Justin Doud
Graduate student Emma Sticklen celebrates at Texas' Swim Invitational on Nov. 20, 2024.
No. 2 Texas women’s swim and dive will compete in the NCAA Championship meet from March 19–22. The team looks to end a 34-year championship drought after finishing runner-up for the past three seasons.
The Longhorns are coming off a dominant performance in the Southeastern Conference Championships, winning their first conference championship in their inaugural year in the SEC. Texas displayed its power during the meet by accumulating 1,450 points and setting several school and conference records.
Despite the powerful performance by the team in the conference championship, they have more to give for the NCAA championships.
“I have got something in the tank for NCAAs,” men’s head coach Bob Bowman said before the SEC meet. “We are not going full 100 (at SECs), and neither is (women’s head coach Carol Capitani). We have some things we can do.”
The Longhorn women will need quite the push to win the national title. The No. 1 Virginia Cavaliers are four-time defending national champions and are favorites to secure their fifth straight title. Texas was runner-up to the Cavaliers in the past three national championships.
The Cavaliers handed the Longhorns their only loss of the season in the Eddie Reese Texas Showdown, winning by 46 points.
Graduate Emma Sticklen is a two-time defending national champion in the 200-yard fly, but this year, she faces an old foe. The 2022 national champion in the 200-yard fly and NCAA record holder, Virginia graduate Alex Walsh, is competing in the event after skipping competition last year. In 2023, Sticklen beat Walsh by 0.34 seconds to claim her first title.
“It’ll be really exciting to have her back in the two-fly. … I definitely am excited to race her,“ Sticklen said in an interview with SwimSwam.
Another close race is between Texas freshman Jillian Cox and Florida sophomore Bella Sims in the 500-meter freestyle. Sims won the national title last year, but Cox won the SEC title just a few weeks ago. Sims did not race in the 500-meter fly at the SEC conference championships. Despite Sims being the defending national title holder, Cox is the No. 1 seed with a time 0.38 seconds better than her rival, Cox beat the next seed by almost six seconds and is also the clear favorite to win the 1650-yard freestyle.
The divers closed out their Zone D qualifiers for the NCAA meet Wednesday, qualifying in all three events and leading the zone in points scored. Texas had three divers qualify.
Senior Hailey Hernandez took first in the 1-meter to qualify, and sophomore Bayleigh Cranford took eighth in the 3-meter and sixth in platform to qualify. Freshman Alejandra Estudillo Torres qualified in all three events, taking first in the platform and 3-meter and second in the 1-meter.
“I like our athletes to adapt, to be adaptable (and) to be light on their feet, so whatever you want to throw at them, I want to prepare to do it well,” Capitani said. “As long as we have time, we will be good.”
The NCAA Championships start on March 19, with the 200-yard individual and freestyle medley relay and the 800-yard freestyle relay.