Huskers Open Home Dual Schedule with Panthers

Nebraska vs. Northern Iowa
Date: Friday, Oct. 28
Location: Devaney Natatorium, Lincoln, Neb.
Time: 5 p.m.

The Nebraska swimming and diving team opens its 2016-17 home dual schedule by taking on Northern Iowa at the Devaney Natatorium on Friday, Oct. 28, at 5 p.m.

The Huskers head into the dual against the Panthers with a 2-0 record after opening the season with road wins at Iowa State and South Dakota State. 

Nebraska has defeated Northern Iowa, which is led by former Husker swimmer and assistant coach Doug Humphrey, for four consecutive seasons. Last season, Nebraska cruised to a 150-88 dual victory over the Panthers in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The Huskers captured victories in 12 of 13 events and were led by Katt Sickle, Jordan Ehly and Anna Filipcic, who each notched two victories against the Panthers.

Nebraska senior captain Julia Roller will reunite for the final time with former high school teammate Stephanie Jackson from UNI. Both Roller and Jackson competed for Naperville Central High School in Illinois. The two seniors swam for head coach Sue Welker where they aided the Redhawks to conference and sectional championships.

Northern Iowa enters Friday's dual with a 2-0 record as well. The Panthers boast dual victories over Quincy and Sioux Falls. Northern Iowa also placed seventh at the Missouri State Invitational. UNI is led by seniors Veronica Herrmann and Autumn Roepsch. Herrmann and Roepsch both competed in the MVC Championship and were named first-team all-conference. 

Last Time Out: Huskers Splash Past South Dakota State

All-American Anna Filipcic captured a pair of individual diving titles to help the Nebraska swimming and diving team race to a 212-88 dual win at South Dakota State on Friday.  

With the victory, Nebraska improved to 2-0 on the season with both wins coming on the road to open the year.

Filipcic, the reigning Big Ten Diver of the Week, won the one-meter dive with a score of 312.83, before adding her fourth individual victory in two road duals to open the season with a win on the three-board board (300.83).

Freshman diver Abi Knapton, who joins Filipcic as an Omaha native on the Nebraska roster, added runner-up honors for the Huskers in both the one (268.27) and three-meter events (272.86). Sophomore Katrina Voge added third-place performances in both events to give the Huskers a sweep of the top-three spots in the diving well.

While Omahans Filipcic and Knapton dominated in the well, senior captain Erin Oeltjen, who is also from Omaha, helped the Huskers control the action in the pool.

Oeltjen raced to a win in the 50-yard freestyle (24.52), before adding her second individual victory in the 100 butterfly (57.17).

The Huskers opened the dual with a victory from the 200-yard medley relay squad, which included a strong anchor leg from Julia Roller, helping the Big Red to a winning time of 1:47.01. Sophomore Lindsay Helferich (Odessa, Texas), junior Jordan Ehly (Albuquerque, N.M.) and sophomore Samantha Hedrick (Pella, Iowa) swam the first three legs of Nebraska's win in the 200-yard medley relay.

Roller, a senior from Naperville, Ill., also helped the Big Red put an exclamation point on the decisive dual win with a victory in the 200-yard freestyle relay. Roller swam the third leg of that relay, which included strong swims from Carla Gonzales (Merida, Venezuela), Kaylyn Flatt (Centenial, Colo.) and freshman Allie Worrall (Phoenix, Ariz.).

Nebraska's sophomore swimmers added a big day across the board for the Big Red. Anna McDonald (Evergreen, Colo.) provided the Huskers with a victory in the 1,000-yard freestyle in a time of 10:55.88, before Flatt added a win in the 200 free in a time of 1:54.00.

Helferich notched a victory in the 100 backstroke (57.98), while Morgan McCafferty (Reynoldsburg, Ohio) claimed a win in the 200 back in a time of 2:07.56.

Dana Posthuma (Omaha, Neb.) completed the winning ways for the Nebraska sophomores with a victory in the 200-yard individual medley (2:08). Bridget Pacilio (Colleyville, Texas) added a pair of runner-up performances in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:07.52) and the 500 free (5:14.39) to add to the strong showings by the sophomores.

Husker freshmen also contributed with Gonzales winning the 100-yard freestyle (53.39), while Shea Bougie (Lakeville, Minn.) captured the 200-yard breaststroke (2:29.45).

Several Nebraska juniors also produced solid swims on Friday, including a runner-up performance from Aimee Fischer (Lincoln, Neb.) in the 1,000 free (11:05.87). Ehly added a runner-up swim in the 200 back (2:08.76), while Cassie Brassard (Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada) contributed a third-place finish in the 100 back (59.21) and a fourth-place showing in the 500 free.