Courtesy: Texas Athletics
AUSTIN, Texas – Texas Women’s Swimming and Diving swept the Southeastern Conference’s (SEC) annual women’s swimming and diving awards to conclude the 2024-25 season, the conference office announced Thursday morning. Head coach Carol Capitani was named Women’s Swimming Coach of the Year while senior Emma Sticklen was honored as Female Swimmer of the Year to highlight a plethora of awards received by the program.
Fifth-year Abby Arens, who transferred in from NC State, was selected as Female Newcomer Swimmer of the Year and Jillian Cox was the recipient of Female Freshman Swimmer of the Year. On the diving side, Matt Scoggin was named Women’s Diving Coach of the Year to go along with Alejandra Estudillo Torres earning both Female Co-Diver of the Year (sharing with LSU’s Montserrat Gutierrez Lavenant) and Female Freshman Diver of the Year. Sophomore Bayleigh Cranford lauded Female Newcomer Diver of the Year honors.
Sticklen, Arens, Cox, Grace Cooper, Piper Enge and Ava Longi landed on the All-SEC First Team while Estudillo Torres, Olivia Bray, Campbell Chase, Erin Gemmell, Hailey Hernandez, Kate Hurst, Lillie Nesty and Campbell Stoll received Second-Team All-SEC praise. Additionally, Estudillo Torres, Chase, Enge, Nesty and Taylor Fox were placed on the All-Freshman team.
For the All-SEC Teams, the First Team consists of the top finisher in each event at the SEC Championships, and the Second Team consists of the second- and third-place finishers in each event. The All-Freshman Teams consist of any redshirt or true freshman who finished either in the top eight or is the highest scoring freshman of each event at the SEC Championships, excluding relay events.
Capitani was instrumental in Texas winning the 2025 SEC Championship as a first-year league member, marking UT’s 13th-consecutive conference title (12 Big 12, 1 SEC) across two conferences. The Longhorns concluded the season with a third-place finish at the 2025 NCAA Championships in Federal Way, Wash., on March 22. Texas has placed among the top-three at the national meet for the fifth year in a row under Capitani. The stretch of five-consecutive top-three finishes is the longest for Texas since 1992-95. Capitani has been awarded a conference coach of the year for the ninth-straight year and the 11th time overall throughout her career.
Sticklen won her third-consecutive NCAA title in the 200 fly, destroying the NCAA record in a time of 1:49.11 on March 22. The Katy, Texas, native was tabbed SEC Swimmer of the Meet and shared the Commissioner’s Cup Trophy following the SEC Championship on Feb. 22. She became the first Longhorn swimmer to win three-consecutive national titles since Leigh Ann Fetter captured three in a row in the 50 free, 100 free and 200 free from 1989-91. Following the national meet, Sticklen hauled in seven All-America honors. At the SEC Championship, she won five events, taking home gold in the 200 medley relay, 200 free relay, 200 IM, 100 fly, and 200 fly. She also helped Texas secure a runner-up finish in the 400 free relay. She also smashed her own then-SEC record and dismantled the conference meet record in the 200 fly after winning that event at conference meet in 1:49.17. At NCAAs, she broke her own school record in the 100 fly, touching the wall in 49.27, to claim third on March 21. She lowered her own school record in the 200 IM during prelims at NCAAs, posting a final time of 1:52.11. She went on to finish seventh during finals.
Arens was an integral part of Texas’ 200 medley and 200 free relay teams that took home gold at the 2025 SEC Championships. The Raleigh, N.C., product earned bronze in the 100 fly (51.21) and recorded a season-best time of 2:07.94 in the 200 breast to finish fourth at the SEC Championships. She was part of Texas’ 400 free relay time that shattered the school record (3:09.26) to finish runner-up at the SEC Championships. Arens was on the 200 medley relay team that finished sixth at the NCAA Championships in 1:34.00. Also at the national meet, she secured a sixth-place finish in the 100 fly, touching the wall in a personal-best time of 50.90, and placed eighth in the 200 free relay (1:27.00). She helped Texas tie for seventh with Indiana in the 400 free relay at NCAAs, finishing in 3:10.47.
Cox made a splash during her first collegiate season, winning the NCAA crown in the 1,650 free, dismantling competition after touching the wall in 15:33.54. She also double dipped and won the NCAA title in 500 free, throwing down a final time of 4:31.58, to sweep the distance events at the national meet. The Cedar Park, Texas, native won SEC Championship in the 1,650 free in a sensational 15:30.33, smothering her previous school record while setting an SEC meet and pool record. She took down the SEC Championships record in the 500 free in 4:31.54 to win the event. She was also selected as one of four finalists for the 2025 Honda Award for Swimming earlier this month.
Scoggin was also named the CSCAA’s Women’s Diving Coach of the Year for the second-consecutive year in addition to receiving SEC Women’s Diving Coach of the Year. He was also named the SEC’s Men’s Diving Coach of the Year as well. In his 31st season, Scoggin has established Texas as one of the premier diving programs across the country. UT’s women’s divers led the field and recorded a combined 92 team points at the 2025 NCAA Championships. Under his tutelage, Texas had three divers score in both the 1-meter and 3-meter events, along with two athletes scoring on the platform. Scoggin also guided freshman Alejandra Estudillo Torres to a championship victory in the 3-meter event. Estudillo Torres placed sixth in the 1-meter and 10th in the platform. Sophomore Bayleigh Cranford finished third in the platform and seventh in the 3-meter to take home two All-American honors. Senior Hailey Hernandez finished fifth in the 1-meter to earn All-America recognition.
Estudillo Torres won NCAA title in the 3-meter after totaling a season-high score of 389.40 and finished sixth in the 1-meter with a score of 316.30 to receive two All-America honors. The Nuevo Leon, Mexico, native won the platform consolation final and placed 10th overall in the event at NCAAs with a score of 321.40. At the NCAA Zone D Diving Championships, she won platform with a final score of 639.85 and won the 3-meter, registering a score of 687.45. Estudillo Torres also finished runner-up in the 1-meter at the NCAA Zone D Diving Championships with a final score of 615.15. At the SEC Championship, she recorded a pair of silvers after finishing runner-up in both the 3-meter and platform.
Cranford, who transferred to UT from NC State, finished sixth in the platform at the NCAA Championship with a final score of 328.50, receiving her second All-America selection of the meet. She placed seventh in the 3-meter at the NCAA Championship, compiling 337.65 to be named First-Team All-America. In the 1-meter, she finished 13th en route to earning Honorable Mention All-America. She earned a sixth-place finish on the platform and an eighth-place finish in the 3-meter at the NCAA Zone D Diving Championships. At the SEC Championships, Cranford finish fourth in the 3-meter with a final score of 331.80. She also tallied a seventh-place finish in the 1-meter with a final score of 278.40.
