For the NIU women’s swimming and diving squad, the weekend was similar to the men’s crew with one exception.

After a Friday night 138-103 win over Western Illinois, the Huskies suffered a Saturday afternoon 126-113 loss at the hands of Iowa State. The weekend split saw NIU raise its dual record to .500 only to slip back below at 4-5.

“We asked the kids to come out and swim aggressively. We did that. There were no records set, but we did the job and we did it well,” NIU boss Mike Burt said after the win over the Westerwinds. “Kristin (Scholz) won the 50-yard freestyle and the 200-yard backstroke. Stacey Hartzer was a triple winner and Nikki Poulos swam well.”

The NIU women have also been battling health problems and the second meet in as many days was an added hurdle in challenging a strong Iowa State squad.

“Iowa State’s simply too strong for us. They’ve got a really solid team. Despite how we feel, I guess we weren’t quite healthy enough to go two straight days,” Burt added.

The women close their regular season with a Saturday 1 p.m. Anderson Hall Pool home finale against Wisconsin-Milwaukee.