Nebraska uses best effort to win clash of unbeatens, top Kansas
LINCOLN, Neb. – Kansas swimming and diving won two out of the first three events but Nebraska’s Tori Beeler won three events in the pool and Anna Filipcic set a pair of school records in the diving well as the Huskers turned back the Jayhawks, 198-101, at Devaney Natatorium Saturday.
“We ran into a buzz saw and came out on the short end,” Kansas head coach Clark Campbel said after the meet. “We were kind of right where we’ve been all year, maybe just a little bit off. Nebraska was way above where they’ve been. This is by far, of all their fall meets, their best dual meet.”
Kansas swam several season-best times in its first road meet of the season, and appeared ready to give Nebraska a stiff challenge as Libby Walker (1000-yard freestyle) and Jenny Nusbaum (200-yard freestyle) answered the Huskers’ meet-opening win in the 200-yard medley relay, but the home side was just getting started. Nebraska won 13 straight events to close the meet and end Kansas’ dual meet winning streak at three while moving to 4-0 on its own.
“Of our three dual meets, this was our third-best,” Campbell said. “We underperformed and Nebraska over-performed. When that happens, you lose. We did have several in-season best times, which are good. Nebraska just came out and swam and dove lights out and pounded us.
“We’ll keep honoring the process, keep working hard. We’ll go into the Kansas Classic rested a couple days, put on the technical suits and see what we can do to end the fall.”
Walker improved to 3-0 this season in the 1000 and dropped three seconds off her time from the TCU meet to finish in 10:12.00. That time should move her into the top-100 in the country at this point of the season, before Kansas turns to its fastest event, the Kansas Classic in two weeks.
Nusbaum also remained undefeated in the 200-yard freestyle during her freshman campaign, turning in another sub-1:53 clocking at 1:52.71.
Kansas junior diver Nadia Khechfe, a Lincoln native, was the team’s top finisher on both boards with a fifth-place finish in one-meter diving (232.95) and a fourth-place finish on the three-meter boards (255.68).
“Libby Walker’s 1000 free was really good,” Campbell said. “Sammie Schurig, I thought performed really well. Nadia dove well on both boards. There were some things that definitely were good, but for us to have been competitive today we had to be great and great just wasn’t in the cards.”
After three straight weeks of dual meet competition, Kansas will take a week away from head-to-head match-ups before welcoming a field of six teams, including Nebraska, to the Kansas Classic at Topeka’s Capitol Federal Natatorium, Nov. 18-20.
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