Nine Swimmers Represent Nebraska at U.S. Opens

Nine Nebraska swimmers are set to represent the Huskers at the U.S. Open Championships in Greensboro, N.C. this week.

The meet runs from Dec. 1-4 and gives the Huskers an opportunity to line up next to an elite field and compete on a national level.

Seniors Autumn Haebig and Audrey Coffey bring experience competing against the best in the country. They both represented the Big Red at the 2019 U.S. Opens and swam in wave two at the 2021 Olympic Trials. The duo’s performance at the 2019 U.S. Opens were highlighted by a 24th-place finish in the 400-meter freestyle for Haebig (Grafton, Wis.), while Coffey (Naperville, Ill.) led the distance freestylers with a 31st-place finish in the 1,500-meter freestyle.

Haebig also made appearances at the USA Swimming Winter Nationals in 2018 and 2019, where she recorded multiple top-ten finishes. This season, the fifth-year senior has continued to be a leader in the pool, after coming away with two individual victories in the 200 freestyle and 500 freestyle at the highly-competitive Mizzou Invitational in mid-November.

Haebig and Coffey will be joined by fellow senior and co-captain, Madesyn Ronquillio. She will provide strength in the 100 and 200 backstroke events.

The Huskers are proving to have depth in the breaststroke events, with sophomore Ella Stein and a freshmen duo of Maia Hall and JoJo Randby competing in the 100 breaststroke.

Ilaria Murzilli and Milica Opacic round out the four freshmen set to compete at Greensboro Aquatic Center. Senior Shannon Stott will be the final competitor for the Big Red as she swims in the 200 butterfly, an event that Stott (St. Albans, Great Britain) has won four times this season already. This includes a big win in the Mizzou Invitational two weeks ago.

Many big names will be competing in North Carolina, including six-time individual Olympic gold medalist and 15-time world champion, Katie Ledecky. She swam for Stanford for two years, where she claimed eight national titles before announcing that she was going professional. 

Paige Madden, Leah Smith and Kathleen Baker are among other swimmers competing that have represented the United States at the Olympics in years past.

Nebraska divers will not be competing at the Minnesota Diving Invitational this week and will now be diving at the USA Diving-hosted Winter National Championships from Dec. 14-17.

U.S. Open Championships

Greensboro, N.C.

December 1-4

Prelims: 9 a.m. (CT)

Finals: 6 p.m. (CT)

Order of Events:

Wednesday

800 Freestyle (Audrey Coffey)

Thursday

400 Freestyle (Autumn Haebig, Ilaria Murzilli, Audrey Coffey)

200 IM

50 Freestyle (JoJo Randby)

Friday

400 IM

100 Butterfly (Milica Opacic)

200 Freestyle (Autumn Haebig)

100 Breaststroke (Maia Hall, Ella Stein, JoJo Randby)

100 Backstroke (Autumn Haebig, Madesyn Ronquillio)

Saturday

1500 Freestyle (Audrey Coffey)

200 Backstroke (Madesyn Ronquillio)

100 Freestyle (Autumn Haebig)

200 Breaststroke (Maia Hall, Ella Stein, JoJo Randby)

200 Butterfly (Shannon Stott)