Huskers Head to Columbia for Big 12 Championships

Meet: Big 12 Championships

Date: Wednesday, Feb. 25 ? Saturday, Feb. 28

Time: All Day

Place: Columbia, Mo.

 

Huskers Head to Columbia For Big 12 Championships

After winning three of its final five dual meets, the Nebraska swimming and diving team will wrap up its regular season at the Big 12 Championships in Columbia, Mo., next week. Competition starts on Wednesday, Feb. 25 and continues through Saturday, Feb. 28.

 

The meet will kick off with two relays, the 200 Medley Relay and the 800 Free Relay, on Wednesday evening at 6 p.m. The next three days will consist of morning prelim sessions and evening finals sessions. Huskers.com will provide a recap of each of the seven sessions. In addition, Big12sports.com will provide daily highlight packages on their website.

 

Missouri will host the Big 12 Championships for the second time in conference history, and the first time since 2006, when Nebraska finished fifth with 386.5 points.

 

Nebraska faced three teams from the Big 12 during dual play this season. The Huskers lost a close meet to Kansas on Jan. 17, 161-139, before defeating IowaState on the road 156-144 in a thrilling comeback victory. The Huskers most recently lost to Missouri, 175.5-124.5, on Feb. 7, in NU’s final home dual. At the Big 12 Relays in October, the Huskers finished 6th with 28 points.

 

Four Huskers have a chance to repeat as Big 12 Championships finalists this year. Kaitlin Arntz (8th - 200 Breaststroke), Hailey Dean (7th - 100 Breaststroke), Courtney Jolly (5th - One Meter; 5th - Three Meter; 3rd - Platform) and Mariah Hutchinson (6th - 200 Butterfly) will all look to make the final eight in those events in this year’s Championships. Nebraska had a total of 28 top-16 finishes last year at the Big 12s, including 11 top-10 finshes.

 

Hutchinson, Jolly Lead Team in Total Victories

Senior Courtney Jolly leads the Huskers in overall wins with 12 on the season, while junior Mariah Hutchinson leads the Husker swimmers in wins with nine. Jolly, who has 24 career wins in her four years as a Husker, has six top-10 finishes in her career in two years of competing at the Big 12 Championships, as she was unable to compete her freshman year due to injury.

 

Hutchinson has come on strong for the Huskers recently, winning eight of her nine events this season in the team’s final five meets. She has four top-10 finishes at the Big 12s in her first two seasons as a Husker, including a pair of 6th-place finishes in the 200 Butterfly.

 

Sophomore Brandie Kavalec leads the Husker swimmers in overall top-five finishes with 18, including two first-place finishes. Sophomore Jess Andrews and junior Kaitlin Arntz are close behind with 17 top-five finishes, and Andrews is second among Husker swimmers with six event wins.

 

Huskers Have 14 Times in Big 12 Top-20

The Huskers have 15 times in the top-20 of the Big 12 this season in all events. Brandie Kavalec leads the team with three top-20 times in the conference this season, including in the 500 Free, 1,650 Freestyle and 200 Backstroke. Kaitlin Arntz (100 & 200 Breaststroke), Hailey Dean (100 & 200 Breaststroke) and Mariah Hutchinson (100 & 200 Butterfly) each own two top-20 times. Other Huskers among the Big 12’s top-20 this year are Jess Andrews (50 Freestyle), Mailene Leslie (1,650 Freestyle), C.J. Bray (100 Backstroke), Blaine Hoppenrath (200 Butterfly) and Christina Yemm (400 IM).

 

Twenty Huskers Earn Spot on Big 12 Honor Roll

Twenty current and former Husker swimmers and divers earned a spot on the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll for the fall semester, awarded to student-athletes who post a grade-point-average of 3.0 or higher during the semester.

 

Former Husker Adrienne Goodman joined 19 current Huskers on the list, led by Julie Giehl and Kelsey Ida, who both achieved perfect 4.0 GPAs for the semester. The honor marks Giehl’s third time in three semesters, including her second time with a perfect 4.0 GPA. Ida made it five-for-five with her nomination, including her impressive fourth time with a perfect 4.0 GPA.

 

Seniors Courtney Jolly (8th time on Honor Roll), Jenna Stroud (4th), Jenny Toler (6th) and Christina Yemm (7th) were all named to the Honor Roll, along with five swimmers each from the Nebraska junior, sophomore and freshmen classes.

 

A total of 324 Nebraska student-athletes earned spots on the 2008 Fall Big 12 Commissioner’s Academic Honor Roll, including 38 Huskers who posted perfect 4.0 grade-point averages.

 

21 Huskers Set Career-Best Times at Texas Invite

Twenty-one different Huskers set career-best times at the Texas Invitational on Dec. 4-6, and a total of 24 set season-best times. Nebraska finished eighth out of 15 teams in the competitive Invitational which featured six top-25 teams. Jess Andrews (50, 100 & 200 Freestyle), Hailey Dean (50 Freestyle, 100 & 200 Breaststroke) and Meredith Matthies (50 Freestyle, 100 & 200 Butterfly) each set three career-best times , while Katlin Arntz (100 & 200 Breaststroke), C.J. Bray (50 & 100 Freestyle), Claire Desormey (100 Freestyle, 100 Butterfly), Mariah Hutchinson (100 Freestyle, 100 Butterfly) and Rachell McClain (200 Backstroke, 200 IM) each set two career-best times. All five Husker relay teams also set season-best marks.

 

Jolly Named Big 12 Diver of the Week (Nov. 24)

Nebraska diver Courtney Jolly named the Big 12 Diver of the Week on Wednesday for competition through Nov. 24, the league office announced. The senior from Plantation, Fla., secured the award after earning an outstanding showing at both the Minnesota Diving Invitational and the Husker Invitational.

 

Jolly competed in a total of six diving events in the Minnesota Diving Invitational and the Husker Invitational, taking first place four times and second place twice in those six events. Jolly also set career bests in the three meter (319.42 at Minnesota Invite) and platform (250.25 at Husker Invite) during the time.

 

Jolly won the one and three meter dives at the Minnesota Invite, with scores of 283.50 and 319.42, respectively, while taking second on the platform with a score of 221.47. The following weekend, Jolly won the one meter (274.45) and platform (250.25) and finished second on the three meter (307.80) at the nine-team Husker Invitational.

 

The honor marks Jolly’s second career Big 12 Diver of the Week award, as she also won it almost exactly a year ago on Nov. 22, 2007.