LINCOLN, Neb. – Despite four first-place finishes, the Kansas women’s swimming and diving team fell to Nebraska 187-113 in a Friday dual meet at Devaney Natatorium in Lincoln, Nebraska.
The event kicked off with the 200-yard medley relay, which was won by the team of Lezli Sisung, Molly Robinson, Lydia Lafferty and Caroline Blake. The team raced to a time of 1:44.12 to finish in first place. Next up was the 1,000-yard freestyle, with Kansas’ top finisher Gracyn O’Mara claiming third with a time of 10:37.20.
In the 200-yard freestyle, Eleni Kotzamanis finished fourth with a time of 1:54.19 and Claudia Dougan finished fifth at 1:55.22.
Sisung was next to finish in first for Kansas, as she raced to a time of 56.49 in the 100-yard backstroke. Freshman Bradie Ward followed closely behind with a time of 58.43 on her way to a second-place finish in the event.
Kansas took third in the next three events of the meet. Aidan Howze swam a time of 1:05.45 to finish third in the 100-yard breaststroke. In the 200-yard butterfly, Amelie Lessing finished third at 2:05.03, while Blake finished third in the 50-yard freestyle (24.05).
The action shifted over to the three-meter diving event, where Shiyun Lai finished second with a total score of 328.28. Lize van Leeuwen finished fifth with 296.55 points.
After a second-place finish in the 100-yard backstroke, Ward picked up her first collegiate win with a victory in the 200-yard backstroke. Ward raced to a time of 2:03.52, followed by Sisung (2:04.63) who finished second in the event.
In the 200-yard breaststroke, Howze picked up a second-place finish with a time of 2:21.43, followed up by a second-place finish from Hailey Farrell in the 500-yard freestyle (5:04.29). Next up was the 100-yard butterfly, resulting in a second-place finish from Lessing with a time of 56.52.
Lai picked up steam during the one-meter diving event, totaling 293.18 points which resulted in a first-place finish. Lai’s win marked her fourth of the season in the one-meter event.
Howze notched another third-place finish, this one coming in the 400-yard individual medley, swimming to a time of 4:30.64. The 400-yard freestyle relay was the closing act of the event, led by a second-place finish from the relay team of Dougan, Keyla Brown, Claire Hyatt and Kotzamanis.
"Today was tough. It was a planned challenge that definitely took us out of our comfort zone. We had a few solid events but as a whole not quite at our standards. We’ll bounce back, learn from the experience and start focusing on our mid season invite."
Head Coach Clark Campbell
UP NEXT
Kansas will continue its stretch on the road with a rekindling of the Border Showdown against Missouri, Nov. 15-17 at the Mizzou Aquatic Center in Columbia, Missouri.
