The University of Houston swimming and diving team is set to host the annual Phill Hansel Invitational fromNov. 21-23 at the Campus Recreation & Wellness Center Natatorium. Houston hosts six other teams including Idaho, Fresno State, New Mexico State, North Texas, Rice and Tulane.
The three-day meet begins each day with a morning preliminary session at 10 a.m. and diving prelims starting at 11 a.m.Following a break, the teams will head back to the pool at 6 p.m. Thursday-Friday and at 5 p.m. on Saturday for the swimming finals. Diving finals begin at 5 p.m. on Thursday and Friday with Saturday’s combined platform finals beginning at noon.
The Invitational is the Cougars largest event of the fall season and will feature 21 events with 13 individual races, five relays and completion across all three diving boards. The meet offers Houston a preview of a conference championship environment with multiple teams and scoring following a championship format.
“This great meet offers us a chance to honor Coach Hansel’s legacy and allows the swimmers and divers to compete against a blend of familiar faces and new faces with several out-of-town competitors coming to town to race in our outstanding facility,” said head swimming coach Rich Murphy.
“We are pursuing season best times in this competition on both and individual and team (relays) perspective. The support the team has shown for one another and their pride in being part of UH should shine through. I’d like to thank our volunteers, officials, and fans in advance for their support this weekend.”
Under first-year head swimming coach Rich Murphy, Houston is 2-0 in dual meets this year topping North Texas (128-109) and SMU (158-141) to begin the month of November. This meet concludes the fall completion portion of the schedule.
ORDER OF EVENTS
| Thursday | Friday | Saturday |
| 1/2: 200 Free Relay | 13/14: 200 Medley Relay | 29/30: 1650 Freestyle |
| 3/4: 500 Freestyle | 15/16: 400 I.M. | 31/32: 200 Backstroke |
| 5/6: 200 I.M. | 17/18: 100 Butterfly | 33/34: 100 Freestyle |
| 7/8: 50 Freestyle | 19/20: 200 Freestyle | 35/36: 200 Breaststroke |
| 9/10: Diving | 21/22: 100 Breaststroke | 37/38: 200 Butterfly |
| 11/12: 400 Medley Relay | 23/24: 100 Backstroke | 39/40: Platform Diving |
| 25/26: Diving | 41/42: 400 Freestyle Relay | |
| 27/28: 800 Freestyle Relay |
ABOUT PHILL HANSEL
This weekend’s meet is named in honor of former UH swimming and 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
UP NEXT
This meet wraps up Houston’s fall competition schedule with the next meet at Evansville, Ind. on Jan. 10.
This release was provided to SwimSwam.