Don’t ever let it be said that NIU’s men’s and women’s swimming coaches are afraid of a challenge.

That’s why the “underdog” Huskies are taking part in Friday and Saturday’s University of Illinois Illini Classic. Sessions start at 6 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. Saturday.

On the men’s side, national Top-20 programs University of Iowa and host Illinois compete in swimming with Arkansas and Tennessee sending divers. On the women’s side, the Hawkeyes and Illinois are joined by NIU and Illinois State.

For Mike Burt’s women’s team, some solid individual performances offset dual losses to Notre Dame (172-122) and Iowa (167-118). Kristin Scholz was a double winner in the 100-yard (1:01.21) and 200-yard (2:13.12) backstrokes while Pam Jackson was triumphant in the 50-yard freestyle (:25.13).