Texas
A pair of top national times in the 200-yard freestyle relay and 400-yard medley relay highlighted day one for the Longhorns Thursday at the Texas Invitational at UT’s Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center.
Texas opened the day one finals by posting the nation’s fastest time in the 200 freestyle relay, as juniors Matt Ellis and John Murray and freshmen Joseph Schooling and Brett Ringgold took the win in 1 minute, 16.72 seconds, good for the ninth-fastest relay in school history.
All-America sophomore Jack Conger followed with a convincing win in the 100 butterfly, where he posted the nation’s second-fastest time this season at 45.76. All-America senior Tripp Cooper took fourth in 46.57 while All-America sophomore Will Glass posted a sixth-place time of 46.81. Notably, Schooling produced an NCAA automatic cut in the event with his 45.59, the top time in the country, during the preliminary round before scratching the event for finals.
Sophomore Clark Smith posted the nation’s fastest time in the 500 freestyle during the morning preliminary round, and he topped that time on his way to victory in the finals. The Denver native became the third-fastest Longhorn ever in the event with his mark of 4:13.32, good for the fifth-fastest individual 500 freestyle swim at UT. All-America senior Clay Youngquist placed third in 4:16.61, and freshman Jonathan Roberts took sixth in 4:21.63. Junior Sam Lewis placed seventh in 4:21.68.
It took a two-time Olympic finalist to defeat UT All-America sophomore Will Licon in the 200 IM final, as Brazilian Thiago Pereira claimed victory in 1:42.06. Licon settled for second in 1:43.51, just off of his 1:43.19 from the 2014 NCAA Championships.
Murray added a runner-up finish in the 50 freestyle “A’ final at 19.37 while Ellis placed third at 19.41. Ringgold rounded out the Longhorns’ contingent with his fourth-place mark of 19.56. Defending NCAA champion Brad Tandy of Arizona claimed the win in 19.04.
UT disqualified its “A” relay from the 400 medley relay final, but its “C” relay featuring Conger, freshman Austin Temple, Ellis and Ringgold took the win in 3:08.32, good for an NCAA “A” cut and the top time in the country this season.
A pair of NCAA Championships automatic-qualifying marks and top-five national times highlighted day one for the Longhorns Thursday at the Texas Invitational at UT’s Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center.
UT opened the night with a come-from-behind win in the 200-yard freestyle relay, as the Horns took the win in 1:29.30, good for an NCAA automatic-qualifying cut and the third-fastest time in the country this season. Senior Gretchen Jaques led off in 22.37 before classmate Kelsey LeNeave picked up the second leg in 22.42. Freshman Rebecca Millard split 22.24 on the relay’s third leg before freshman Mimi Schneider anchored the relay to victory in 22.27.
Senior Kaitlin Pawlowicz added a third-place mark of 4:42.62 in the 500 freestyle final while sophomore Tasija Karosas claimed the consolation final in 4:48.45. Texas featured a pair of finalists in the 100 butterfly “A” final where Jaques took fourth overall in 53.00. LeNeave placed sixth in the final at 53.32.
Senior Skylar Smith led the Texas contingent in the 200 IM “A” final with her third-place mark of 1:59.96. Karosas followed in seventh at 2:03.60 while freshman Bethany Leap placed eighth in 2:04.03.
Texas capped the evening with its second NCAA automatic-qualifying cut on a relay. Karosas, Jaques, LeNeave and Millard took second in the relay at 3:33.57, good for the fourth-fastest time in the country this season.
The day two preliminary round opens Friday at 10 a.m. Central at the Texas Swimming Center.
USC
Senior Andrea Kropp posted a PR in the 200y IM to take second, junior Kendyl Stewart just missed a win in the 100y fly and both helped USC’s 400y medley relay to a victory and an NCAA ‘A’ cut to lead the Trojans’ men’s and women’s teams at the UT Invitational at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center on Thursday (Dec. 4) in Austin.
Kropp lowered her personal best in the 200y IM to 1:56.99 for second in the A final, behind only former teammate and current Trojan Club swimmer Stina Gardell’s 1:55.79.
Stewart almost captured the 100y fly, touching in 51.99, 0.06 out of first and 0.09 from an NCAA ‘A’ cut. Junior Jasmine Tosky was fifth (53.15) and junior Lucy Worrall was eighth (53.85). Tosky (53.01) and Worrall (53.46) went slightly faster with ‘B’ cuts in prelims.
Kropp and Stewart later both swam on USC’s win in the 400y medley relay, joining freshman Hannah Weiss and junior Kasia Wilk to win in 3:33.23, edging Texas by 0.34 and posting an NCAA ‘A’ cut. Weiss’ leadoff 52.52 was a season-best.
USC opened the first day of finals with a third in the 200y free relay as sophomore Evan Swenson, Tosky, Wilk and Stewart went 1:30.12. The men’s quartet was fourth as sophomore Dylan Carter, freshman Ralf Tribuntsov, senior Luca Spinazzola and sophomore David Morgan Jr. went 1:18.97, a season best and just off an NCAA ‘A’ cut.
Sophomore Maggie D’Innocenzo took seventh in the 500y free final with a season-best 4:51.23 with junior Joanna Stenkvist eighth (4:51.32). Freshman Pawel Furtek topped USC’s men’s efforts in the 500y free with a 4:23.77. His prelim 4:23.38 was an NCAA ‘B’ cut and a season-best.
Carter, whose 46.16 100y fly prelim effort was 0.07 off the 2006 USC record, finished fifth in the final with a 46.74. Spinazzola was eighth (47.78) after a 47.22 in prelims.
Di’Innocenzo made her second final appearance and was sixth in the 200y IM in 2:02.55 after a ‘B’ cut in prelims (2:01.25). Junior Morten Klarskov was USC’s top finisher in the 200y IM (15th, 1:47.79, B cut).
Swenson won the ‘B’ final of the 50y free (22.81) with Wilk fifth in the heat (23.02). Carter earned a trip to the 50y free final with a season-best 19.61 in prelims but did not swim in the final.
USC closed the meet with a third in the men’s 400y medley relay as Spinazzola, Klarskov, Carter and Tribuntsov went 3:10.21. Spinazzola led off with a season-best 46.99.
Arizona
Day 1 of the Texas Invitational has come to a close, and the Arizona swimmers took first in two events, second in two and placed in the top five in four more events. The Wildcats finished out the day with 17 NCAA qualifications, 15 individual and two relay.
The team of Taylor Schick, Bonnie Brandon, Katja Hajdinjak and Paige Kremer started off the day placing fifth in the 200 free relay with a time of 1:30.74. In the next event, the men’s team of Bradley Tandy, Brian Stevens, Renny Richmond and JP Beach finished second in the 200 free relay with 1:17.88, qualifying them for a NCAA Championship.
Tjasa Oder won the 500 yard free with a time of 4:40.71, significantly improving from her prelim time and qualifying for the championship. Elizabeth Pepper then qualified for the 100 fly with a time of 54.13.
In the next two events, the 100 fly and 500 free respectively, the men added a significant number of NCAA Championship qualifications. In the 100 fly, Stevens (47.59), Richmond (47.63) and Rasmus Skjaerpe (47.89) all qualified. Following that, Ty Fowler qualified for the 500 free with a time of 4:24.29 and Chris Wieser with 4:24.70.
Michael Meyer took third in the 200 IM in 1:45.90, and qualified for the NCAA Championship. Skjaerpe also qualified for the championship with a time of 1:48.72 in addition to Thane Maudslien (1:46.77) and Austin Van Overdam (1:47.04).
For the women, Schick took third in the 50 free with a time of 22.37 following former Wildcat Margo Geer. Both women qualified for the NCAA Championship and Brandon also qualified with 22.92. In the men’s 50 free, Tandy took first in 19.04, greatly improving from his prelim time and also qualifying for the championship along with Stevens, who had a time of 20.07.
In the 400 medley relay, the women’s team of Brandon, Emma Schoettmer, Pepper and Schick took fourth with 3:37.10. The men’s 400 medley relay team of Meyer, Kevin Cordes, Stevens and Tandy placed second in 3:09.61 and qualified the team for the NCAA Championship.
Wyoming
The University of Wyoming swimming teams opened action at the Texas Invite and Colorado Mesa Invite on Thursday . Junior Molly Coonce recorded a school record in the 100 butterfly at the Texas Invite to lead UW on the opening day of competition.
“I think we are swimming very well and better than we did at this time last season,” UW head coach Tom Johnson said. “The competition at in Texas is very good and it is a great measuring stick for our kids.”
Coonce recorded a school record and an NCAA “B” Cut qualifying time in the 100 butterfly finishing 10th at 53.33. Junior Emily Ridout also recorded an NCAA “B” Cut time with a mark of 22.83 in the 50 freestyle, finishing 10th. Senior Claudia Carlson made her return to her home state of Texas finishing 10th in the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:02.56.
In the men’s event, junior George Eglesfield placed 19th in the 100 butterfly with an NCAA “B” Cut mark of 48.19. Six of the best butterfly swimmers in the country were featured in the event. Senior Adam Kalms finished 19th in the 50 freestyle with a time of 20.35. His mark is the third fastest in school history.
In the 200 freestyle relay the Cowboys finished seventh at 1.20.72 with the Cowgirls also placing seventh of 1:33.06.
“We were a lot better in tonight’s session and we will get better as the weekend goes on,” Johnson said.
Wisconsin
NCAA 'A' cuts were met and personal records set as the Wisconsin swimming and diving program began competition at the Texas Invitational at UT's Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center on Thursday.
Through the first evening of finals, the No. 23 UW women's team ended in third place with 177 points and the No. 21 UW men's team came in at sixth with 80 points.
The tone was set early for the women, as the 200-yard freestyle relay team of Ivy Martin, Chase Kinney, Aja Van Hout and Annie Tamblyn made an early statement to open the day with a runner-up finish in a time of 1 minute, 29.44 seconds, which stood as an automatic NCAA 'A' cut.
Quick out of the gates themselves, for the men, it was Cannon Clifton, Damon Zito, Brett Pinfold and Ryan Barsanti who clocked in with their fastest time of the season in the relay event and finished eighth in 1:21.04.
Putting her dominance on display in the 50-yard freestyle. Martin won the finals in 21.94, but it was the Madison, Wisconsin, native's time of 21.89 in preliminaries that qualified as an NCAA 'A' cut and clocked in as the second-fastest time in the NCAA this season.
Rounding out the top eight of the 50 free were Kinney and Van Hout, who placed sixth (22.84) and eighth (23.04), respectively.
For the men in the 50 free, Clifton posted a time of 20.18 for a 'B' cut and 11th-place finish.
Martin put up a blistering time in the 100-yard butterfly, as well, touching third in a personal best 52.75. Dana Grindall finished seventh (53.56), as both she and Martin earned 'B' cuts. Sophomore Clifton picked up a personal best time of his own (48.16) for a 16th-place finish in the event.
In the 500-yard freestlye, it was sophomore Matt Hutchins and junior Jenny Holtzen who once again led the Badgers. Each earned fifth-place finishes with times of 4:18.78 and 4:46.19, respectively. Not far behind was Nick Caldwell, who finished 11th (4:23.97) en route to a 'B' cut, and Carolina Palm, who came in 18th (4:53.51).
Senior captain Van Hout earned a 'B' cut and fourth-place finish in the 200-yard individual medley (2:00.57). On the men's side, both Pinfold and teDuits earned 'B' cuts, as Pinfold touched 16th (1:47.91) and teDuits placed 17th (1:47.67).
Concluding the first day of competition, Tamblyn, Meinholz, Martin and Van Hout teamed up for a fifth-place finish in the 400-yard medley relay (3:38.98), while teDuits, Nick Schafer, Clifton and Pinfold combined for seventh place (3:13.08) in the event.
NCAA 'A' cuts and personal records were met, while a school record was set, as the Wisconsin swimming and diving program began competition at the Texas Invitational at UT's Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center on Thursday.
Ivy Martin set a school record and went on to win the 100-yard butterfly, claimed the title in the 50-yard freestyle with the second-fastest time in school history for an NCAA 'A' cut and was part of another 'A' cut on UW's 200-yard freestyle relay team. Through the first evening of finals, the No. 23 UW women's team ended in third place with 177 points and the No. 21 UW men's team came in at sixth with 80 points.
"I thought we competed very well today," UW swimming and diving head coach Whitney Hite said. "We had a number of really good swims. Jenny Holtzen and Matt Hutchins in the 500 free were very outstanding swims. Cannon Clifton’s swim in the 100 fly was an all-time (program) swim. Ivy Martin made the hard cut in the 50 free for NCAAs and our 200 free relay women's team also got an 'A' cut, which is huge for us.
"Ivy then breaking the school record in the 100 fly made for an all-in-all great start to the invite."
The tone was set early for the women, as the 200-yard freestyle relay team of Martin, Chase Kinney, Aja Van Hout and Annie Tamblyn made an early statement to open the day with a runner-up finish in a time of 1 minute, 29.44 seconds, which stood as an automatic NCAA 'A' cut.
Quick out of the gates themselves, for the men, it was Clifton, Damon Zito, Brett Pinfold and Ryan Barsanti who clocked in with their fastest time of the season in the relay event and finished eighth in 1:21.04.
Putting her dominance on display in the 50-yard freestyle. Martin won the finals in 21.94, but it was her time of 21.89 in preliminaries that stole the show. Not only did her time of 21.89 make the hard cut for NCAAs, it also ranked second all-time in school history and clocked her in with the second-fastest time in the NCAA this season.
Rounding out the top eight of the 50 free for the women were Kinney and Van Hout, who placed sixth (22.84) and eighth (23.04), respectively. Kinney's time tied her for ninth in school history.
For the men in the 50 free, Clifton posted the ninth-fastest time in UW history at 20.18 for a 'B' cut and 11th-place finish.
Martin wasn't done, as she went on to set a school record in preliminaries of the 100-yard butterfly at 52.44. She would finish third in the finals (52.75). Dana Grindall finished seventh in the finals, but posted the fifth-fastest time in school history in prelims (53.56). Both Grindall and Martin earned 'B’ cuts.
Sophomore Clifton picked up a personal best time of his own in the 100 fly (48.16) for a 16th-place finish in the event and the ninth-fastest time in school history.
In the 500-yard freestlye, it was sophomore Hutchins and junior Holtzen who once again led the Badgers. Each earned fifth-place finishes with times of 4:18.78 and 4:46.19, respectively. Hutchins' time was the third-fastest in school history, while Holtzen's swim went down as the sixth-best in UW annals.
Not far behind in the event was Nick Caldwell, who finished 11th (4:23.97) en route to a 'B' cut, and Carolina Palm, who came in 18th (4:53.51).
Senior captain Van Hout earned a 'B' cut and fourth-place finish in the 200-yard individual medley (2:00.57). On the men's side, both Pinfold and teDuits earned 'B' cuts, as Pinfold touched 16th (1:47.91) and teDuits placed 17th (1:47.67).
Concluding the first day of competition, Tamblyn, Meinholz, Martin and Van Hout teamed up for a fifth-place finish in the 400-yard medley relay (3:38.98), while teDuits, Nick Schafer, Clifton and Pinfold combined for seventh place (3:13.08) in the event and swam the ninth-fastest time in school history.
The Texas invitational follows the same format as NCAA and conference championship meets. Also in attendance are host Texas, USC, Harvard, Arizona, Utah, BYU, Wyoming, Incarnate Word and the men's teams of Hawaii and UC-Santa Barbara, as well as the women of Notre Dame.
Utah
Utah swimming wraps up day one at the Texas Invitational with Alex Fernandes (100 fly), Bence Kiraly (500 free), Nick Soedel (50 free), Madeline Jamora (50 free) and men’s 400 medley relay all finishing in the top five.
Several swimmers had NCAA-B standard times. Leading the pack was Fernandes who finished second in the 100 fly with a time of 45.76. Kiraly came in fourth in the 500 free with a time 4:17.40. Soedel was fifth in the 50 free in 19.66 with Fernandes taking eighth (19.99). Jamora took fourth in the 50 free with a time of 22.67 and Guiliana Gilgiotti took seventh in the event (22.95).
Maddie Meisel took sixth in the 500 free with a time of 4:50.89. Also in the event was 26th place Maryssa McArthur who touched in with a time of 4:51.95. In the 200 free relay, team of Jamora, Gigliotti, Dorien Butter and Rhianna Williams teamed up to take sixth with a time of 1:30.88.
Taking 17th in the 100 fly was Melissa Paahk with a time of 54.06. Jenna Marsh took 24th in the event (54.97) with Petra Soininen following (54.71).
Megan Kawaguchi, Stina Colleou, Paahk and Gilgiotti teamed together to take eighth in the 400 medley relay with a time of 3:40.19.
In the 200 IM, taking 14th was Brianna Francis with a time of 2:03.59 with Amanda Barrett taking 27th (2:03.79).
On the men’s side, claiming the fourth place spot in the 400 medley relay was team of Kron, Jack Burton, Fernandes and Soedel who touched in with a time of 3:12.90.
Soedel, Fernandes, Sean Bloore and Kiraly teamed together to take sixth in the 200 free relay with a time of 1:19.85. Also in the relay was 19th place finish by team consisting of Dave Fraser, Alex Brown, Graham Charlton and Kristian Almberg (1:24.08).
In the 500 free, Brandon Shreeve touched in 20th with a time of 4:27.43 with Andy Cunningham taking 29th in the event (4:29.69).
Sean Bloore took 30th in the 50 free with a time of 20.74.
Notre Dame
Two NCAA B cuts highlighted a solid day one for the University of Notre Dame women’s swimming team at the Texas Invitational. Sophomore Catherine Mulquin clocked a time of 23.09 in the 50 free, while senior Courtney Whyte touched the pad in the 100 fly in 54.45 to turn in their best times of the year in both events.
Mulquin finished first in the C final in the 50 free (17th overall), while Whyte placed fourth in the C final of the 100 fly (20th overall).
A pair of standouts turned in solid 200 IM performances, as sophomore Katie Miller finished fifth in the B final (13th overall – 2:03.28), while junior Genevieve Bradford took seventh (15th overall – 2:03.59). Whyte took eighth (24th overall – 2:05.87) in the C final.
Freshman Molly Treble had a strong showing in the 500 free on day one, as the Massapequa, New York native placed 14th overall (sixth B final) in a time of 4:54.18. In the C final, Bridget Casey finished third (19th overall – 4:54.57) and Molly Barry placed sixth (22nd overall – 4:56.60).
In the 100 fly, a trio of standouts placed in the C final, as Whyte took fourth (20th overall – 54.45 – NCAA B cut), Mulquin placed fifth (21st overall – 54.57) and junior Catherine Galletti claimed seventh (23rd overall – 54.91).
The 200 yard free relay squad of Catherine Mulquin, Catherine Galletti, Suzannne Bessire and Hannah Bowen finished ninth out of 23 teams in a time of 1:33.58 to open the day, while Notre Dame closed out the day with a 15th place finish out of 29 teams in the 400 medley relay. The squad of Miller, Sherri McIntee, Melissa Scott and Elizabeth House finished the race in 3:46.05.
BYU
Jake Taylor, Hayden Palmer and Rafael Alfaro paced BYU on the first day of the Texas Invite. The trio recorded the team's only top-10 finishes on Thursday, and it was all in the men’s 200-yard individual medley. Taylor finished third with a time of 1:45.76. Alfaro came in just behind his teammate, finishing sixth while Palmer finished seventh with times of 1:47.20 and 1:47.25, respectively.
The team of Taylor, Rainer Ng, McKay King and Evan Berger finished 14th in the men’s 200-yard freestyle relay, touching the wall in 1:22.51. Their teammates Levi Jensen, Michael King, Alfaro and Palmer finished 15th in 1:22.88.
The women’s 400-yard medley relay team made up of Ciera Marsh Keller, Riley Buer, Haley Bertoldo and Alora Foliaki finished 18th in a time of 3:46.89.
Ng, Chad Sorensen, McKay King and Taylor combined to finish 12th in the men’s 400 medley relay with a time of 3:18.82.
