No. 1 Texas Men Stops No. 9 Georgia, 157-135

No. 1 Texas (6-0) collected two victories apiece from senior Matt Lowe and sophomore Ricky Berens en route to a 157-135 over No. 9 Georgia Saturday at UT’s Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center.

In a meet featuring the head coaches of the 2008 U.S. Olympic head men’s (UT’s Eddie Reese) and women’s (Georgia’s Jack Bauerle) swimming coaches, Texas opened  with a decisive victory in the 200-yard medley relay, as two Longhorn relays placed ahead of Georgia.  Senior Daniel Rohleder (Austin, Texas), Lowe (Minot, N.D.), Berens (Charlotte, N.C.) and senior Matt McGinnis (Raleigh, N.C.) took first in 1:29.77.  The quartet of sophomore Hill Taylor (Birmingham, Ala.), senior Agustin Magruder (Highlands Ranch, Colo.), senior Chris Seitz (Taylor Mill, Ky.) and senior Jeremy Harris (St. Paul, Minn.) took second in 1:31.28. 

Junior Michael Klueh (Evansville, Ind.) claimed an easy victory in the 1000 freestyle, winning in 9:01.89.  Berens notched the first of two individual victories in the 200 freestyle, winning in 1:37.56 for a NCAA “B” cut.  UT landed the top four finishes in the event, as junior Ryan Verlatti (Tacoma, Wash.), sophomore Peter Jameson (Indianapolis, Ind.) and freshman Matt Donch (Raleigh, N.C.) placed second through fourth. 

Rohleder added a solid win in the 100 backstroke, finishing in 48.57, and was followed by junior Sean Patton (Charlotte, N.C.), Taylor and freshman Scott Jostes (Chesterfield, Mo.).  Texas placed one-two in the 100 breaststroke, where Lowe won in 55.61 and Magruder took second in 56.67. 

Senior Caleb McDermott (Canyon Lake, Texas) led a one-two finish in the 100 freestyle, taking first in 45.58, as sophomore Dave Walters (Yorktown, Va.) took second in 45.81.  McGinnis and Klueh, a pair of freestyle specialists, took one-two in the 200 backstroke, as McGinnis clocked 1:47.37 and Klueh touched in 1:50.70.

Lowe scored his second win in the 200 breaststroke in 2:01.46, and Magruder placed second in 2:01.55.  Berens, making his season debut in the 500 freestyle, was victorious in 4:27.92. 

Klueh captured the 400 IM in 3:56.97, though with the meet’s outcome already decided, he completed the event as an exhibition.