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Salukis fall to Huskers

SIU was unable to topple the Huskers Saturday, but the Salukis didn't go down easily.

Although the meet looked like a defeat on paper with a score of 132-84, the Salukis still had some bite to go with the bark.

Sophomore Nora Bunford won the 200-yard breaststroke and several Salukis managed second-place finishes.

Seniors Rachel Green (50 freestyle) and Ashley MacCurdy (200 backstroke) joined junior Kelsey Kinsella (100 freestyle) to capture second against Nebraska.

Kinsella said she woke up with a migraine and nausea Saturday morning, but was still happy with her performance against the highly-touted Huskers.

"I'm not going to complain about it," Kinsella said. "It was a good time for this point in the season."

The one and three-meter dives were also won by Nebraska, with the Salukis trailing close behind.

Senior Salukis Andrea Johnson and Nadine Shawah took second and third places in the one-meter diving event. Shawah also placed third in the three-meter dive.

Nebraska's Lauren Bailey, a 2004 NCAA national qualifier, made her presence known by sweeping three events for the Huskers.

Despite the loss, Kinsella said the team and SIU head coach Rick Walker were happy with the event.

"We definitely went in there hoping for the best and to scare Nebraska a little bit," Kinsella said. "I think we achieved that."

In addition to surprising Nebraska, Kinsella said the Salukis might have also surprised themselves in Saturday's event.

Walker has been a taskmaster during training, and was no different in the week leading up to Nebraska's visit. Kinsella said they were still tired Saturday, but quickly came to life against the Big 12 Huskers.

Walker said his goal going into the meet was to take advantage of the opportunity to square off against a team of Nebraska's caliber.

"This one meet can either help us reach our goals or do nothing to hurt us," Walker said. According to Kinsella, the loss to Nebraska will actually help the team.

"If anything, it boosted the team morale," Kinsella said. "We did hang with them very well for this time in the season."

Kinsella said Walker likes the team to compete against larger schools and gain experience for the latter part of the season - namely the Missouri Valley Conference championships.

Challenging schools in conferences like the Big 10 or Big 12 goes a long way in preparing the Salukis for their own conference rivals.

"We won't be intimidated after swimming against bigger schools," Kinsella said. "We know we're up to the challenge."