Three Huskers Honored with Big Ten Weekly Awards

Two Husker swimmers and a diver have claimed Big Ten weekly awards, the conference office announced Wednesday. Autumn Haebig was recognized as Big Ten Swimmer of the Week, Sara Troyer was named Big Ten Diver of the Week and Milica Opacic was honored as Big Ten Freshman of the Week.

Nebraska is coming off an intrastate dual against Omaha (Dec. 10), where fifth-year senior Haebig tallied two victories in the 50 backstroke (26.50) and 100 backstroke (56.66). Haebig has primarily competed in freestyle events so far this season and her sucess in the backstroke events on Friday proves her well-roundedness. Haebig (Grafton, Wis.) has eight victories on the season, including two big wins in the 200 freestyle and 500 freestyle at the competitive Mizzou Invitational. She also provided a top-ten finish in the U.S. Open Championships in the 200-meter freestyle earlier this month.

Troyer (Goshen, Ind.) provided two wins on the boards against Omaha on Friday. The senior diver had her best one-meter dive of the season, with a 304.88 and added a 336.23 in her three-meter victory Friday night. Troyer has been a consistent key contributor for the Huskers this season, with nine diving victories out of 16 times competing. One of Troyer’s titles includes breaking a 13-year-old facility record at Beyer Pool in the Iowa State dual. She heads to the USA Diving Winter Nationals this week and hopes to continue her success against some of the nation’s best. This marks Troyer’s second diver of the week award this season.

Opacic (Novi Sad, Serbia) has excelled in the short sprints for the Huskers this season and that was displayed in the Omaha dual on Friday. The freshman won the 50 freestyle (24.48) and the 50 butterfly (25.68) against the Mavericks. She has been a consistent competitor for the Big Red, with seven victories on the season and is continuing to drop time. Opacic provided a third-place finish (100 fly) in the competitive Mizzou Invitational on Nov. 18 with a 54.69. One of her most impressive season highlights is placing within the top-ten in the 100-meter butterfly at the U.S. Open Championships on Dec. 3.

NEBRASKA’S 2021 BIG TEN WEEKLY AWARD WINNERS

Oct. 27– Beatriz Padron – Freshman of the Week

Oct. 27– Sara Troyer – Diver of the Week

Dec. 15– Autumn Haebig – Swimmer of the Week

Dec. 15– Sara Troyer – Diver of the Week

Dec. 15– Milica Opacic – Freshman of the Week