KAZAN, Russia – University of Houston rising sophomores Micaela Bouter and Sharo Rodriguez will represent the Cougar Swimming & Diving team at the 2015 FINA World Aquatics Championships, to be held July 24 – Aug. 9 at the Kazan Arena (swimming) and the Kazan Aquatics Palace (diving) in Kazan, Russia.
Bouter, a diver from Johannesburg, South Africa, will compete in both the 1-meter and 3-meter springboard events in Kazan after placing second in both disciplines at the SwimSA Championships in April. The preliminary round of the 1-meter will take place at 7 a.m. CT, Sunday, July 26, and the top-12 competitors will advance to the finals, to be held at 7 a.m. CT, Tuesday, July 28.
The preliminary round of the 3-meter dive will be held at 2 a.m. CT, Friday, July 31, with the top-16 competitors moving to a semifinal round that begins immediately after prelims. The top-12 from the semifinals will dive in the finals, which will be held at 11:30 a.m. CT, Saturday, Aug. 1.
Rodriguez, out of Queretaro, Mexico, will swim in the 100- and 200-meter butterfly events after a strong showing at the Olimpiada Nacional 2015 (Mexican National Meet) in April.
Preliminary rounds of the 100-meter butterfly start at 1:30 a.m. CT, Sunday, Aug. 2, and the semifinal round starts later that day at 9:30 a.m. CT. The finals will be held on Monday, Aug. 3, with the session starting at 9:30 a.m. CT.
Prelims of the 200-meter butterfly will be held on Wednesday, Aug. 5, with the session beginning at 1:30 a.m. CT, and the semifinal round is part of a session that begins at 9:30 a.m. CT on the same day. The 200-meter butterfly finals session starts at 9:30 a.m. CT, Thursday, Aug. 6.
Both Bouter and Rodriguez were All-American Athletic Conference selections in their freshman seasons. Bouter earned a second-place finish in the 1-meter springboard, while Rodriguez placed third in the 200-yard butterfly.
Fans can follow the action live from Kazan at the meet’s official webpage, kazan2015.com, or by following FINA’s official Twitter accounts, @fina1908 and @finakazan2015.
HOUSTON’S SUCCESS ON THE WORLD STAGE
The Houston Swimming & Diving program has a rich history of sending student-athletes, alumni and coaches into international competition, including 21 Olympians. Bouter and Rodriguez are the first Cougars to compete at the FINA World Championships since 2011, when divers Julia Lonnegren (Sweden) and Anastasia Pozdniakova (Russia) participated in Shanghai, China. Houston representatives last medaled at the event in 2009, when Pozdniakova won bronze in the 3-meter synchronized event and Yulia Pakhalina (Russia) finished with gold in the 1-meter springboard.
BOUTER’S WORLD CHAMPIONSHPS SCHEDULE
Sunday, July 26 1m prelims 7 a.m. CT (3 p.m. local)
Tuesday, July 28 1m finals 7 a.m. CT (3 p.m. local)
Friday, July 31 3m prelims 2 a.m. CT (10 a.m. local)
Friday, July 31 3m semifinals 7 a.m. CT (3 p.m. local)
Saturday, Aug. 1 3m finals 11:30 a.m. CT (7:30 p.m. local)
RODRIGUEZ’S WORLD CHAMPIONSHPS SCHEDULE
Sunday, Aug. 2 100m fly prelims 1:30 a.m. CT (9:30 a.m. local)*
Sunday, Aug. 2 100m fly semifinals 9:30 a.m. CT (5:30 p.m. local)*
Monday, Aug. 3 100m fly finals 9:30 a.m. CT (5:30 p.m. local)*
Wednesday, Aug. 5 200m fly prelims 1:30 a.m. CT (9:30 a.m. local)*
Wednesday, Aug. 5 200m fly semifinals 9:30 a.m. CT (5:30 p.m. local)*
Thursday, Aug. 6 200m fly finals 9:30 a.m. CT (5:30 p.m. local)*
* – A multi-event session begins at the time listed
COUGARS SET FOR WOCHOMURKA ERA
Houston Head Coach Ryan Wochomurka recently released the 2015-16 Houston Swimming & Diving schedule, a challenging slate that includes 15 competitions, including six separate home meets at the newly renovated Campus Recreation & Wellness Center Natatorium. The season begins on Oct. 2, while the annual Red & White Meet on Oct. 16 is the team’s home opener.
Houston will host the American Athletic Conference Championships for the first time as the best swimmers and divers in the league visit the CRWC from Feb. 17-20, 2016. Following the conference meet, the Cougars will look to close the season at the NCAA Championships, to be held March 17-19, 2016 in Atlanta.
FOLLOW THE COUGARS!
Fans can keep up with the latest in University of Houston Cougar athletics by following us on Facebook (Facebook.com/HoustonAthletics), Twitter (@UHCougars), Instagram (houstoncougars) and YouTube.com (Youtube.com/UHAthletics). In addition, the swimming & diving team has established its own official Facebook (Facebook.com/HoustonCougarSwimmingDiving) and Twitter pages (@UHCougarSwim), which provide regular updates on the team and live results during home meets.
Swimming news courtesy of Houston Swimming & Diving.
