Nine Huskers to Contend for Top-10 Spot in Indianapolis

The Nebraska men's swimming and diving team is sending nine athletes to compete in the 1999 NCAA Championships this weekend in Indianapolis. The three-day meet, being held at the IU Natatorium, begins on Thursday, March 25, and runs through Saturday, March 27. Prelims are scheduled to begin at 10 a.m., with finals at 6 p.m. CST.

NU, which recently fell from 13th to 17th in the latest Speedo Coaches poll, is coming off a second-place finish at the Big 12 Championships. The Huskers enter the meet looking for their third consecutive top-20 finish, and possibly their third top-10 finish in school history.

Defending champion and top-ranked Stanford enters as the favorite. The Cardinal qualified 13 athletes, while they figure to see competition from Big 12 champion and second-ranked Texas (13 qualifiers). 1997 national champion Auburn enters the meet ranked third with the Tigers qualifying a meet-high 17 swimmers.

A Shot at a Title
No Nebraska male swimmer or diver has ever won an NCAA title. The closest anyone has ever come to accomplishing the feat is Adam Pine (Ballina, Australia). The sixth-fastest competitor ever in the 100-yard butterfly, Pine finished fourth in the latter event at last year's meet, while he was the runner up last season. In winning the Big 12 championship in a meet-record time of 46.71, Pine recorded the second-fastest seed time. Stanford's Dod Wales, who finished three hundreths of a second ahead of Pine at last year's meet, enters the top seed time (46.66). In addition to the 100-yard fly, Pine is entered in the 100-yard freestyle, an event which he placed 12th in last season, as well as the 50-yard freestyle and relay events.

Another Australian, freshman Anthony Rogis (Weetangera, Australia) enters the NCAA Championships with a chance to go down in Nebraska history. Rogis made himself known on the collegiate scene after a stellar performance at the Big 12 Championships. Rogis shattered the school and Big 12 records in the 200-yard freestyle, touching the wall in a time of 1:34.97, the fastest on the NCAA level this season. In addition, he placed third in the 100-yard freestyle (44.11) and anchored NU's school record-setting 400-yard medley relay.

Junior Michael Windisch (Pretoria, South Africa) is coming off a stellar season and his performance at the European Short Course Championships in December puts him in the hunt for the national spotlight. Windisch finished fourth in the 400-meter IM with a time of 4:13.52. When converted to a 25-yard pool, Windsich's time equals a swim of 3:48.42, which enters as the fourth-fastest seed time. Last season, Windisch placed 14th in the event. Competing unshaved, he finished second to Texas' Joe Montague at the Big 12 Championships. Windisch is also seeded 13th in the 500-yard freestyle. His time of 3:50.38 in the 400-meter freestyle converts to a mark of 4:22.53.

Six All-Americans Return
Nebraska returns six All-Americans to the NCAA Championships. Aside from Pine, the highest returning finisher is senior diver and captain Danny Bergman (Alpine, Utah). Bergman has finished seventh in the one-meter springboard competition in each of the past two years, while he finished 16th and ninth in the three-meter event. This season Bergman has been stellar again, most recently in winning the Big 12 title on the three meter with a meet-record score of 600.90. In December, he established a new 11-dive school record on the three meter, placing third at the Texas All-American Diving Invitational with a score of 637.90.

Valery Kalmikovs (Riga, Latvia) has earned All-America honors in each of the past two seasons, competing on NU's 400-yard medley relay and the 800-yard freestyle relay. Last season, Kalmikovs narrowly missed out on individual honors, finishing 17th in the 200-yard breaststroke. Like Windisch, Kalmikovs was a competitor at the European Short Course Championships, finishing eighth in the 200-meter breaststroke with a time of 2:12.69. When converted to a 25-yard pool, Kalmikovs' time equals a mark of 1:59.19, which is seeded 11th entering the meet. In addition, Kalmikovs is scheduled to swim the 100-yard breaststroke, 200-yard IM and compete on the medley relays.

Senior David Foster (Lincoln, Neb.) plays a crucial role on the medley relays, leading off with the backstroke leg. The school record holder in the 100-yard back (49.07), Foster has earned All-America honors on NU's medley relays in each of the past two seasons. In addition, last year he competed as a member of the 200- and 400-yard freestyle relay squads. Foster is slated to again take on the backstroke role and see action on the 200-yard freestyle. Individually he is entered in the 100-yard back and 100-yard butterfly.

Another senior, Josh Mathias (Mundelein, Illinois) has been a stellar freestyler for Nebraska over the past four seasons. Although he missed a trip to the NCAA meet last season, Mathias was a member of NU's seventh-place 400-yard freestyle team in 1997 and has competed on two 800-yard freestyle teams that have earned All-America recognition. Mathias is also slated to compete in the 100- and 200-yard freestyle event.

Newcomers at the NCAA Championships
Two Huskers will be representing Nebraska on the national level for the first time in their careers. Junior diver Erik Cook (Aurora, Colo.) and freshman freestyler Javier Botello (Madrid, Spain) make their debut at the NCAA Championships. Cook, who sat out last season with an injury, was propelled to the NCAA Championships by a stellar NCAA Zone D qualifying meet. Cook placed third on the one meter and fourth on the three meter, two weeks after he placed third on the one meter at the Big 12 Championships. A second semester addition, Botello earned his ticket to Indianapolis as a member of the Husker 400- and 800-yard freestyle relay squads. In addition, he is scheduled to compete in the 200-yard freestyle, entering the 40th-fastest seed time.

Relays Play Crucial Role
Five of Nebraska's seven swimmers entered in the NCAA Championships are seeded as scorers (1-16) in at least one event. However, it is likely that the Huskers will gain a large portion of their points via relays, which count double in the scoring. At the 1998 NCAA Championships, Nebraska scored in four of five relays. Overall, relays accounted for 24 of Nebraska's 80 points, aiding in their 18th-place finish.

Nebraska enters five relays in the NCAA Championships, all of which are seeded among the top 16. The 400-yard medley relay team of Foster, Kalmikovs, Pine and Rogis enters the meet with the seventh-fastest seed time (3:13.53), as does the 800-yard freestyle team of Rogis, Mathias, Botello and Windisch (6:31.01). NU's 400-yard freestyle squad of Pine, Rogis, Mathias and Botello enters the 11th- fastest time (2:55.88). Foster is substituted for Mathias on the 200-yard freestyle squad, which enters with the 14th-fastest time (1:20.07). The 200-yard medley relay, made up of the 400-yard team, enters with the 16th-fastest time (1:28.65).

Huskers Finish Second in Big 12 Race
The 17th-ranked Nebraska men's swimming and diving team managed to hold off a late charge by 12th-ranked Texas A&M at the Jamail Center, finishing second behind No. 2 Texas for the third-consecutive season at the Big 12 Championships.

Nebraska entered the day with a 57.5-point advantage (457-399.5) over the Aggies. However, with four events remaining, Texas A&M managed to close the gap to 3.5 points (522-518). But after a pair of top-three finishes from Adam Pine and Erik Cook, as well as a third-place showing from the 400-yard freestyle relay, NU managed to clinch second place. In winning 10 of the 21 events contested, the hosts Texas cruised to its third straight Big 12 title and 20th consecutive conference title with 882 points. NU amassed 634 points for the runner-up finish, edging out Texas A&M (625.50).

NU crowned three individual champions and eclipsed three conference meet records with performances turned in by Adam Pine (100-yard butterfly, 46.71), Anthony Rogis (200-yard freestyle, 1:34.97) and Danny Bergman (three-meter diving, 600.90).

Before joining the Big 12 Conference, the Nebraska men's swimming and diving team had won 16 of the past 17 Big Eight crowns, including 15 straight from 1980 to 1994, and the final conference title in 1996. Overall, Nebraska won or shared the Big Eight title 21 times, the most in the history of the Big Eight.

In each of the previous two seasons, Nebraska placed second behind national power Texas at the Big 12 Conference Championships. Two years ago, Nebraska finished in second place, as the Longhorns won the contest with a meet record score of 920.5. Nebraska finished second with 735.5 while Texas A&M finished third with 493.

NU Against the Nation
The Nebraska men's swimming and diving program has scored at the NCAA Championships in 22 different seasons, including the past 13. NU finished 10th at the NCAA Championships in both 1988 and 1989, marking the two best showings in school history. Last season's 18th-place finish equals the fifth best in school history. Overall, Nebraska has been in the top 25 11 different times.

Head Coach Cal Bentz
Nebraska Head Coach Cal Bentz has been at the helm of the Nebraska men's swimming and diving team for the past 21 years. Bentz also served as an interim head coach in 1962 and 1963. His 164 dual victories rank first in school history, 61 more than second-place Hollie Lepley (53). Before assuming the head coaching position full time in 1978-79, NU had finished seventh in the conference for seven consecutive seasons. In 1979, NU posted a fourth-place finish, its best since 1965. Nebraska went on to win 15 consecutive conference crowns, and the final Big Eight title in 1996, while also posting eight top-20 finishes at the NCAA Championships.

Huskers Land 10 on Academic All-Big 12 First-Team
Ten members of the Nebraska men's swimming and diving team earned spots on the 1999 Big 12 Men's Swimming and Diving All-Academic Team, the third-highest total in the conference. Among NU's honorees was senior diver Damon Strickland, one of three students on the team to post a perfect 4.0 grade-point average. Other Nebraska honorees included: Carlos Asarta, Danny Bergman, Gabe Downey, Keith Ebbert, Peter Fry, Adam Pine, Eric Rasser, Govinda Tidball and Michael Windisch.

Tracking Nebraska's Adam Pine
Junior All-American Adam Pine has rewritten the Husker record books in less than three full seasons. A native of Ballina, Australia, Pine has earned All-America honors in each of his first two seasons. As a freshman in 1997, Pine was the NCAA runner up in the 100-yard butterfly, finishing second to SMU's Lars Frolander. In addition, he established a new school record while finishing ninth in the 100-yard freestyle (43.30). Last season, Pine finished fourth in the fastest 100-yard butterfly field ever assembled. Frolander established a new NCAA and U.S. Open record, winning in a time of 45.59. He was followed by Stanford's Sabir Muhammad (46.18) and Dod Wales (46.32). Wales and Pine, along with Texas sophomore Nate Dusing, return the three fastest times to the collegiate level this year. Pine has been defeated in the 100-yard butterfly once this season, as Wales handed him his only loss in a Cardinal - Husker dual at Stanford on Feb. 5. His career-best time of 46.35 ranks him as the sixth-fastest 25-yard competitor in history. Competing for his native country of Australia at the 1998 Commonwealth Games, Pine defeated world-record holder Mikeal Klim, finishing second in the 100-meter butterfly. His time of 53.06 (long course meters), converts to a mark of 46.98 in a 25-yard pool, which ranks third among NCAA competitors this season. Recently at the Big 12 Championships, Pine established a new Big 12 meet record, completing the event in a time of 46.87 while competing unshaved.