NU women’s swimming dominates Iowa State in preparation for Big Ten Championships

Nebraska women's swimming and diving coach Pablo Morales paced up and down the side of the pool cheering with excitement for his seniors. Morales even dressed up in a shirt and scarlet tie in their honor. Morales held a strong sense of enthusiasm for this class and all that they have brought to the team the last four years.

"This class is full of leaders," Morales said. "That kind of leadership on a team is invaluable."

Nebraska won 13 out of 16 events against Iowa State at the Bob Devaney Natatorium on Saturday, showing off its strengths as it prepared for the Big Ten Championships.

Nebraska racked up a total of 200 points compared to Iowa State's 100.

For Nebraska, this victory has been long-awaited. The Huskers have dropped close dual meets against Kansas and Illinois the past two weekends.

"The last couple of weeks have been good for us as a competitive standpoint," Morales said.

The Huskers were in need of that key victory, according to Morales, and it finally came in Saturday's meet.

"We have a knack of working so hard, training well, learning from those experiences," Morales said. "Things seem to be finally coming together."

Nebraska started to take control in the 1,650-yard freestyle by capturing the top five spots. NU sophomore Bailey Pons led the sweep with a time of 10:12.88. Pons then came back to win the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5:01.62.

Ellan Dufour and Payton Michaud also won both of their individual events for the Huskers. Dufour took first in both the 200-yard and 100-yard backstroke, while Michaud grabbed the title in both the one-meter and three-meter dives.

In the 13 events that the Huskers won, five of those included events in which they took the top three spots or better, demonstrating their depth.

Part of that depth was due to the Huskers' senior class.

As Saturday was the Huskers' final home meet of the season, the senior class was honored. This group consisted of captains Riley Seidel and Caroline Shea along with Bobbi Balogh, Mailene Leslie, and D'Arcy Schmidt.

"I miss them already," said Morales. "I think about this year, how smoothly it has gone, and how great the girls have been."

With all of these strong seniors, graduation will be a tough loss for the Huskers, according to Morales. There is a bright future ahead for the Huskers, however, and that future comes via freshman Natalie Morris.

Morris won the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 2:06.65 and finished second behind teammate Shannon Guy with a time of 58.04 seconds in the 100-yard butterfly. Morris also contributed to the 200-yard medley and 400-yard freestyle relays.

"I didn't do as well as I wanted to these past two weekends," Morris said. "I wanted to come out here and do really well in preparation for the Big Ten Championships."

With this victory Saturday, the Huskers are gaining a head of steam going into the Big Ten Championships, Feb. 15-18 in Iowa City, Iowa.

The Huskers will need all this momentum and depth as they head into the championships. Moving from the Big 12 to the Big Ten, Nebraska will be competing against more teams. While the Big 12 only had a total of six teams with women's swimming and diving programs, all 12 teams in the Big Ten have women's teams.

"It's exciting to be in the Big Ten," said Morales. "It's brand new territory for us and brings us high pressure and high intensity. It amps up the competition."

Morris is looking to make her own entrance at the championships.

"I want to go out there and do what I can. I want to be able to score points for my team anyway that I can," Morris said. "This season isn't over yet."

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