SAN ANTONIO – Rice won all six events on Sunday’s final day of action to claim the team title at the annual Incarnate Word Invitational in San Antonio.
The Owls amassed 1,830.5 points to win the three-day meet for the second time in as many years. Host Incarnate Word was second with 1,470 points. Houston was third (1,075 pts.) and North Texas fourth (507.5 pts.).
With six wins Sunday the Owls ended the weekend winning 14 of the 18 swim events, four of which were relays. Sophomore Kaitlyn Swinney added an individual victory Sunday in the 200-backstroke (2:00.14) for three wins in three days. The sophomore from Fort Bend, Texas, led a 1-2-3 finish in the in the event with Kiley Beall (2:03.01) and Carly Pratt (2:05.08).
The Owls also scored big with five in the final of the 100-freestyle. Senior Cora McKenzie came from behind to win the event with a season-best 51.53, just ahead of teammate Jaecey Parham‘s second place 51.61.
The distance tandem of Hanna Huston and Anniina Ala-Seppala finished 1-2 in the mile with times of 16:56.73 and 17:08.95, respectively. Sophomore Kaitlin Benjamin was fifth with a season-best 17:21.58. Benjamin then returned later in the meet to win the 200-butterly with a steady 2:02.99.
Freshman Marie-Claire Schillinger followed Saturday’s win in the 100-breaststroke with a convincing victory in the 200-breaststroke. Fellow Rice rookie Dani Gordon was third with a 2:19.93.
Three of the Rice winners, Swinney, McKenzie and Schillinger, were joined by senior Shannon Foreman for a win the 400-freestyle relay (3:32.42) to close out the meet. The Owls won the race, but no less than three other Rice entries in the event claimed each of the next three spots for the rare A-B-C-D relay sweep.
The Rice swimmers are next in action on January 3. The Owls face nationally-ranked Florida Gulf Coast University dual meet in Tampa, Fla.
Swimming news courtesy of Rice Swimming & Diving.
