The Longhorns’ men’s swimming and diving teams look to further cement a strong start to 2018 as they head to Tempe, Arizona, on Friday and Tucson, Arizona, on Saturday for head-to-head meets against No. 10 Arizona State and No. 18 Arizona.
Despite an unusual string of dual-meet losses in the fall against Florida, Indiana, Texas A&M and N.C. State, head coach Eddie Reese sends his athletes into this weekend’s meet as the No. 2 team in the country.
The Longhorns currently hold a 2–4 record on the season in dual-meets but have proved victorious in their last two. Earlier this month, the team hosted its first dual-meet of the season against Auburn, which resulted in a closely-contested outcome — a 160-140 win over the Tigers.
Two of the greatest assets for Texas as of late have been senior Joseph Schooling, who was recognized as the Big 12 Men’s Swimmer of the Week after the win, and freshman Jordan Windle, who earned a spot as the conference’s Men’s Diver of the Week. Schooling’s standout performance against Auburn included wins in the 100-yard butterfly and the 200-yard butterfly, while Windle claimed second in the one-meter dive behind fellow diver, sophomore Grayson Campbell.
Another notable showing from the swimming portion against Auburn included an impressive win in the 200-yard medley relay, which was comprised of junior John Shebat and seniors Brett Ringgold, Austin Temple and Schooling, who finished with a time of 1 minute, 27.91 seconds.
With the Longhorn men seemingly hitting their stride at the right time, Reese’s history of success demonstrates that the team will likely once again compete for an NCAA national championship come March.
Reese has led the program to all 13 of its national titles, including one in each of the past three seasons. In his 40th season at Texas, he has established an unprecedented standard of success in the sport. Last season’s championship victory over California crowned Texas as the winningest men’s swimming and diving program in NCAA Division I history.
The two Pac-12 opponents the Longhorns will face this weekend could prove to be challenging tests for the team as it hopes to increase its chances of repeating as champion for the fourth season in a row.
Following this weekend’s events, the team will participate in just one more dual-meet event against TCU before the Big 12 Championships begin in Austin on Feb. 21.
The matchup against the Sun Devils is set to begin at 3 p.m. on Friday. The team will face the Wildcats on Saturday at 12 p.m.
