After the first day of competition at the Mizzou Invitational, Nebraska swimming and diving is sitting in second place within the talented 10-team field. Autumn Haebig dominated in the 500 freestyle today, winning the event with a 4:44.04 and knocking 13 seconds off her previous season best. The fifth-year senior from Grafton, Wis. ranks third nationally with her time in Columbia, Mo. today.
"Today was a great lead-off to our mid-season peak performance meet," Nebraska head coach Pablo Morales said. "We have athletes at different levels of preparation based on their mid-season goals but across the board we had great energy and tenacity leading to impressive individual and team performances. Having Autumn getting the win in the 500 free was a great morning moment for the team but honestly I think she fed into the team energy and performances from her teammates before her race. "
Shannon Stott joined Haebig in the 500 freestyle finals and finished eighth with a 4:53.58. In the B-finals, Molly Rosenthal finished 13th with her lifetime best, followed by Audrey Coffey, Kimberly Lanaghen and Maggie Berning all finishing back-to-back.
Sophomore Gabby Donahue represented the Huskers in the 200 IM finals, placing eighth with a 2:08.95, while Madison Lloyd was the top finisher in the B-finals with a lifetime best 2:04.43. Sophomore Ella Stein, freshman Maia Hall and freshman Sydney McCracken joined Lloyd in the B-finals and all swam their season best times in the event while notching 12th, 13th and 15th place finishes, respectively.
In the short sprints, sophomore Lexi Kucera swam her career-best 50 freestyle time in the finals while placing eighth. Junior Emily Haimes qualified for the B-finals and finished 10th overall with a 23.35. She was joined by a pair of freshmen, Milica Opacic and JoJo Randby. Opacic (Novi Sad, Serbia) claimed 11th while swimming a 23.43 and Randby (Omaha, Neb.) swam to 13th with a 23.64.
The Huskers placed third in both of the relays, kicking the day off with the 200 freestyle relay with a team of Kucera (Hutchinson, Minn.), Opacic, Haimes (Enfield, London) and Haebig. Nebraska capped off its day with the 400 medley relay where the trio of Kucera, Opacic and Haebig was joined by Stein (Hudson, Wis.).
On the boards, seniors Sara Troyer and Hallie Roman qualified for the finals in the three-meter, with Troyer (Goshen, Ind.) diving to fourth and Roman (Port Huran, Mich.) placing 12th.
"In the diving well Sara faced some top-level competition and secured a very solid fourth place finish on three-meter," Morales said. "All in all there is some great momentum to take into day two."
The Big Red will be back in action tomorrow with prelims beginning at 9:30 a.m. (CT) and the finals session starting at 5:30 (CT).
Thursday
Prelims
100 Fly
400 IM
200 Free
100 Breast
100 Back
3-Meter (Men)
1-Meter (Women)
Finals
200 Medley Relay
100 Fly
400 IM
200 Free
100 Breast
100 Back
800 Free Relay
3-Meter (Men)
1-Meter (Women)
