After an undeniably successful fall season in the pool, the No. 1 and No. 2 Texas men’s and women’s swimming and diving programs emerged from their winter training block on Friday at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center to defeat the SMU men’s and women’s teams 237-63 and 218-76, respectively.
This victory marks the first of the spring season, highlighted by several impressive performances in both individual events and relays.
One particularly noteworthy performance came from senior All-American and 2024 Olympic medalist Chris Guiliano, who earned first place in the 50-yard free with a time of 19.04 seconds, the 100-yard free with a time of 41.89 seconds and anchored Texas’ winning 200 medley relay team.
Between relays and individual performances like Guiliano’s, the Texas men’s team accumulated an impressive 15 first-place victories at the meet.
The team is composed of both rookies and veterans, Olympians and Olympic hopefuls, but they have all united under new head coach Bob Bowman’s guidance with the common goal of earning a national title.
“I feel like at the end of the season this year, (the goal) is to try and win an NCAA championship,” sophomore captain Will Modglin said in December. “I think that’s the main goal, individual and team.”
If the results from the meet are any indication, the women’s team is also aspiring towards a title win.
The Longhorns opened the meet with a victory in the 200-yard medley relay with a team of graduate student Emma Sticklen, freshman Piper Enge, graduate student Abby Arens and graduate student Grace Cooper, finishing in 1:35.27. Another Texas relay team composed of sophomore Emma Kern, sophomore Campbell Stoll, graduate student Olivia Bray and graduate student Ava Longi earned second place in the event.
This initial race indicated how the rest of the meet would unfold as the Longhorns swept all freestyle events against the Mustangs.
Women’s swimming and diving won 15 races, with the second-place finishers also being Texas swimmers in 12 of those races. The Lady Longhorns’ depth was on display in this meet, helpful for the long and competitive season ahead.
The next meet is fast approaching, taking place on Jan. 24 at home. The schools set to compete are Texas, Arizona State, North Carolina State and Virginia.
Virginia’s women’s program is the only one sitting above Texas in the NCAA rankings currently, and Arizona State and N.C. State both have top-10-ranked men’s programs.
The matchup should be competitive, but the Longhorns are showing promise and proving they have the depth and the talent to post impressive results throughout the spring season.