Two Pool Records Fall As Rutgers Tops Nebraska 211-141

Rutgers vs. Nebraska (Women)

• January 27-28, 2023
• Piscataway, New Jersey
• SCY (25 yards)
• Full Results
• Final Score:
  • Rutgers – 211
  • Nebraska – 141

In their final dual meet of the season, Rutgers hosted Nebraska for a two-day Big Ten match-up this past weekend. Rutgers capped off their season with a decisive win over the Huskers, out-scoring them 211-141. 

Leading the way for Rutgers this weekend was sophomore Sofia Lobova, who swept the sprint freestyle events for the Scarlet Knights. She first won the 100 free in 49.63, touching the wall over a second faster than her teammate Giulia Ghidini (51.09). Lobova also won the 50 free in a pool record time of 22.45, while her teammate Sofia Chichaikina grabbed 2nd at 22.90.

Chichaikina was another double event winner for Rutgers. She swam a season best time of 1:57.68 in the 200 fly to beat Nebraska’s Shannon Stott by nearly 3 seconds (2:00.02). Chichaikina’s 2nd victory came in the 200 free, where she clocked a 1:47.90. Stott was also the runner-up in the 200 free, touching at 1:48.50.

Rutgers freshman Valeria Egorova managed to sweep the backstroke events, posting best times of 1:57.62 in the 200 back and 53.87 in the 100 back. Martyna Piesko and Rachel Kimmel swept the other 100s for the Scarlet Knights, with Piesko winning the 100 fly (54.41) and Kimmel taking the 100 breast (1:01.32). 

In the first individual event of the meet, Stott collected a win for Huskers in the 500 free. She swam a 4:45.26, just half a second ahead of Rutgers’ Madison Murtagh (4:45.72). The two swam together nearly the entire way, with Stott overtaking Murtagh in the final 150.

Nebraska’s Berkeley Livingston kept the momentum going for the Huskers and recorded a 1st place finish in the 200 IM. She touched the wall at 2:03.05, just a few tenths ahead of Rutgers’ Kimmel (2:03.27). Livingston went on the next day to lead a 1-2-3 Nebraska finish in the 400 IM, as she clocked a 4:21.45 to collect her 2nd victory of the meet. Gena Jorgenson and Sarah Barton took 2nd and 3rd at 4:22.86 and 4:24.43, respectively.

Another strong point for Nebraska was the 1650, where freshman Gena Jorgenson won in a personal best time of 16:33.70. Jorgenson dominated the event, as she topped the field by nearly 18 seconds. Murtagh from Rutgers claimed 2nd (16:51.35), while Nebraska’s Molly Rosenthal clocked a 17:01.74 to round out the top 3. 

Rutgers swept the relays across both days. Their relay efforts were highlighted by the 200 freestyle relay team of Lobova (22.94), Alice Scarabelli (23.09), Piesko (23.05), and Chichaikina (22.57), who combined for a new pool record time of 1:31.65. Rutgers also tied the pool record in the 200 medley relay (1:39.32). 

On the boards, Rutgers sophomore Giulia Vittorioso grabbed 1st on both 1-meter and 3-meter, scoring 280.05 and 304.88. Her teammates Savana Trueb and Holly Prasanto grabbed 2nd on 3-meter and 1-meter, respectively. 

Both teams have now reached the conclusion of the dual meet portion of their season and look ahead to the Big Ten Championships in February, which will be held in Ann Arbor, Michigan. At Big Tens in 2022, Nebraska finished 9th, just 26 points behind Rutgers in 8th.