In a strong showing by both the men’s and women’s swim teams, the Longhorns continued their 2017 success with another victory over the highly ranked Georgia Bulldogs.
The No. 5 Texas women snapped No. 2 Georgia’s 103-meet home winning streak and soundly defeated the defending NCAA champion in its own pool for the first time since 1995. The win is the first for Texas women’s head coach Carol Capitani over her mentor and Georgia coach Jack Bauerle. Capitani spoke about how big the win was for the Longhorn women who have title aspirations.
“What a big day for Texas,” Capitani said. “This is a very special team, and I couldn’t be more proud of this group of young women. Our girls have fought all year, and today was no exception.”
Capitani also spoke on the personal significance of the victory over her previous team and her mentor.
“It is an emotional day for them and for me,” Capitani said. “I spent a long time at Georgia, and it has shaped the way I think and coach. I am very grateful for the people who have been a part of this journey. This team has some big goals, and this win is another step toward where we want to be.”
The No. 2 men’s swim team also proved its mettle against No. 7 Georgia in a pool filled with six Olympians, including Longhorn swimmers sophomore Townley Haas, junior Joseph Schooling, and seniors Clark Smith and Jack Conger.
The Longhorns set the tone from the start with the 200-yard medley relay. Smith, the American record holder in the 1,000 freestyle, blew away the field in the same event Saturday and won going away in 8:57.86.
Haas, the NCAA and American record holder in the 200 freestyle, won the event with a time of 1:35.69 while teammate junior Jonathan Roberts followed behind in second at 1:35.87. Conger, the American record holder in the 200 butterfly, led a one-two Texas finish in the event Saturday with a time of 1:44.82. His classmate senior Will Glass followed in second at 1:46.60.
Texas continues dual-meet competition on Jan. 27 when they host Arizona in a two-day meet at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center.
