The Nebraska swimming and diving team is set to kick off its regular season at a double-dual in Minneapolis, Minn., on Friday, Oct. 13. The Huskers will face Minnesota and South Dakota at 5 p.m. (CT) before heading to Ames, Iowa for a dual against Iowa State on Saturday, Oct. 14 at 11 a.m. (CT).
Nebraska is coming off its annual Scarlet vs. Cream Intrasquad, where the Scarlet prevailed 97-81 over the Cream. Key performers for the Scarlet included Maia Hall, Emily Haimes and Gena Jorgenson. Junior Hall logged two first-place finishes for the Scarlet with victories in the 100 breaststroke and the 200 IM. Hall joined teammates Haimes, Gabby Donahue and Beatrix Tanko to capture the victory for the Scarlet in the 200 medley relay. Co-captain Haimes had a big night for the Scarlet as well, with first-place finishes in the 50 freestyle and the 100 freestyle. Diver Kelsey Clairmont came up big for the Cream team, claiming a win on the one-meter dive. Sarah Barton joined Clairmont as a leading point scorer for Cream, topping the leaderboard in the 100 backstroke.
The Huskers faced off with the Golden Gophers and the Coyotes last year at the Devaney Natatorium. Minnesota topped Nebraska, with a score of 203-96, but the Huskers outlasted the Coyotes 222-78. JoJo Randby captured a first-place finish in the 100 breaststroke (1:04.63) in the win over the Coyotes. Jorgenson also notched three top-three finishes on the night. Clairmont added a couple zone cuts with a runner-up finish on the three-meter (300.85) and a third-place finish on the one-meter (277.55).
NU will take on Iowa State for the 49th time in program history. Nebraska leads the series 41-6-1 and has won every meet since 2003 against the Cyclones. The Huskers pulled out a narrow 151-149 win in last year’s matchup after a strong performance by the divers. Clairmont logged a first-place finish on the three-meter (3:14.25) and a runner-up finish on the one-meter (269.48). Jorgenson, Giulia Marchi and Lexi Kucera helped the Huskers to victory with individual titles.
The Golden Gophers are coming off an 8-2 season with a fifth-place finish at last year’s Big Ten Championships. Senior Megan Van Berkom returns for the Gophers. Van Berkom was named a First-Team All-American in the 400 IM, after a sixth-place finish at the NCAA Championships (4:05.37). At the Big Ten Championships, she took home a runner-up finish and two third-place finishes. Diver Vivi Del Angel captured a third-place finish (344.55) on the platform at the NCAA Championships as well as a 16th-place finish on the three-meter (276.90). Del Angel finished the season as an All-American on the platform and an Honorable Mention All-American on the three-meter.
South Dakota returns junior Emily Kahn for the 2023-24 season. Kahn earned a spot in the A Final of the 100 freestyle at last year’s National Invitational Championships in Elkhart, Ind. The Coyotes placed second at the Summit League Championships, and Kahn picked up her second title in the 100 freestyle (49.80).
Iowa State logged a second-place finish at the Big 12 Championships last season, earning their highest finish since 2015. Madi Dohrn qualified for the A Final in the 200 backstroke. She went on to earn a seventh-place finish (2:00.45) and earn All-Big 12 Second-Team honors. The Cyclones also return two-time Big 12 Swimmer of the Week, Brinley Horras. Horras earned ten titles in the 200, 500 and 1000 freestyle events throughout the season. She captured fifth-place in the 1650 freestyle at the Big 12 Championships (16:44.99).
A link to live results for Friday’s double-dual will be available through huskers.com and results to Saturday’s dual can be accessed through the Meet Mobile app.
