It’s a calm warm Friday morning in mid-September — 70 swimmers dive into the waters of Lone Star Lake for a 5k swim at the CSCAA Open Water Championship in Lawrence, Kansas.  For freshman swimmer Ilaria Murzilli, this wasn’t her first time swimming a 5k. But, where she once saw the ocean floor, this time around she only saw darkness. 

From that came fear, but also spirit and determination from the first Italian swimmer in the history of Nebraska swimming and diving. “I was very scared,” Murzilli said. “I did an Open Water back in Italy in the ocean. However, a lake is very different than the sea. But, when I was in the water, I felt very good and just swam. My teammates said it was fine to be scared because it was my first race of the season.”