UNO Edges North Dakota by 1.5 Points for NCC Crown, Sioux Men

In their final year of Division II competition, the Fighting Sioux men clinched their 23 NCC tournament title in 25 years Sunday.  On the women's side, however it was a different story as the University of Nebraska at Omaha captured the final North Central Conference swimming and diving title Sunday, coming from behind in the next-to-last event, then holding on in the final event to dethrone defending champion North Dakota by just 1.5 points at UNO's HPER Pool.

UNO, leading by 9.5 points entering the final event, the 400-yard freestyle relay, narrowly lost to North Dakota, by six-hundredths of a second, but escaped with the team victory, 1148-1146.5. The time of 3:28.61 by the squad of Lindsey Kline, Katey Howarter, Megan Guthmiller and Cait Hopkins, was automatic qualifying time for the national meet and also a school record, breaking the mark of 3:29.83 set in 2002.

The Mavericks also earned three individual awards. Coach Todd Samland was named the NCC's Coach of the Year, Laura Kemp the Freshman of the Year and Kristy Gmeiner the Newcomer of the Year. The title, in the final year of the NCC, was the second for UNO. The Mvaericks also won the title the last time they hosted the event, in 2005. In the process, the Mavericks set three school records.

The UND men claimed the top three places in the 1,650 yard freestyle with Erik Anderson (Jr., Richfield, Minn.) taking the top spot with his winning time of 16:16.71. Nick Berrns (Fr., Saskatoon, Sask.) finished second while Lucas Baarlaer (Sr., Boulder, Colo.) came in at third place. On the women’s side, Jessica Carlson (So., Woodbury, Minn.) took second in the event with a time of 17:34.33 while Busso took fourth place.

 
UNO trailed North Dakota by 71.5 points entering Sunday. Kline started the Maverick comeback Sunday evening with a win in the 1650-yard freestyle, with an automatic qualifying time of 17:20.78. The school-record time broke the previous record of Veronica Barna set in 2004.

The Mavs then put up some big points by putting five swimmers in the top nine in the 100-yard freestyle. Jessica Hessel was second with a school-record and Hopkins third, both with automatic qualifying times of 51.34 seconds and 51.69, respectively. Guthmiller was fifth, Howarter seventh and Gmeiner ninth. That pulled the Mavs withing 1.5 points of first-place North Dakota. Hessel broke the previous mark of 51.49 set by Jamie Haferbier in 2002.

Jessica LaFave was third and Cait Hopkins fifth in the 200-yard backstroke, but UNO slipped to 4.5 points behind the Fighting Sioux after UND's Cathryn DeSahw won the event.

But UNO surged past North Dakota in the 200-yard breaststroke when Carrie Murphy finished second and Kemp third behind South Dakota's Leita Rolfe. UNO went in front by 9.5 points, 1104-1094.5.