone meet.”

The Big Red must say good bye to a deep and talented senior class that included Tori Beeler (school-record 200 IM, 1:58.24), Carla Gonzalez-Garcia, Savannah Savitt, Lindsey Stalheim and Gwen Worlton, a group that Morales praised for developing a winning culture in 2019-20.

“Each and every senior made valuable contributions to our team. They showed each and every day how much they cared about our program. They not only made some truly inspirational swims, but they also inspired our younger swimmers with words of encouragement at some key moments during the season.”

A strong 2020 junior class featuring Haebig, Coughlen, Sutton Marvin, Izzie Murray, Rachel Powers, Gabby Baratta and Mira Rhodes is expected to join Knapton in an eight-member senior class to lead the Huskers in 2020-21.

The 2021 seniors should benefit from a strong junior class that includes Coffey, Troyer, Taylor Acheson, Maggie Berning, Katelyn Kilpatrick, Jessica Pentlarge, Hallie Roman and Grace Tiernon.

Morales and the Huskers also expect to see gains from a talented group of 2020 freshmen that featured Katelyn Barth, Reagan Hinze, Kimberly Lanaghen, Berkeley Livingston and Molly Rosenthal.

For the first time in Morales’ time at Nebraska, the Huskers could return six NCAA qualifiers  next season (Coffey, Coughlen, Haebig, Knapton, Troyer, Warak).

“The strength our swimmers and divers have gained will carry over into next season, and more importantly to all areas of their lives in the future. They can take the lessons they learned this season and apply them to the extraordinary times they are facing right now. They can learn and grow from all the experiences to prepare themselves for any challenge that lies ahead. That is really the whole point of everything we are doing here at Nebraska and in college athletics.”