2010-11 Swimming & Diving Year in Review

A youthful 2010-11 Husker swimming and diving squad made strides in the right direction throughout the season. The team tallied its first six-win season since 2007-08, finishing 6-4 overall with wins over Nevada, North Dakota, South Dakota, South Dakota State, University of Nebraska-Omaha and Iowa State. However, the Huskers put together some of their best performances of the season at the Big 12 Championships in Austin, Texas and one Husker nearly set a school-record at the Zone Diving Championships.

Alyson Ramsey was the lone Husker diver who traveled to the Zone Meet in Austin, Texas in mid-March. Ramsey finished 16th in the event. It was her best finish at this year's Zone Diving Championships. Ramsey tallied a ninth-place finish at the Big 12 Championships in the platform diving event.

The Husker's final team event of the year saw them finish fifth at the 2011 Big 12 Championships, where they finished sixth in 2010. Several Huskers put in individual and career-best performances during the four-day championships, including Ellan Dufour, who raced her way to the second-fastest 100-backstroke in school history. She clocked in at 55.08, just .31 off of the school record held by three-time Olympic medalist Therese Alshammar. It was the Medicine Hat, Alberta native's career-best time, and with two years of eligibility remaining, Dufour will get more chances to take aim at the record.

The team of Dufour, Shannon Guy, Kelsey Grushecky and Ariel Weech worked together to set a school record in the 200-yard medley relay on the first day of the Big 12 Championships. The team set the school's new pace, clocking in at a final time of 1:41.08. The previous record of 1:41.21 was set in 1998 and was earned by an all-star Nebraska swimming cast. The team consisted of three Olympians including Therese Alshammar, Terrie Miller and Helene Muller, who had four Olympic medals between them.

Bailey Pons and Kelsey Grushecky tallied the Husker's two best individual finishes at the championships. Each swimmer earned sixth-place finishes in their events, with Pons setting the fifth-best time in NU history in the 1,650 freestyle at 16:38.14.

Pons also set a career-best time and fifth-best time in NU history in the 500 freestyle at the big 12 meet at 4:49.05, on her way to an 11th -place finish.   

Grushecky swam to a sixth-place finish with a season-best time of 1:59.42 in the 200 butterfly, just .06 off  her career best set at the 2009 Big 12 Championships.

The Husker history books were rewritten multiple times during the four-day championships. Weech swam her way into the all-time Husker top-five after her 23.05 performance in the 50-yard freestyle event. Weech, who finished ninth overall in the event, beat former Husker Jess Andrew's time of 23.12 for fifth-place.

Guy made her claim in the 100-yard fly with a performance that was good enough for fourth best all-time at Nebraska. She finished the event 12th with her time of 54.54.

Dufour made the largest individual dent in the record books at the Big 12 Championships. Her time in the 100-yard backstroke was the second-fastest in Husker history, clocking in at 55.08. Dufour is second only to Olympian Therese Alshammar, who set the record back in 1998.

The Big 12 Championships were only a cap to the Husker's successful season. The Huskers won a combined seven events in 2010-11, including six dual wins and a meet win at the Citrus Classic holiday training event. It was the Husker's second multi-team meet win in as many years, as they won the Husker Invitational in 2009-10.

The season started off with successful showings at the Scarlet and Cream Intrasquad meet and the Alumni Meet. Nebraska dropped its first dual of the season to Illinois, 185.5-109.5. Weech won the 50-yard freestyle, while Kaitlan Walker won the three-meter dive and Guy won the 100-yard butterfly.

The Huskers then rallied for their first and second wins of the season, coming against Nevada in Reno and North Dakota at the Devaney Natatorium. The Huskers started off strong against Nevada, stringing together wins in five of the first seven events. The Huskers held their ground by defeating the Wolfpack 166-134.

Nebraska's victory over North Dakota came at a double-duel at the Devaney Natatorium. The Huskers welcomed both North Dakota and Wyoming. The Huskers earned a 217.50-82.5 victory over the Fighting Sioux, but fell to the Cowgirls 177-123. Pons, Guy and Hoppenrath and Shannon Guy all contributed wins on the day.

The Huskers then split up for their late-November competitions. The diving team went to the Phill Hansel Cougar Classic, while the swimmers took a two-day road trip to take on South Dakota and South Dakota State Nov. 19-20.

Nebraska tallied its third and fourth wins of the season, taking down both South Dakota and South Dakota State on their own turf. Weech set the South Dakota pool record with her 26.88 leg in the 200-yard freestyle relay. Thirteen Huskers claimed top-two finishes on the way to the win against South Dakota, 142-95.

Hayley Martin won three events against South Dakota State, while Pons and Dufour each tallied two wins. Ashley Reiter, Lexie Halberstadt, Kristin Strecker, Brandie Kavalec and Weech each won an event, leading the Huskers to a 175-91 victory over the Jackrabbits.

The Huskers were then scheduled for two invitational events in a row. First up was the Missouri Invite where the Huskers finished third in the field of six. NU finished behind Missouri, the event winner, and Boise State. The Huskers tallied 30 top-eight finishes over the weekend, including Pons third-place finish in the 1,650-yard freestyle.     

The Citrus Classic, held during Nebraska's holiday break, was comprised of seven teams including Siena, Berry College, California University of Pennsylvania, St. Johns, University of Puget Sound and University of Wisconsin - River Falls.

The Huskers won nine 11 women's events en route to an overall victory with 173 points. In the women's 100-yard freestyle, Huskers claimed the top-six spots with Pons getting the victory, followed by Kavalec and Morgan Flannigan. The event was the Husker's second-best of the day next to the 500-yard freestyle.

In the Husker's 10th event of the day, the 500-yard freestyle, Nebraska garnered its best finish of the season. Nebraska was able to finish with a swimmer in first through seventh place with Pons and Kavalec finishing first and second, respectively. Mailene Leslie and Caroline Shea followed in third and fourth.

The Citrus Classic set the stage for the Huskers' final four duals of the season, including conference duals against Kansas, Iowa State and Missouri. The Husker's lone non-conference dual was at the University of Nebraska-Omaha.   

Nebraska was able to go 2-2 during the final stretch of the year, which established the Husker's best dual record in three years. Nebraska fell to Kansas in its first dual back from Christmas break, 180.5-114.5. The Jayhawks won 12 of 16 events on the day and improved to 7-1 after the event.

Weech and Payton Michaud provided the Huskers' bright spots of the dual, winning back-to-back events. Weech won the seventh event of day, the 50-yard freestyle, in 24.05. It was her third-best time of the season.

Michaud won the next event for the Huskers, the one-meter dive. Nebraska swept the event, taking the top-four places with Kaitlan Walker, Alyson Ramsey and Amy Herman coming in second, third and fourth, respectively. The Huskers also swept the three-meter dive with Michaud again taking the top spot. Ramsey and Herman followed in second and third. Michaud was the only multiple-event winner on the day.

Up next for the Huskers was a brief road trip to Omaha, followed by a stop in Ames, Iowa, where the Huskers picked up their final two dual wins of the season against UNO and Iowa State.

At UNO, Nebraska captured 13 of the dual's 16 events en route to a 185-109 win. Nine Huskers won events on the day, with D'Arcy Schmidt and Pons winning multiple events. It was the Husker's second-largest margin of victory of the season next to North Dakota (217.5-82.5).    

Iowa State fell to NU the next day, 174-126. The Huskers shot out of the gate, winning the first three events. The 200-yard medley relay team finished first, with Pons winning the 1,000-yard freestyle and Hayley Martin winning the 200-yard freestyle. ISU's Danielle Harris and Jeli Nixt combined to win the next two events, the 100-yard backstroke and the 100-yard breaststroke, before Nebraska went on a four-event run that saw Halberstadt earn wins in both the 50- and 100-yard freestyle.

Hoppenrath won the 200-yard butterfly while Michaud won the three-meter dive. The Huskers took the top-three spots in the dive, with Walker and Ramsey finishing second and third. Michaud also earned her second win of the day in the one-meter dive, with Herman finishing second. 

Iowa State fought back with wins in the 200-yard backstroke and 200-yard breaststroke,but NU's Bailey Pons won the 500-yard freestyle and Lexie Halberstadt notched her third win of the day in the 100-yard butterfly. 

In the last dual of the season, the Huskers welcomed the Missouri Tigers to the Devaney Natatorium on senior day. It was the final dual at Devaney for seven seniors, including Claire Desormey, Julie Giehl, Grushecky, Hoppenrath, Kavalec, Meredith Matthies and Rachell McClain.

The Huskers fell to the Tigers, 191-81. Bailey Pons won the 1,650-yard freestyle with Kavalec coming in third, before the Tigers won five straight events and never looked back. Michaud, Herman and Ramsey swept the three-meter dive and Pons won a second event of the day in the 500-yard freestyle.