HOUSTON vs SMU vs NORTH TEXAS (women’s dual)
- Saturday, October 20th
- Dallas, TX
- Short Course Yards
- Results
TEAM SCORES
- Houston – 152.5, SMU – 147.5
- Houston – 229, North Texas – 71
- SMU – 198, North Texas – 101
Houston’s Haley Benjamin added 2 wins in a double dual with SMU and North texas. Benjamin took the 1000 free with a 10:23.21, and posted a 5:02.40 to win the 500 in a tight race with North texas’ Leigh Faires McGee (5:02.73). Houston’s Zarena Brown took the 200 free with a 1:51.07.
SMU’s Erin Trahan posted a some quick times to pull off a triple event win. Trahan swam a 54.73 to win the 100 fly, taking the event by 1.5 seconds. She swam a 23.59 to win the 50 free, and took the 100 free with a 51.77. Trahan also split 24.19 on the winning 200 medley relay.
SMU’s Andrea Podmaikova swept the breast events, and and took the 200 IM. First, Podmanikova split 28.72 on the breast leg of the 200 medley relay. She then swam to victory in the 100 breast with a 1:03.83. In the 200, she swam a 2:18.06, winning by nearly 4 seconds. To cap off the meet, she took the 200 IM in a final time of 2:05.58.
PRESS RELEASE – HOUSTON:
HOUSTON – The University of Houston Swimming & Diving team closed out a four-week stretch of meet action with wins over in-state foes, SMU and North Texas Saturday afternoon in Dallas.
“We showed great toughness again and our depth really allowed us the chance at the win today,” said Head Coach Ryan Wochomurka. “It has been a very hard four-week stretch of training and racing every weekend, and being on the road three weeks in a row has been a challenge. In spite of that we had some individuals really shine today, and show some great adjustments and improvements from last week. We are very eager to return home to UH for the Phill Hansel Invitational four weeks from now.”
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Houston posted a total of 26 podium finishes and at least one in each event.
- The Cougars outscored the Mustangs 152.50 to 147.50 and North Texas 229.00 to 71.00 for its fourth and fifth dual victories of the season.
- The Cougars closed out their fourth straight week of action with six first-place finishes.
- Haley Benjamin continues to have an impressive debut season with two first-place finishes. Benjamin won the 1000 Freestyle (10:23.21) and the 500 Freestyle (5:02.40).
- Laura Laderoute posted a top finished in the 100 Backstroke with a time of 56.62 and posted another podium finish in the 200 Backstroke (3rd, 2:04.80).
- Zarena Brown bested the competition in the 200 Freestyle, finishing first at 1:51.07.
- The Cougars posted three podium finishes in the two relays that were raced, finishing second and third in the 200 Medley Relay (2nd, 1:44.45) (3rd, 1:47.04) and first in the 400 Freestyle at 3:27.37.
- On the boards, Katie Deininger won the 1-Meter springboard with 250.60 points. In the 3-Meter, Deininger and Jaylynn Whitt posted second and third-place finishes with 275.85 points and 260.60 points respectively.
HOUSTON PODIUM FINISHES
200 Medley Relay
2. Laura Laderoute, Angeliki Mavrantza, Victoria Tillman, Katie Power – 1:44.45
3. Kaley Hoffman, Gaby Jimenez, Katie Higgins, Hannah Middleton – 1:47.04
1000 Freestyle
1. Haley Benjamin – 10:23.21
3. Shayla Erickson – 10:30.24
200 Freestyle
1. Zarena Brown – 1:51.07
3. Samantha Medlin – 1:52.13
100 Backstroke
1. Laura Laderoute – 56.62
3. Eleanna Koutsouveli – 57.56
100 Breaststroke
2. Angeliki Mavrantza – 1:05.26
3. Gaby Jimenez – 1:05.79
200 Butterfly
2. Rebecca Brandt – 2:04.19
3. Morgan Rosas – 2:06.01
50 Freestyle
Mykenzie Leehy – 24.14
1-Meter
1. Katie Deininger – 250.60
100 Freestyle
3. Mykenzie Leehy – 52.30
200 Backstroke
2. Eleanna Koutsouveli – 2:04.35
3. Laura Laderoute – 2:04.80
200 Breaststroke
2. Gaby Jimenez – 2:21.97
3. Angeliki Mavrantza – 2:23.52
500 Freestyle
1. Haley Benjamin – 5:02.40
3. Samantha Medlin – 5:05.06
100 Butterfly
3. Rebecca Brandt – 57.09
3-Meter
2. Katie Deininger – 275.85
3. Jaylynn Whitt – 260.60
200 IM
3. Morgan Rosas – 2:07.19
400 Freestyle Relay
1. Mykenzie Leehy, Samantha Medlin, Zarena Brown, Kylie Andrews – 3:27.37
UP NEXT
Houston will return to action Nov. 16-18 at its annual Phill Hansel Invitational. The three-day meet features teams from across the country in a championship style setting.
PRESS RELEASE – SMU:
DALLAS (SMU) – The SMU women’s swimming and diving team went 1-1 in double-dual action against Houston and North Texas on Saturday at the Robson & Lindley Aquatics Center. The Mustangs defeated UNT, 198-101, but narrowly fell to Houston 152.50-147.50.
The Mustangs won 10 of the 16 events in the meet, with junior Erin Trahan and sophomore Andrea Podmanikovawinning three individual races and helping SMU to a win in the 200-yard medley relay.
Trahan picked up wins in the 50- and 100-yard freestyles, as well as the 100-yard butterfly. Podmanikova paced the field in the 100- and 200-yard breaststrokes and the 200-yard individual medley. The duo paired up with Gabi Grobler and Felicity Passon for the 200 medley relay victory.
Freshman Olivia Grossklaus touched first in the 200-yard butterfly, while Grobler won the 200-yard backstroke.
In diving action, freshman Johanna Holloway won her first event as a Mustang, earning the victory on 3 meter. On 1 meter, Holloway and Taylor Ohlhauser placed second and third, respectively.
The Mustangs are back in action Nov. 2 when they host TCU and Iowa State for homecoming. The event is slated for 6 p.m. and will also feature the SMU men.
PRESS RELEASE – NORTH TEXAS:
DALLAS – North Texas swimming and diving competed against the University of Houston and Southern Methodist University on Saturday, falling to both schools in a double-dual meet at the Robson & Lindley Aquatic Center.
SMU scored 198 points against North Texas while the Mean Green racked up 101 points. Houston defeated both schools, scoring 229 points against North Texas. The Mean Green’s top performer was sophomore Leigh Faires McGee who won two silver medals both in freestyle events. McGee first placed second in the 200-yard freestyle (1:51.43) before placing second in the 500-yard freestyle (5:02.73).
“[McGee] had a great day,” head coach Brittany Roth said. “She’s been really holding in on that 200 and 500. We decided to throw her in the 50 free and she really stepped up to the challenge. It was really exciting to watch.”
The Mean Green got podium finishes as well from senior Brittany Thurstin in the 50-yard freestyle (24.12) in second and rounded out the day with a third-place finish by the 400-yard freestyle relay team made up of McGee, senior Emmabeth Jensen, freshman Bryanna Vasquez and Thurstin (3:30.52).
McGee and Jensen came fourth and fifth respectively in the 50-yard freestyle behind Thurstin.
“Overall i thougth it was a pretty good meet for us,” Roth said. “We got to see in quite a few instances where the girls went similar times from last time but were being more aggresive on the front end. We know it will pay off later once they are rested and have their feet under them.”
North Texas placed fourth in the 200-yard medley relay with a time of 1:48.24 boosted by an impressive time from freshman Karigan Stanely, who swam her leg in 24.12. Junior Jowita Sienczyk swam the 100-yard backstroke in 57.59 to come fourth.
Senior Meaghan Roussett finished fourth in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:06.33. Her twin sister Kathleen finished the same heat in 1:07.79.
Junior Averie Ruiz had the team high mark in diving when she scored 219.95 for her 3-meter dive.
“We came away from today being smarter about how we are racing,” Roth said. “We are really taking a look at how we do small things daily. We got beat sometimes on some small skills, things we should be working on day in and day out. Hopefully walking away with the mindset of how to sharpen those fine little details.”
The team returns to action on October 27 for the Alumni Green & White meet at the Pohl Rec Center in preparation for the Kansas Classic on Nov. 16-18 in Topeka, Kansas. The divers prepare for the Phill Hansel Invitation that will run concurrent with the Kansas Classic at the University of Houston.
