Weekend Review

Weekend Review

Upset Special: Tennessee at Louisville

One of the biggest meets of the weekend was over before the weekend even started. The University of Louisville women, who finished 22^nd at this past year’s NCAA Championships, knocked off Tennessee, 152-148, in a lively meet in Kentucky. The Cardinals set a pool record and clocked a B cut of 3:23.97 in the 400 free relay, thanks to a big 50.02 anchor by senior Liz Halet. Louisville also grabbed third in the last race to prevent the Vols from grabbing a tie.

Rivalry Resumed: Texas vs. Texas A&M at the Big 12 Relays

The Texas and Texas A&M women continued their ultra-competitive recent history with another great battle at the Big 12 Relays in Columbia, Mo. The Aggies captured a 102-98 win, the exact reversal of the score the Longhorns won by a year ago in Lawrence, Kan.  Texas jumped out to what amounted to a two event lead on three separate occasions, but A&M responded in the second half of the meet by winning four straight relays to gain a lead they would not relinquish. A&M was bolstered by the return of former Big 12 Swimmers of the Year Kristen Heiss and Julia Wilkinson, who redshirted their true senior seasons in 2008-09, but could not have won the meet without first and second place finishes from a diving unit that has been without a full-time coach for weeks. Also of note, the nation-leading time in four of the five relay events were achieved at this meet (A&M, 2; Texas 2).

Impressive Big 10 Road Win for Iowa

The Iowa Hawkeyes traveled to Madison, Wis., and downed the Badgers 162-138 in their Big 10 opener last Friday. The Hawkeyes earned their second dual meet win over the Badgers in as many years thanks to a near complete sweep of the freestyle events. Duncan Partridge swept the 50 and 100 free while Paul Gordon grabbed the 200 and 500 free. The pair also joined forces to make up half of the winning 400 free relay. Iowa was also bolstered by a sweep in the diving well by Frank Van Dijkhuizen.

Program on the Rise: Boise State

Four years ago, Boise State had no swimming & diving program. On Saturday they notched their first win over a PAC-10 opponent to move their record to 6-1 on the young season. No longer just a BCS-busting football school, the Broncos comfortably downed Washington State, 178-116, to help establish themselves as one of the top programs in the Northwest. Boise St. swept both sprint freestyles, both breaststrokes, both diving events and both relays to set a new high-water mark for Coach Kristin Hill’s fledging program.

Vols Cage Tigers

The Tennessee men earned a hard fought road win against an LSU team they hadn’t faced head-to-head in four years. The Tigers jumped out to a 24-12 lead after two events, but the Vols fought back by winning the next three events and rarely looked back. LSU did manage to pull with 120-107 with four events to go, but wins in the 100 fly, three-meter springboard and a one-two finish by Vols Michael Craig and Brad Christie in the 200 IM shut the door on the Bayou Bengals.