Austin, Texas -- It was the relays leading the way for the Nebraska swimming and diving team at the 2003 Texas Invitational Thursday night in Austin.
After the first day of competition, NU saw three relays place among the top ten. The Husker 200-meter freestyle relay (freshman Michelle Criss, freshman Julie McCauley, sophomore Alex King and senior Angie Matheu) finished the race in 1:51.22 to place ninth. NU's 400-meter medley relay also placed ninth on the day (sophomore Danielle Erickson, sophomore Rachel Schlatter, freshman Bailey Ingles, freshman Julie McCauley), touching the wall in 4:26.82.
In addition, NU's 'B' relay squad (sophomore Katrina Sandeberg, junior Diana Torres, sophomore Danielle Erickson and sophomore Kate Dulgar) finished 10th in the 200-meter freestyle relay in a time of 1:53.38.
Head coach Pablo Morales said that this meet is a building block for the team.
"The morning was one of our more difficult sessions that we have had this year. We've been swimming pretty well the entire season, and we we due to have a flat session this morning," Morales said. "We came back at night and showed some energy. We haven't trained long-course meters this season, so the format was a little odd, but this meet is pretty much the highest caliber meet we'll have. Our conference meet is tough, but this is more of a national representation. We're facing high-caliber competition. It will better prepare us for the conference meet."
In addition to the relays, NU also placed seven swimmers among the top-25 in their respective events, including five in the 400-meter freestyle. Freshmen Bailey Ingles (20th, 4:29.48) and Kate Wheeler (21st, 4:29.97) along with sophomores Emily Becker (23rd, 4:35.30) and Mackenzie Clark (24th, 4:35.80) all placed among the top-25 in the event.
In the 100-meter butterfly, freshman Mallory Keathley set a season best with a time of 1:05.52 to place 23rd, while senior Angie Matheu took 22nd in the 50-meter freestyle in 27.78.
Competition continues Friday with prelininary heats begining at 10 a.m. The Texas Invitational is a United States Swimming Open Meet, allowing for unattached competitors to swim, therefore team results are not kept. In addition, the morning preliminary heats are contested in yards, while the evening finals are contested in long-course (50-meter) meters.