HOUSTON – The University of Houston Swimming & Diving team returns to action as they head north on I-45 to face American Athletic Conference foe SMU at 7 p.m., Friday in Southlake, Texas, then head to Denton, Texas to face in-state rival North Texas at noonon Saturday.
THIS WEEK
Friday, Oct. 28 | vs. SMU (Southlake, Texas), 7 p.m.
Live Stats
Saturday, Oct. 29 | vs. North Texas (Denton, Texas), Noon
OPPONENT PREVIEW
SMU rv
Last Meeting: SMU won 158-142 (Oct. 30, 2015)
This is the second meeting between the Cougars and the defending American Athletic Conference Champion Mustangs this season after first facing off at the North Texas Relays on Sept. 30. Houston won the four-team relay event, while SMU finished in second. The Mustangs are coming off a fifth-place finish at the SMU Classic. The Mustangs are receiving 16 votes in the first CSCAA NCAA Division I Swimming & Diving Pool, outside of the top 25 by four votes.
North Texas
Last Meeting: North Texas won 164.5-135.5 (Oct. 31, 2015)
The Mean Green’s last meet was Oct. 15 at the Little Rock Invitational where North Texas finished first overall. UNT won both relay events, 200-yard medley relay and 200-yard freestyle relay, while senior diver Samantha Scheck swept the one-and three-meter boards.
LAST TIME OUT
True freshmen Peyton Kondis, Sydney Larson and Isabel Tank combined to win four individual events at the Houston Pentathlon, while sophomores Eleanna Koutsouveli and Ksenia Yuskova, and junior Sharo Rodriguez won three individual events as the Cougars tied Missouri State for first at the Missouri State Invitational. Kondis’ time in the 100-yard breaststroke at the Houston Pentathlon is an NCAA B-cut standard time. Newcomers Gaby Jimenez, Kondis, Laura Laderoute, Victoria Roubique and Yuskova accounted for eight times that entered the program’s top-10 best times.
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 Ashley 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 Yuskova along with freshmen Hanna Blewett, Zarena Brown, Lauren Burrell, Jimenez, Kondis, Laderoute, Larson, Claire Liptak, Emily Longfellow, Hannah Middleton, Roubique and Tank.
UP NEXT
The Cougars will travel across town for the Rice Invitational, held Nov. 4-5 at the Aquatics Center Natatorium. Houston will face Rice, Air Force and Loyola (New Orleans).
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.
FOLLOW THE COUGARS!
Fans can keep up with the latest in University of Houston Cougar athletics by following us on Facebook (Facebook.com/HoustonAthletics), Twitter (@UHCougars), Instagram (houstoncougars) and YouTube.com (Youtube.com/UHAthletics). In addition, the swimming & diving team has established its own official Facebook (Facebook.com/HoustonCougarSwimmingDiving) and Twitter pages (@UHCougarSwim), which provide regular updates on the team and live results during home meets.
Swimming news courtesy of Houston Swimming & Diving.
hannah herbstttt slaYYS!