Houston's dominant diving squad helped the hosts to a day 2 lead at the Phill Hansel Invite.
Houston Press Release
HOUSTON – Juniors Micaela Bouter and Ksenia Yuskova and the 800-yard freestyle relay led the way for the University of Houston Swimming team on the second day of the Phill Hansel Invitational Saturday night. Houston finished the night with seven top-three finishes, with freshman Peyton Kondis breaking a 100-yard breaststroke record at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center.
Houston holds onto first with a score of 917.50 after the second day of the invitational. Rice follows in second with a score of 827, and UC-Davis rounds out the podium with 554 points.
Houston honored its six seniors during Saturday’s ceremonies as swimmers Cameron Balkom, Michaela Hamrick, Rachel Hobbins, Marissa Lehman, Jasmine Williams and diver Taylor Olanski were recognized for their outstanding careers.
The Cougars garnered a podium finish in the first event of the evening. The relay team of Eleanna Koutsouveli, Peyton Kondis, Sharo Rodriguez and Cait Horner placed second overall after nabbing a time of 1:42.10.
In the 200-yard freestyle, Miami (Fla.) transfer Yuskova captured first beating out teammate Zarena Brown with a time of 1:46.79. Freshman Brown touched the wall at 1:47.47 to secure second place. Both times are NCCA B standards.
On the springboards, Bouter continues to dominate capturing first in the 3-meter dive. The Johannesburg, South Africa native netted her second win after posting a score of 332.10. Freshman Lauren Burrell followed in second with a score of 314.20.
During prelims, freshman Kondis broke the program’s record in the 100-yard breaststroke. The Pittsburg, Penn., native swam a time of 1:01.55 to top junior Ashley Grijalva’s time set on Feb. 19. During finals, Kondis finished third touching the wall at 1:01.64 to round out the podium. Her time is also a NCAA B cut time.
In the 100-yard backstroke, freshman Laura Laderoute placed third overall. The West Linn, Ore. native rounded out the podium with a time of 54.86, a NCAA B cut time.
The Cougars finished the night with a victory in the 800-yard freestyle relay. The team of Zarena Brown, Yuskova, Sydney Larson and Julie Gibson touched the wall at 7:20.57, beating second place Rice by two seconds.
ABOUT PHILL HANSEL
This weekend's meet is named in honor of former University of Houston Swimming & Diving Head Coach Phill Hansel. Hansel, considered the Father of Cougar Swimming and Diving, led the Cougars from 1975 to 1996, racking up 70 dual-meet victories, a school record that still stands. He helped UH finish in the Top-20 ten times at the AIAW and NCAA Championships.
Hansel, a 1949 graduate of Purdue, was named the Southwest Conference Coach of the Year three times during his tenure, and mentored 31 swimmers to All-America honors, including Diane Johannigman, the first NCAA swimming national champion in UH history.
Hansel also had an impressive resume at the international level, serving as the manager of the 1992 U.S. Olympics teams and working with the Singapore teams at the 1984 and 1988 Olympics.
UC Davis Press Release
HOUSTON, Texas -- UC Davis Solie Laughlin set four NCAA "B" marks and set a school record in winning both the 400 IM and 100 back, while sophomore Kristin Schumann set another NCAA "B" cut in the 100 breast to lead a group of five swimmers who set top-10 times in the record book on Saturday night, highlighting the Aggies' second day of competition at the 2016 Phill Hansel Invitational at the Campus Recration and Wellness Center Natatorium on the campus of the University of Houston.
Buoyed by those performances, UC Davis ended day two in third place overall with 520 points… Overall, the Aggies sent a total of 15 swimmers student-athletes into the finals on Saturday night.
Laughin, who contributed 64 individual points while also swimming the leadoff leg of the Aggies' 200 medley relay squad that finished fifth, shattered Heidi Kucera's school mark in the 400 IM with an NCAA "B" time of 4:11.91, shaving six seconds off her "B" cut prelim time to win the event. Kucera had held the record since 2009 with a time of 4:14.70.
The sophomore from Ventura, Calif., then took home individual honors in the 100 back later in the day, finishing with a time of 54.41 in the finals for another NCAA "B" cut after finishing first in the preliminary round with a time of 54.34.
Schumann also posted an NCAA "B" cut time of 1:02.48 in the finales of the 100 breast, lowering her season best time after swimming a 1:02.71 in the prelims and posting the fifth-best time in the event in school history. Roberts joined her in the record books, as her time of 1:02.56 in the finals of the 100 breast is just behind her teammate in sixth on the school's all-time list.
Freshman Cora McClelland posted the second-fastest time by an Aggie in the 100 fly this season during the prelims, touching in a time of 55.71, which ranks as the 10th fastest in school history. Junior Courtney Schultz finished with a season-best time of 1:50.51 in the prelims of the 200 free -- also the 10th fastest in school history -- while freshman Mia Cunnan touched in a time of 57.11, which ranks 10th on the school's all-time list.
Shaifali Goyal won the "B" final on the 3-meter board, scoring 242.25 -- the second highest score by an Aggie diver in the event this season -- while Angelina Proshak finished 19th with a prelim score of 183.10, before the Aggies wrapped up the night with a 10th place finish in the 800 free relay.
