Men's swimming and diving
The last time Texas men’s swimming and diving hit the pool in a real meet, it hoisted its 11th national championship.
On Friday, Texas began its quest to add a 12th title to its trophy case with a dual meet against Indiana and Florida at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swim Center. Texas was ahead of Indiana 201-98 and Florida 179-121 at the end of day one.
Day one consisted of long events, and Texas dominated the entire way, with a Longhorn finishing in the top three in each event.
The Longhorns began the day on a high note. Texas won the 200-meter medley relay in 1:41.93, just beating out Indiana at 1:42.92.
Junior Clark Smith and senior Sam Lewis finished first and third in the 800-meter freestyle, respectively, giving a big edge to the Longhorns early in the meet. Smith also finished first in the 400-meter freestyle at 3:55.11.
Texas won big in the 100-meter breaststroke, where junior Will Licon finished in first place at 1:03.41, just ahead of Indiana’s Tanner Kurz. Licon also finished No. 1 in the 200-meter breaststroke, 2:20.76, beating out Kurz again.
Junior Jack Conger and senior John Martens finished first and second, respectively, in the 200-meter butterfly.
Texas ended the day with a first place finish in the 200-meter free relay.
On the diving side, junior Sean O’Brien and senior Cory Bowersox were the top two finishers in the one-meter championship. Bowersox also finished first in the three-meter championship.
Women's swimming and diving
Texas women’s swimming and diving put up a solid performance in the long-course meet on day one of its season opener against Indiana and Florida. The Longhorns beat Indiana, 168-130, and Florida, 171-129.
Texas began the day with a second- and third-place finish in the 200-meter medley relay. Texas’ B-team placed second with a time of 1:57.59, and the A-team took third with 1:57.76. Indiana’s A-team won the race in 1:57.09.
Texas freshman Joanna Evans won the 800-meter freestyle with a time of 8:54.12. Florida freshman Jessica Thielmann was right behind Evans with an 8:55.80. The Longhorns kept the momentum going with first- and second-place finishes in the 200-meter freestyle. Junior All-American Madisyn Cox dominated the pool with a 2:01.58 – almost two seconds faster than freshman Quinn Carrozza’s second-place time of 2:03.40.
The 100-meter breaststroke was a thrilling fight to the end. Texas freshman Olivia Anderson took a close second place with a time of 1:09.71, behind Indiana freshman Lilly King’s 1:09.38.
The 200-meter butterfly proved to be another close race, with a little more than seven-tenths of a second separating the top three finishers. Texas junior Maggie D’Innocenzo placed third with a 2:16.92. Florida freshman Taylor Katz won the race in 2:16.17.
Sophomore Rebecca Millard won the 50-meter freestyle with a 26.28 and placed second in the 100-meter freestyle with a time of 57.67. Carrozza held a commanding lead in the 200-meter backstroke to win the race in 2:13.66 — more than two seconds faster than the second-place time. Cox dominated the 200-meter individual medley, winning by almost five seconds at 2:16.42. She also placed third in the 200-meter breaststroke.
The Longhorns saw another tight finish in the 400-meter freestyle, as Evans came in second with a time of 4:20.30 behind Indiana sophomore Kennedy Goss’s 4:20.10.
Senior diver Meghan Houston placed second in the one-meter dive with a score of 278.55.
Texas capped off the day with a sound two-second victory in the 200-meter freestyle relay, finishing the race in 1:44.54.
Texas wraps up the dual meet tomorrow with short-course events against Indiana and Florida. The first event begins at 10 a.m.
