Huskers Fourth in Minnesota Invite

Minneapolis -- After day one of the 2003 Minnesota Invitational, the Nebraska swimming and diving team sits in fourth place with 140 points Friday night. Kansas and Wisconsin are tied for first with 232 points, and Minnesota is third with 149 points.

Once again it was the distance events that were key for the Huskers, as NU placed four swimmers among the top eight in the 500-yard freestyle. Leading the charge for the Huskers was freshman Lauren Bailey, who placed second in the event clocking in with a time of 4:55.47. Fellow freshman Kate Wheeler finished right behind, touching the wall in 5:57.03 to take third. Freshman Casey Schnack took fifth (4:59.18) and sophomore Esmie Holderman placed sixth (5:00.05).

Head Coach Pablo Morales was extremely pleased with what he saw from the distance swimmers.

"Across the board, we saw a lot of season and lifetime-best swims," Morales said. "When you haven’t shaved and tapered and you are seeing lifetime-best swims this early in the season, that’s really exciting. It just goes to show you that good things are in store for the rest of the season."

The Huskers also got points in the diving well, as sophomore Amie Buoy placed sixth on the one-meter springboard with a score of 257.40.

An NU relay also placed among the top eight, as the 400-yard medley relay (sophomores Danielle Erickson and Rachel Schlatter and freshmen Bailey Ingles and Julie McCauley) finished seventh in a time of 3:53.51.

The Minnesota Invitational resumes Saturday with preliminary heats beginning at 10 a.m.