Press Release Courtesy of Houston Athletics: Swimming Ready For Rice Invitational
Swimming Ready for Rice Invitational
Cougars head across town for two-day meet
HOUSTON – The University of Houston Swimming & Diving team heads across town for the Rice Invitational on Nov. 4 and 5. Friday’s start time is set for 5 p.m. with a double-session on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. at the Rice Competition Pool.
ORDER OF EVENTS
The 18-event meet features three sessions over two days as the Cougars will go head-to-head against host Rice and the U.S. Air Force Academy.
Session I (Friday, 5 p.m.): 400-yard Medley Relay, 500-yard Freestyle, 200-yard Individual Medley, 50-yard Freestyle and 800-yard Freestyle Relay.
Session II (Saturday, 10 a.m.): 200-yard Medley Relay, 400-yard Individual Medley, 100-yard Butterfly, 200-yard Freestyle, 100-yard Breaststroke, 100-yard Backstroke, 200-yard Freestyle, 1650-yard Freestyle.
Session III (Saturday, 2 p.m.): 200-yard Backstroke, 100-yard Freestyle, 200-yard Breaststroke, 200-yard Butterfly and 400yard Freestyle Relay.
LAST TIME OUT
Houston split their first weekend dual meets of the season, falling to SMU 170-128 on Friday and beating the Mean Green 160-140 on Saturday.
Despite the loss to SMU, Houston produced five event victories, from Micaela Bouter (1-meter), Zarena Brown (1000-yard freestyle), Lauren Burrell (3-meter) and Ashley Grijalva (100-yard breaststroke and 200-yard breaststroke).
Houston produced nine event victories at UNT dual meet, from Bouter (1-and 3-meter), Gaby Jimenez (400-yard IM), Eleanna Koutsouveli (200-yard backstroke), Laura Laderoute (100-yard backstroke), Sydney Larson (1000-yard freestyle and 500-yard freestyle) and Sharo Rodriguez (100- and 200-yard butterfly). Houston nabbed their first dual meet win over North Texas since Nov. 1, 2013.
RETURNERS
Houston is returning six of seven student-athletes from the 2016 All-American Conference Team. Sophomore Koutsouveli swept the backstroke events and podiumed in the 400 IM at the 2016 American Championships. Fellow Sophomore Hannah Herbst won the 500-yard freestyle and placed third in the 1,650-yard freestyle.
On the boards, diver Taylor Olanski will look to four-peat in the platform, while Micaela Bouter looks to defend her 3-meter crown.
Back in the pool, junior Grijalva won bronze in the 100-yard breaststroke, and senior Jasmine Williams earned a bronze medal in the 100-yard backstroke.
NEWCOMERS
The Cougars’ 2016 signing class includes Miami (Fla.) transfer Ksenia Yuskova along with freshmen Hanna Blewett, Brown, Burrell, Jimenez, Peyton Kondis, Laderoute, Larson, Claire Liptak, Emily Longfellow, Hannah Middleton, Victoria Roubique and Isabel Tank.
UP NEXT
The Cougars will host the Pearland Invitational at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center from Nov. 18-20. Houston will compete against 10 teams in the three-day invitational.
COUGARS TO HOST AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIP
Houston will host the American Athletic Conference Championships for the second consecutive year as the best swimmers and divers in the league visit the CRWC from Feb. 15-18, 2017. Following the conference meet, the Cougars will look to close the season at the NCAA Championships, to be held March 15-18, 2017 in Indianapolis, Ind.
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