Texas
Texas seniors Sarah Denninghoff, Gretchen Jaques and Kelsey LeNeave posted individual wins and UT added a relay victory Saturday on the final day of the Texas Invitational at UT’s Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center.
Pawlowicz opened the meet with an historic swim and became the first Longhorn in nearly 30 years to clear 16 minutes in the 1,650-yard freestyle. Pawlowicz chopped nearly 10 seconds off of her personal best and took third place in the final at 15:57.37. The swim ranks her as the third-fastest Longhorn in the event behind Tiffany Cohen (15:53.85) and Kim Linehan (15:57.30).
Denninghoff nearly snagged the school record in the 200 backstroke before taking the win in 1:52.61. Denninghoff’s swim fell just three one-hundredths shy of the school record held by two-time Olympian Kathleen Hersey. Sophomore Tasija Karosas also raced in the “A” final and placed sixth in 1:56.35.
Freshman Rebecca Millard led the Texas contingent in the 100 freestyle consolation final and took the win in 49.43. Classmate Mimi Schneider placed fifth at 49.96 while senior Shelby Webber took sixth in 50.20.
Jaques scored her second win in as many nights on her way to a personal best in the 200 breaststroke in 2:08.60, good for the third-fastest time in the country this season. Sophomore Jordan Surhoff added an eighth-place mark of 2:16.32.
Senior Kelsey LeNeave finished off a strong weekend of racing with a win in the 200 butterfly at a personal-best time of 1:55.76, good for the sixth-fastest time in the nation this season. LeNeave also had qualified for the 100 freestyle championship final but scratched the event in favor of the 200 butterfly.
The Horns wrapped up the Texas Invitational by winning the 400 freestyle relay. Jaques, LeNeave, Millard and Denninghoff were victorious in 3:15.54, the third-fastest time in the country this season.
Texas sophomore Will Licon and UT freshman Joseph Schooling toppled individual school records Saturday evening to wrap up a productive three-day workload for the Longhorns in the annual Texas Invitational at UT’s Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center.
Licon took on the 200-yard breaststroke’s American record holder and defending NCAA champion, Arizona’s Kevin Cordes, and won the event in 1:52.18, enough to edge the school record of 1:52.24 set by Scott Spann, Jr. at the 2010 NCAA Championships. The El Paso native notched an NCAA automatic-qualifying mark and his second win in as many nights after claiming the 400 IM Friday evening. Cordes took second behind Licon in 1:52.65. Sophomore Imri Ganiel won the event’s consolation final at 1:57.45.
Schooling and UT sophomore Clark Smith both dipped well under Neil Caskey’s 200 butterfly school mark of 1:42.52 in Saturday’s final. Schooling, a native of Singapore, clocked the nation’s fastest time and claimed the school record for himself at 1:41.00. Smith took second place after nearly running down Schooling in 1:41.42. Schooling’s swim ranks ninth all-time in the men’s 200-yard butterfly while Smith’s 1:41.42 ranks him fourteenth.
Junior Sam Lewis led the Texas contingent in the night’s first event, the 1,650-yard freestyle, with his second-place mark of 14:57.81. Freshman Jonathan Roberts took ninth overall at 15:14.41, while senior Nic Munoz placed 12th at 15:22.66.
Sophomore Jack Conger joined Olympic gold medalist Aaron Peirsol as the only Longhorns to clear 1:40 in the 200 backstroke, and the All-American placed second in the event at 1:39.84. Wisconsin’s Drew Teduits, a former NCAA champion in the event, took the narrow win in 1:39.72. Sophomore Will Glass added a fifth-place mark of 1:42.68 while junior Ian LeMaistre placed eighth at 1:44.55, a personal best.
Current Texas swimmers claimed the second, third and fourth positions in the 100 freestyle, where former Longhorn Dax Hill was victorious at 42.61. Junior John Murray, who swam the nation’s fastest collegiate time in prelims at 42.61, took a close second at 42.64. Freshman Brett Ringgold placed third at 43.03 after setting a personal best in prelims at 42.96, and junior Matt Ellis placed fourth at 43.04.
The Longhorns wrapped the evening and the three-day Texas Invitational by posting an NCAA automatic-qualifying cut in the 400 freestyle relay, as senior Clay Youngquist joined Murray, Conger and Ellis to win the event in 2:52.30.
Arizona
The Texas Invitational has concluded, and Arizona showed just how good they are. Out of the 12 events, the Wildcats placed in the top three eight times, including one first place finish and four second place finishes. Arizona had three automatic NCAA Championship qualifications and 21 potential qualifications.
The first event of the night was the 1650 free, where Bonnie Brandon and Tjasa Oder came out on top. Brandon won the event in 15:48.35, followed by Oder with 15:53.33 in second. Both swimmers automatically qualified for the championship. Brandon also took second in the 200 back finishing in 1:52.98, only 0.37 of a second behind, and potentially qualifying. Cameron McHugh also potentially qualified for the championship with a time of 1:57.54.
Taylor Schick added to Arizona’s success taking third in the 100 free in 48.81, thus potentially qualifying. The event was won by former Wildcat Margo Geer in 47.46. In the 200 breast, Sara Borendame and Emma Schoettmer finished back-to-back, in third and fourth, with times of 2:10.08 and 2:10.49, respectively, both potentially qualifying for the NCAA. Elizabeth Pepper also potentially qualified for the 200 fly placing fourth in 1:57.40.
The last event for the women was the 400 free relay. The team of Brandon, Schick, Paige Kremer and McHugh placed third with 3:17.66. They got a potential qualification for the NCAA Championship.
On the men’s side, they were off to a good start in their first event as well. In the 1650 free, there were three potential qualifications. Ty Fowler finished in fifth with a time of 15:05.88. Chris Wieser touched in 15:10.92 and Nick Hogsed in 15:22.60. In the 200 back, Michael Meyer (1:43.70) and Thane Maudslien (1:43.74) finished back-to-back, potentially qualifying for the championship.
Bradley Tandy finished sixth in the 100 free with a time of 43.06, earning a potential qualification in the NCAA Championship. Kevin Cordes automatically qualified for the 200 breast, finishing second in 1:52.65, significantly improving from his prelim time. Andrew Sovero and Gage Crosby both potentially qualified with times of 1:56.85 and 1:59.13, respectively.
The Wildcats earned a large number of qualifications in the 200 fly. Justin Wright finished fourth with a time of 1:45.02 while Rasmus Skjaerpe placed sixth in 1:45.29. In addition to the two swimmers, Meyer (1:44.45), Austin Van Overdam (1:47.83) and Thorne (1:47.71) all potentially qualified. In the 400 free relay, the team of Tandy, Brian Stevens, Maudslien and Meyer finished second with a time of 2:54.45. They earned the last potential qualification for the Wildcats.
The Arizona Wildcats will compete next at the USA Diving Nationals from Tue. Dec. 16 to Sun. Dec. 21 in Columbus, Ohio.
Wisconsin
After three days of tough competition, the Wisconsin swimming and diving program left the Texas Invitational with two school records, three first place finishes and even more confidence heading into the second half of the season.
The men’s team finished the meet in third place, while the women came in fourth place.
“We had a lot of great swims overall,” UW swimming and diving head coach Whitney Hite said. “I was very pleased with the performances and we had a really excellent meet.”
With a time of 15 minutes, .71 seconds, sophomore Matt Hutchins broke the school record in the 1650-yard freestyle en route to picking up third place and an NCAA ‘B’ cut.
“Matt Hutchins was a superstar today,” Hite said. “He broke the school record and is set for big things come conference and NCAAs.”
For the women, Jenny Holtzen touched sixth in the 1650 freestyle with her time of 16:34.18, which was the seventh-fastest time in program history.
Drew teDuits posted a time of 1:39.72 to capture the victory in the 200-yard backstroke, which stood as an ‘A’ cut and the first individual victory by the men’s team. The Fitchburg native recorded his fastest time since winning the event at the 2013 NCAA Championships and now holds the fastest time in the NCAA this season.
“He was awesome,” Hite said of teDuits. “Fastest time in the nation, NCAA ‘A’ cut – just an all-around terrific performance.”
Also representing the Badgers in the event were Austin Byrd, Brett Pinfold and Ryan O’Donnell. Byrd’s time of 1:44.35 earned 10th place and is the eighth-fastest time in program history, while Pinfold touched 15th (1:50.72) and Ryan O’Donnell placed 16th (1:50.88).
On the women’s side, sophomore Madeline Hazle recorded a new personal best to capture 13th place in the 200 backstroke and a ‘B’ cut (1:59.20).
All three Wisconsin men’s team finalists in the 100-yard freestyle earned ‘B’ cuts, and leading the pack was sophomore Cannon Clifton’s 10th-place finish with a time of 43.52 – the second-fastest swim ever by a Badger. Damon Zito placed 21st with a time of 44.49, and Pinfold picked up a 27th place finish (44.18).
Clocking in at 48.38, senior captain Ivy Martin finished runner-up in the 100-yard freestyle and recorded the third-fastest time in program history. Fellow captain Aja Van Hout came in fifth place in the finals with a time of 49.35, as the Madison native set a personal best of her own and the tenth-fastest time in Badger history during the morning preliminaries (49.29). Sophomore Chase Kinney rounded out the group with an eighth-place finish and ‘B’ cut time of 49.52.
Senior Nick Schafer posted the second-fastest time ever by a badger in the 200-yard breaststroke, coming in at 1:54.92 to place third and pick up a ‘B’ cut. Jake Mandli placed 15th (2:01.25) and Josh Anderson touched 23rd (2:03.88).
Oconomowoc native Anna Meinholz captured sixth place in the 200 breaststroke and a ‘B’ cut time of 2:15.61, while Maria Carlson placed 19th in 2:15.96 to earn a ‘B’ cut as well. Holtzen placed 24th (2:23.95).
In the 200-yard butterfly, senior captain Nick Caldwell placed third with a ‘B’ cut time of 1:44.75, a personal best and the second-fastest time in school annals. Sophomore Harrison Tran also collected a personal best and finished 27th (1:48.56).
For the women in the 200 butterfly, Dana Grindall posted a ‘B’ cut time of 1:58.79 in finals to earn seventh place. It was the Orange, Connecticut, native’s swim in preliminaries (1:58.13) that set a personal best and went down as the second-fastest time in program history.
In the final event of the meet, Clifton, Zito, Pinfold and Caldwell combined to place fourth in the 400-yard freestyle with a ‘B’ cut time of 2:56.03. Martin, Van Hout, Kinney and Grindall teamed up for a second place finish with a “B” cut time of 3:17.04.
Wisconsin breaks before traveling to California to face USC for a dual meet on Jan. 10, 2015.
Utah
During the final day at the Texas Invitational, Bence Kiraly takes first in the 1,650 free breaking the current school record.
Bence Kiraly came away with the win in the 1,650 free with a time of 14:51.17, which broke the school record in the event set by Kiraly last year at the Pac-12 Championships and is an NCAA-B qualifying time.
Other swimmers finished with NCAA-B standard times including Amanda Barrett taking tenth in the 200 back with a time of 1:57.84. Giuliana Gilgiotti took sixth in the 100 free in 49.45. Stina Colleou took fifth in the 200 breast in 2:10.98. In the 100 free, Alex Fernandes finished in 13th with a time of 43.79. Quillian Oak took 12th in the 200 breast in 1:59.05 with Jack Burton taking 17th with a time of 1:59.10. In the 200 fly, Luis Macias came in 19th with a time of 1:47.52. Kristian Kron took 11th in the 200 back in 1:45.49.
In the 1650 free, Maddie Meisel came in seventh with a time of 16:37.36 with Kat Wickham in 15th (16:58.63). Also in the event was Selin Ozturk in 24th (17:15.00), Maddie Velez in 29th (17:26.76), Maudee Miner in 30th (17:33.21), Maryssa McArthur in 32nd (17:37.42) and Gabby Hestwood in 34th (17:38.81).
Hailey Pabst touched in at 17th in the 200 back with a time of 2:00.26.
Teaming up for fourth in the 400 free relay was Madeline Jamora, Dorien Butter, Rhianna Williams and Gilgiotti with a time of 3:19.87. Also in the relay was team of Erika Nist, Hailey Pabst, Jenna Marsh and Sophie Fiscella who took 20th (3:29.54) with team of Ashlyn Karosas, Petra Soininen, Brianna Francis and Jenna Griffith in 23rd (3:33.83).
Taking 15th in the 100 free was Madeline Jamora with a time of 50.28 with Williams in 20th (50.51) and Butter following in 21st (50.61).
Soininen came in 12th in the 200 fly with a time of 2:00.09 with Isabella Kearns in 21st (2:03.00) and Paolina Carnevale in 32nd (2:06.90). Also finishing in 21st was Francis in the 200 breast with a time of 2:17.53).
For the men, Jay Bolinger touched in 10th in the 1,650 free with a time of 15:19.64 with Brandon Shreeve in 16th (15:19.64), Peter Kotson in 17th (15:33.31) and Andy Cunningham in 18th (15:34.05). Also in the event was 22nd place Calvin Rogers (15:44.17) and Robby Miner in 25th (15:48.43).
In the 400 free relay, team of Nick Soedel, Fernandes, Sean Bloore and Kiraly took sixth with a time of 2:56.50. Team of Kron, David Fraser, Oak and Keanu Interone teamed together to take 16th in the relay (3:03.95).
Brandon Young took 20th in the 200 breast with a time of 2:00.41. Nolan Rogers came in 26th (2:01.82), Keith Schendel in 30th (2:03.75) and Kyle Owens in 31st (2:03.86).
Touching in 24th in the 200 fly was Chris Taber with a time of 1:48.78. Scott took 26th (1:48.29) with Fraser taking 28th in the event (1:48.59).
In the 200 back, Deckard came in 26th with a time of 1:47.33 with Andy Cunningham taking 29th (1:49.82).
The Utes will take a break from competition for a couple weeks before returning to action on Jan. 9 where they will take on Arizona State. The meet will take place at the Mona Plummer Aquatic Center in Tempe, Ariz.
Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame women’s swimming team wrapped up an impressive week at the Texas Invitational Saturday, as the Irish racked up six NCAA B cuts in the evening session and turned in eight top-12 finishes.
In the first race of the final session, freshman Molly Treble secured 12th place in the 1,650 free by touching the pad in 16:52.61.
Following the 1,650, the Irish started to rack up NCAA B cuts, starting with sophomore Katie Miller in the 200 back, who clocked a 1:58.61 to finish 12th.
Sophomore Catherine Mulquin placed 11th in the 100 free with an NCAA B cut time of 49.82, while senior Bridget Casey took 10th in the 200 fly in 1:58.69 (NCAA B cut).
In the only A finals swim of the night, senior Courtney Whyte had the best showing of the weekend for the Irish, as the Lafayette, California native took fifth in an NCAA B cut time of 1:58.46.
Lastly, freshman Sherri McIntee (9th – 2:13.95) and junior Genevieve Bradford (11-th 2:15.84) both clocked NCAA B cuts in the 200 breast.
The 400 free relay team closed out the fall with a 10th place showing. The foursome of Elizabeth House, Mulquin, Bradford and Catherine Galletti stopped the clock in 3:23.47.
BYU
Co-captains Jake Taylor and Hayden Palmer combined to break three school records for BYU as the Texas Invite wrapped up in Austin, Texas, Saturday.
“We had an amazing meet, it was one of the best we’ve had in many years,” head coach John Brooks said. “Jake (Taylor) and Hayden (Palmer) breaking the records is awesome. Almost everyone that came here had lifetime-best times in at least one event and a lot of season-best times.”
Taylor set new BYU records in the 100-yard backstroke (45.95) and 200 back (1:40.51) while Palmer added a school record in the 200-yard butterfly touching the wall in 1:45.91.
True freshman Luis Ventura finished 13th in the men’s 1,650-yard freestyle coming in with a time of 15:30.34
Haley Bertoldo earned a top-15 finish when she came in at 15th in the women’s 200 back finishing in 2:00.27.
Rafael Alfaro finished 13th in the men’s 200 back touching the wall at 1:59.09.
The BYU women’s 400-yard freestyle relay team finished 14th. The team, made up of Lauren Shaw Taylor, Brenna Dickson, Emily Harris and Andrea Grant Richards, finished the relay in 3:26.94.
McKay King, Alfaro, Palmer and Taylor finished ninth in the 400 free relay, touching the wall in 3:00.11.
The Cougars head to San Diego for training camp Dec. 28-Jan 3. They don’t have their next meet until they head to Tempe, Arizona, Jan. 10 to take on Arizona State.
