Huskers Defeat Illinois in Season Opener, 172-126

LINCOLN, Nebraska, October 12. THE Huskers rode the strength of two juniors as Jenny Toler and Courtney Jolly each won a pair of events to lead Nebraska to its fifth straight season-opening win with a 172-126 victory over Illinois Friday evening at the Devaney Natatorium.

The Huskers dominated the freestyle and diving events to run away from the Illini near the halfway point of the 16-event meet. Toler gave Nebraska one of only two wins in the first six events when she won the 200-yard freestyle (1:54.46) ahead of freshman teammate Julie Giehl (1:54.79). After a three-event Illini run, senior Lynn Siemert haulted the streak by leading a trio of Huskers to the finish line in the 50-yard freestyle. Siemert won the race in 24.31, while junior Jenna Stroud finished runner-up (24.60) and freshman Jess Andrews came in third (24.63).

Jolly followed with her first of two wins on the night, taking the one-meter dive (257.02), before also winning the three meter (284.41) with just two events to go in the meet.

After Jolly's one-meter win, Toler would make it three in a row for the Big Red from the seventh to ninth events by winning the 100-yard freestyle (52.91). Stroud took home her second runner-up finish of the meet (53.15), while Siemert was third (53.23). The top-three finishers also figured into Nebraska's two relay wins as the Huskers won the 200-yard medley relay (1:48.54) with Andrews as the lead-off leg and the 400-yard freestyle relay (3:32.55) with freshman Meredith Matthies as the anchor.

The Nebraska freshmen had a large presence in the win over the Illini, as Giehl made a comeback to win the 500-yard freestyle in 5:05.38 before Kelsey Grushecky won the very next event – the 100-yard butterfly (57.55) leading into Jolly's three meter win. Freshmen Mariesa Cloud was second on both boards.

With the win, Nebraska has now won 10 of its last 13 season openers. The Huskers hope to carry that boost of momentum when the season hits full gear. After hosting the fourth annual Alumni Meet Saturday morning at 8:30 a.m., Nebraska will prepare for the 2007 Big 12 Relays, which take place Friday, Oct. 19 in Ames, Iowa. The following day, the Huskers host South Dakota State at the Devaney Natatorium. The start time has not yet been announced, due to the Nebraska-Texas A&M football game in Lincoln.

Special thanks to Nebraska athletics for contributing this story.

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