Final Results
LINCOLN, Neb. - Despite a strong performance from a couple of underclassmen, the Fighting Illini women's swimming and diving team came up short in Lincoln, falling to the Cornhuskers 183-112. The Illini won four events on the day, including the 100 backstroke, 100 butterfly, 400 individual medley and 400 freestyle relay.
"This is that time of the year where if you are on, things are going to fall into place," head coach Sue Novitsky said. "We definitely had flashes of putting things together even if things weren't coming along easy. The team was willing to keep going back to work and make the next effort better and clean up details. Nebraska competed well today and we were putting ourselves in positions to compete."
Freshman Michelle McCord led the way for the Illini all afternoon, as the Canton, Georgia, native earned top times in both the 100 backstroke (:57.47) and 400 individual medley (4:31.03). Senior Ashley Aegerter and sophomore Emily Martin were right behind the freshman in the 400 IM, finishing in second and third place, respectively, to help the Illini sweep the top-three spots in the event.
Junior Megan Vuong also won an event for the Illini, touched the wall first in the 100 butterfly with a time of :56.00. Vuong was also part of the fastest 400 freestyle relay team (Vuong, Curtis, Anderson and Stratford) that finished in a time of 3:27.87.
Kristin Anderson came close to a couple first-place finishes of her own, as the sophomore finished second in both the 50 freestyle (:52.46) and 100 freestyle (:24.23).
On the boards, Madeline Kuhn posted a 1-meter score of 249.00 and a 3-meter score 292.80. The scores earned her second-place finishes in both events.
"Vuong, McCord and Anderson were strong in the pool," Novitsky added. "Kuhn had some great takeoffs for her dives and she is on track. Overall we were faster than last year and keep taking good steps forward."
Next Up
The Fighting Illini will be back home for two meets next weekend, as the team hosts the Illinois Quad Duals on Friday, January 26, followed by the Illinois Tri Meet on Saturday.
"It is going to be nice to be home next weekend and continue making progress toward the championship meets."
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