The Longhorns notched seven wins in the 25-yard short-course meet Saturday to sweep their season opener, defeating Florida 155-105 and Indiana 141-115. The Longhorns also won the long-course meet Friday, beating Indiana 168-130 and Florida 171-129. Texas tallied 12 total wins this weekend.
“It was a little bit strange the first day out on the long course,” head coach Carol Capitani said. “I like starting off this way — it makes them tougher, makes them do the little things right. We do have to make some progress, but I do like where we are.”
All-American junior Madisyn Cox added three short-course wins in addition to her two wins Friday in 50-meter long course events. Cox posted a 1:47.93 win in the 200-yard freestyle over seven-time All-American Florida senior Ashlee Linn. Cox also had an exciting win in the 200-yard breaststroke, narrowly defeating Indiana freshman Miranda Tucker by seven-tenths of a second. Cox finished in 2:12.83 and Tucker in 2:12.90. Cox dominated the 400-meter individual medley, winning by almost four seconds.
“I feel good just seeing this team as a whole,” Cox said. “A lot of the freshmen stepped up, and that’s great to see. I’m just really excited for the direction we’re headed.”
Freshman Joanna Evans put up a strong short course performance in her first collegiate meet, notching two wins Saturday. Evans’ endurance held up in the 1000-yard freestyle. She pulled ahead in the last 10 laps to win in 9:55.24. Evans won the 500-meter freestyle in thrilling fashion with a 4:49.67, narrowly beating Indiana senior Haley Lips’ time of 4:50.08.
“It was [Evans’] first short-course meet,” Cox said. “She did really well and it’s so inspiring to see that.”
Freshman Olivia Anderson earned another close win for Texas in the 100-yard breaststroke. Anderson finished in 1:01.54 — only a tenth of a second faster than Indiana freshman Lilly King’s second place time of 1:01.64.
“[Anderson] touched out [King] who touched her out yesterday, and [King] is good,” Cox said. “Olivia took that fire from yesterday — getting touched out — and came back today and got her.”
Click here to read a recap of Friday's portion of the meet.
Freshman Quinn Carrozza made her collegiate debut in the long-course Friday with a win in the 200-meter backstroke. She continued her success Saturday, winning the 200-yard backstroke in 1:56.43. Freshman Remedy Rule came in third with 1:58.15. Rule added more points for Texas with a second-place finish in the 100-yard butterfly.
“We lost some key players in our seniors, and I feel like [the freshmen] have eased the pain of that,” Capitani said. “I’m glad of how they stood up, and I’m happy with how they got out of their comfort zone, and most of them did. Most of them surprised themselves at how good they were right now.”
Texas faces A&M in College Station on Nov. 6 at 6 p.m. for its next meet.
