Session 5: Nebraska Leads Heading Into Final Day

Lincoln - The Nebraska swimming and diving team held their lead with a solid fifth session at the Husker Invitational at the Devaney Natatorium on Saturday afternoon. Although the Huskers didn't win an event, they had consistent top-five results which helped them maintain their lead heading into the final day of competition.

The Huskers started out the meet strong, coming in 2-3-4 in the 200-yard medley relay. Rice won the relay with a time of 1:47.49, just three one-hundredths of a second ahead of Nebraska's second-place team. Rice took the top three spots in the 400-yard IM, with Nebraska's Brandie Kavalec finishing fourth and Kelsey Larson finishing fifth.

Rice also took first in the 100-yard butterfly, as Angela Wo finished with a time of 56.10. Nebraska's Mariah Hutchinson and Kelsey Grushecky finished second and third, respectively. The Owls notched their fourth straight victory in the 200-yard freestyle as Shelby Bottoms won with a time of 1:53.02. Nebraska's Julie Giehl had NU's top finish, coming in third.

Nebraska's Hailey Dean took second in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:05.72, behind South Dakota State's Katie Budahl, who won the event with a time of 1:03.69. Angela Wo of Rice earned her second victory of the day in the 100-yard backstroke, followed by Nebraska's Ellan Dufour.

The Huskers continue to lead after five sessions of the Husker Invitational with 1,298 points. Rice is in second with 1,043, followed by South Dakota State with 562.5 and UNO with 488.5. Three meter diving results was not finished until after the swimming portion of the meet and have not been counted in the team scores.

The Husker Invitational concludes with two sessions on Sunday, including a preliminary session starting at 8 a.m. and a finals session starting at 2 p.m. Nebraska will look to wrap up its second title in three years at the Invite. 

Results
200 Medley Relay
1. Rice - 1:47.49
2. Nebraska - 1:47.52
3. Nebraska - 1:48.83

400 IM
1. Kait Chura (Rice) - 4:26.48
2. Shelby Bottoms (Rice) - 4:28.46
3. Alex O'Brien (Rice) - 4:33.04 

100 Butterfly
1. Angela Wo (Rice) - 56.10
2. Mariah Hutchinson (Nebraska) - 57.69
3. Kelsey Grushecky (Nebraska) - 57.87 

200 Freestyle
1. Shelby Bottoms (Rice) - 1:53.02
2. Stephanie Wei (Rice) - 1:53.46
3. Julie Giehl (Nebraska) - 1:55.88 

100 Breaststroke
1. Katie Budahl (South Dakota State) - 1:03.69
2. Hailey Dean (Nebraska) - 1:05.72
3. Pam Zelnick (Rice) - 1:06.00

100 Backstroke
1. Angela Wo (Rice) - 57.87
2. Ellan Dufour (Nebraska) - 58.10
3. Stephanie Wei (Rice) - 58.79 

Team Standings (after 15 events)
1. Nebraska (1,298)
2. Rice (1,043)
3. South Dakota State (562.5)
4. UNO (488.5) 

Sunday's Schedule (8 a.m. prelims, 2 p.m. finals)
200 Backstroke
100 Freestyle
200 Breaststroke
200 Butterfly
Platform Diving (11 a.m. - finals only)