The University of Texas team claimed their first dual meet of the season versus Rice. The Longhorns topped the Owls 149-99 in both their season opening meet in Austin.
Texas went 1-2 in the 200 medley relay. The team of Tasija Karosas, Madisyn Cox, Brynee Wong, and Gretchen Jaques were the top finishers at 1:43.69. Also noteworthy with that relay is, the first three swimmers are freshman, but Texas did split their talent between the A & B relays.
The Owls team of Shelly Patton, Rachel Moody, Casey Clark and Cora McKenzie were third in the 200-medley relay with a time of 1:46.06.
Finishing first in the long distance event of the meet was junior transfer Kimmy Phillips. Phillips was an NCAA qualifier last year at North Texas. She kicked off her Longhorn career with a win in the 1000 freestyle at 10:12.44.
Senior Samantha Tucker had a race in the 200 freestyle, but edged out Owl junior Casey Clark at the will. Tucker finished 1:48.91 while Clark was 1:49.27 for second.
Senior Lily Moldenhauer stole the show in the women’s 100 backstroke. She threw down a 54.05 to post the Horn’s first NCAA B-cut of the season. Right behind her was her freshman teammate Tasija Karosas, who also napped that NCAA B-cut with her second place time at 54.91.
Freshman Rebecca Baxley would finish at 57.16 for the Longhorns for a one-two-three sweep of this event.
Texas got a one-two-three finish in the 100 breaststroke from junior Skylar Smith and freshman Jordan Surhoff. Smith was 1:04.21, while Surhoff was 1:04.41, respectively. Junior Rachel Moody from Rice wrapped up the top three finish in the event at 1:05.54.
The Longhorn 200 butterflyers were not about to break the streak of three straight one-two Texas finishes. They kept that alive, plus lead a one-two-three sweep of the event with junior Kaitlin Pawlowicz, her classmate Kelsey LeNeave, and Victoria Cassidy – 2:01.46, 2:04.28, 2:06.05.
Senior sprinter Ellen Lobb won the 50 was an easy 23.21. Sophomore Cora McKenzie took third in the 50 for the Owls, 24.09.
In the second sprint of the evening, Jaques led another one-two-three sweep for Texas in the 100 freestyle, her time of 50.32 almost a second ahead of the her teammate Lobb.
The Longhorns got their third and fourth NCAA B-cut of the day from Moldenhauer with a 1:58.12 200 backstroke. Karosas got her second cut with a time of 1:58.82. Moldenhauer would go on to win her third event of the meet in the 100 butterfly, 54.98, which ended up being an exhibition swim for points.
Another freshman from the Longhorns got her first collegiate win tonight in the 200 breaststroke. Madisyn Cox finished at 2:15.93. Shelly Patton, sophomore Rice Owl, got a hand in the top three for the Owls with a 2:23.71 200 breaststroke.
Rice had a strong showing the distance races with junior Erin Flaniganm taking two second places in the 500yd. freestyle (5:03.97) and 1000yd. freestyle (10:15.47). Pawlowicz won the 500 freestyle, her second event of the night, in 4:55.88, but exhibitioned the points.
Cox collected her second swim of the meet in the 200IM with a time of 2:01.98, but it was an exhibition like her teammates preceding. Patton finished third in the 200 IM, her second third place finish in the meet for the Owls, at 2:07.28.
The Longhorns finished their first home meet with a team of Jaques, Tucker, freshman MaKayla Markey and Karosas to finish first, but again an exhibition swim, in the 200 freestyle relay at 1:34.73.
The sprint freestyle relay closed the meet out in Austin. Rice’s sprint relay team of Clark, Chelsea Fong, Marissa Konicke and Cora McKenzie finished second at 1:36.33 That time is the fastest amongst the Conference USA schools this season.
Thoughts from Carol Capitanit from the University of Texas Official Press Release:
“I’m proud of our newcomers,” Capitani added. “With a lot of the freshmen, we’ll just have to raise their expectations. One of the freshmen said college swimming is fast. And, it is. They’re used to high school swimming. But, they’re doing things in practice they’ve never done before, so we’re expecting them to do things in meets they’ve never done.”
The Texas women will join the Texas men to host North Carolina on Oct. 17.
The Owl swim team will host its next meet on Oct. 25-26 as part of the annual two-day Rice Invitational.