Lincoln, Neb. - The Nebraska swimming and diving team lost a tight contest to San Diego State 158-142 on Saturday afternoon at the Devaney Natatorium. The Huskers fell to 10-1 on the season following the loss.

The Huskers got off to a great start, winning the meet's opening event, the 200-yard medley relay by 31 hundredths of a second.

Bailey Pons and Hayley Martin then won the 1,000- and 200-yard freestyles, respectively, to give Nebraska an early lead. Pons' time of 10:06.52 beat her previous career-best in the 1,000-yard freestyle by 6.36 seconds. 

San Diego State started to chip away at the lead with wins by Leona Jennings in the 100-yard backstroke and Katelyn Weddle in the 100-yard breaststroke. Anna Steiner added a victory in the three-meter dive to draw the Aztecs even closer. 

Ariel Weech and Taryn Collura would then split first place in the 50-yard freestyle and finish first and second, respectively, in the 100-yard freestyle to push the Huskers back in front. 

Following the 100-yard freestyle, the Aztecs would win six of the last seven events on the way to victory. Junior Mikaela Macklin led the charge, winning the 200-yard breaststroke and 200-yard individual medley. 

Senior Leona Jennings added her second victory of the day in the 200-yard backstroke as San Diego State improved to 9-1 on the year. 

Other Husker winners on the day were Natalie Morris in the 200-yard butterfly (2:05.31) and Amy Herman in the one-meter dive (296.32). Herman's score was a career best in the event.

This weekend's meet was the beginning of a three week stretch of meets for the Huskers. Next weekend the Huskers will travel to Champaign, Illinois, for a dual on Jan. 26 against Big Ten foe Illinois.

The following weekend will see the squad journey to Evanston, Illinois, for the Northwestern Dual Meet Invite on Feb 1. After that, Nebraska will have nearly three weeks to prepare for the Big Ten Championships held Feb. 20-23.