Cyclones Fall at Nebraska 177-123

LINCOLN, Neb.- The Iowa State swimming and diving team collected seven wins in 16 events but that was not enough to stave off Nebraska as the Cyclones fell to the Huskers 177-123 Saturday.

“I was proud of how we competed” Iowa State head coach Duane Sorenson said. “Three of our seniors were sick as Tien Tran stayed home, Lindsey Behrens has pneumonia and Frances Calzada only swam a few races. It was as close as we could without those outstanding seniors.”

Calzada was able to help out the Cyclones right away, anchoring the winning 200 medley relay squad. In the next event, Jenny Vondenkamp posted a victory in the 1000 free (10:20.53). Vondenkamp also posted a strong time in finishing second in the 500 free (5:03.74).

“Jenny raced really well in her 1000 free, a very smart race,” Sorenson said. “She then came back very strong in her 500 and is positioning herself well for the Big 12 Championships next month.”

The absences required some ISU swimmers to find themselves in unfamiliar races. One of those was Nan Liu as she made her Iowa State debut in the 200 butterfly. Liu touched the wall first in 2:03.20, the third fastest time in school history.

“Nan swam an outstanding 200 butterfly on short notice to get one of the best times in school history,” Sorenson said.

Jeli Nixt collected a pair of victories on the day, contributing to the 200 medley relay win and winning the 100 breaststroke. Chelsea Tomek picked up her first event win since October, taking the 200 backstroke title (2:05.89).

Junior Abby Christensen stepped up on the diving boards in the absence of Tran. Christensen collected second-place honors on 1-meter (253.28). It was on 3-meter though where the Plymouth, Minn. Native made the most noise, finishing first and qualifying for the NCAA Zone Diving Championships with a career-high score of 283.88.

“I thought she did an outstanding job to get that score,” Iowa State diving coach Jeff Warrick said. “It is something to celebrate, I am glad she is going to be able to go to the zone meet with Tien and that will help both of them.”

Jenn Botsch also stepped up on 3-meter, posting a career-high score of 254.70.

“She had one bad dive and if she wouldn't have had that she would have also been close to the 280 point mark,” Warrick said. “She is really performing well and hopefully she can carry that into next week.”

Lauren Naeve's run of good form continued on the diving board as the Ames native posted a career-best 243.00 on 1-meter, good enough for fifth place.

The Cyclones will return to Ames for a two-day meet against the Kansas Jayhawks. The meet starts Friday, Feb. 5 at 6 p.m. and resumes on Saturday at 10 a.m. The Cyclones will also be celebrating Senior Day during the meet.

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Players Mentioned

Lindsey Behrens

Lindsey Behrens

Jenn Botsch

Jenn Botsch

Frances Calzada

Frances Calzada

Abby Christensen

Abby Christensen

Nan Liu

Nan Liu

Lauren Naeve

Lauren Naeve

Jeli Nixt

Jeli Nixt

Chelsea Tomek

Chelsea Tomek

Tien Tran

Tien Tran

Jenny Vondenkamp

Jenny Vondenkamp

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