In a meet that came down to the wire, the SMU women defeated Houston 158-142 on Friday. Marne Erasmus impressed with a 54.73 win in the 100 fly.
SMU:
HOUSTON (SMU) – In a dual meet that came down to the last two events to decide a winner, the No. 21 SMU women’s swimming and diving team swept the 200-yard individual medley and won the 400-yard freestyle relay to defeat American Athletic Conference opponent Houston, 158-142, on Friday evening.
Sophomore Adri Santa paced the Ponies in the 200 IM with a 2:07.59, while juniors Kirsty McLauchlan and Ursa Bezan rounded out the top three with times of 2:07.91 and 2:09.73, respectively.
It was a quick turnaround for Santa, as she swam the second leg of the 400 free relay, joining up with Vicky Cunningham, Marne Erasmus and Maddie Hoch for the win. The Mustangs touched the wall in 3:27.89, nearly four seconds ahead of the Cougars. SMU’s second relay placed third in the event.
“It was a meet of close races with each team turning in tough races and close finishes,” head coach Steve Collinssaid. “I am excited for our freshmen and transfers to get their first win. At the end of the meet our IMers and relays stepped up and closed out the meet. The entire team learned how to pull together and win a close event today.”
The event began with another victory for a Mustang relay group. This time it was the 200-yard medley team of Anna Volchkov, Tara-Lynn Nicholas, Erasmus and Cunningham that climbed atop the podium with a 1:44.63 for the win.
SMU proved dominate in freestyle events, as they took the top spot in all but the 1,000-yard freestyle. Hannah Rogers (23.59) led the Mustang scoring in the 50, Santa won the 100 (52.18), Hoch was victorious in the 200 (1:49.96) and Cunningham took the 500 (4:58.43).
Nicholas and McLauchlan scored top-three points in both breaststroke distances, with Nicholas posting NCAA ‘B’ cuts winning the 100 in 1:02.45 and the 200 in 2:15.94.
The Mustangs final individual win came from Marne Erasmus, who clocked a 54.73 in the 100-yard butterfly. Classmate Tiffany Sudarma also posted a top-three performance in the event with a 56.86.
Eleonor Lindborg (100 back), Anna Cheesbrough (200 fly) and Volchkov (200 back) also posted runner-up finishes for SMU.
Junior Lauren Lamb led the diving effort for the Mustangs with fourth-place finishes in both the 1- and 3-meter. Teammate Madeline Wainmanwas fifth in both.
The Mustangs are back in action on Saturday for the second of two dual meets in Houston. SMU will face Rice at 12 p.m. CT at the Rice Competition Pool. No live information will be available, but results will be posted at SMUMustangs.com following the event.
Swimming news courtesy of SMU Swimming & Diving.
Houston:
HOUSTON – The University of Houston Swimming & Diving Team competed in their first dual meet action Friday night and produced six event champions, including sweeping three events. The Cougars took No. 21 SMU to the wire before falling, 158-142, at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center Natatorium.
Five different Cougars won six events Friday: Delia Weber (1,000-yard freestyle), Eleanna Koutsouveli (100-yard backstroke, 200-yard backstroke), Sharo Rodriguez (200-yard butterfly), Danielle Shedd (1-meter dive) and Micaela Bouter(3-meter dive) each won an event against the 21st-ranked Mustangs.
“I couldn’t be more proud of our attitude and how we raced,” head coach Ryan Wochomurka said. “We raced very aggressively, and we raced with confidence. We took the 21st-ranked team in the country to the wire, and I am very pleased with that.”
The Houston divers swept both the 1-meter and 3-meter dives. In the 1-meter, Danielle Shedd netted a score of 305.18. Teammate Micaela Bouter finished second (277.35), and Taylor Olanski placed third (260.48). Bouter, who was named the American Athletic Conference Female Diver of the Week Oct. 26, grabbed first in the 3-meter dive with a score of 351.90. Olanski placed second (307.80) and Shedd rounded out the podium (279.08).
In the first race of the day, the Cougars grabbed two podium finishes in the 200-yard medley relay. The team of Koutsouveli,Ashley Grijalva, Rodriguez and Doroteja Bednjanec finished second with a time of 1:44.63, a season best. The Houston team of Jenny Penneck, Cameron Balkom, Taylor Derevyanik and Caitlin Horner placed third in a time of 1:48.36.
Freshman Weber won her first collegiate individual meet in the 1,000-yard freestyle, with a time of 10:11.18. She was followed by freshman Hannah Herbst in second, swimming a time of 10:21.98. Rounding out the podium was freshmanConor Glenn, swimming the race in a time of 10:35.54.
In the 200-yard freestyle, sophomore Emma Moore finished third with a time of 1:55.68, a team season best. Moore eclipsed Houston’s previous top time of the year by just .33 seconds.
In the 100-yard backstroke, Koutsouveli won the event in a time of 57.27, a collegiate personal best. Junior Taylor Derevyanik nabbed third place with a swim of 59.29.
Grijalva finished second in the 100-yard breaststroke in a time of 1:05.54, notching another podium for the Coogs.
In the 200-yard butterfly, Rodriguez won her first event of the season after swimming a season-best 2:03.05. Herbst placed third with a time of 2:09.79, right on the heels of the 2015 All-American Athletic Conference performer.
Horner grabbed a third place finish in the 50-yard freestyle, with a time of 24.19. She followed that up with the 100-yard freestyle, where she recorded a personal best, placing second with a time of 52.49. She was followed in the 100 free by Moore, who posted a time of 52.66 to round out the podium.
Koutsouveli won her second event of the night in the 200-yard backstroke, setting a personal collegiate best in a time of 2:04.07.
“Delia and Eleanna are extremely talented swimmers,” Wochomurka said of his freshmen, who accounted for three of the team’s event wins. “For them to get victories in their first career dual meet should give them a lot of confidence going forward.”
In the 200-yard breaststroke, Grijalva placed third with a time of 2:21.83. It was her second podium finish of the evening.
Weber finished second in the 500-yard freestyle in a time of 5:00.00, setting a personal collegiate best. Herbst followed her with a time of 5:07.02 for a third place result.
Rodriguez grabbed another podium finish in the 100-yard butterfly, placing second with a time of 56.59, a personal collegiate best.
In the last of event of the night, the Cougars placed second in the 400-yard freestyle relay finishing in a season best time of 3:31.33. Horner, Moore, Bednjanec and Julie Gibson recorded the final top-3 finish of the evening for Houston.
“I am excited for what tonight’s performance means for tomorrow,” Wochomurka added. “We got a little bit better today, and we need to learn from this experience.”
POINTS EARNED
OVERALL
SMU – 158
Houston – 142
200 Medley Relay
2. Houston A – 1:44.63^
(Koutsouveli, Grijalva, Rodriguez, Bednjanec)
3. Houston B – 1:48.36
(Penneck, Balkom, Derevyanik, Horner)
1,000 Free
1. Delia Weber – 10:11.18
2. Hannah Herbst – 10:21.98
3. Conor Glenn – 10:35.54
200 Free
3. Emma Moore – 1:55.68*
4. Maya Owens – 1:57.31
6. Leah Ortiz – 2:00.33
100 Back
1. Eleanna Koutsouveli – 57.27*^
3. Taylor Derevyanik – 59.29
5. Jenny Penneck – 59.40^
100 Breast
2. Ashley Grijalva – 1:05.54^
4. Cameron Balkom – 1:06.34
5. Rachel Hobbins – 1:10.02*
200 Fly
1. Sharo Rodriguez – 2:03.05^
3. Hannah Herbst – 2:09.79*
7. Holly Criscuolo – 2:19.09
1M Dive
1. Danielle Shedd – 305.18
2. Micaela Bouter – 277.35
3. Taylor Olanski – 260.48
100 Free
2. Caitlin Horner – 52.49*^
3. Emma Moore – 52.66
4. Doroteja Bednjanec – 53.64
200 Back
1. Eleanna Koutsouveli – 2:04.07*^
4. Jenny Penneck – 2:08.26*
6. Victoria Rayol – 2:12.49
500 Free
2. Delia Weber – 5:00.00*^
3. Hannah Herbst – 5:07.02
6. Conor Glenn – 5:13.04*
100 Fly
2. Sharo Rodriguez – 56.59*^
6. Taylor Derevyanik – 58.26
7. Maya Owens – 58.50
3M Dive
1. Micaela Bouter – 351.90
2. Taylor Olanski – 307.80
3. Danielle Shedd – 279.08
200 IM
4. Sharo Rodriguez – 2:10.34^
5. Eleanna Koutsouveli – 2:11.56
7. Ashley Grijalva – 2:14.12
400 Free Relay
2. Houston A – 3:31.33^
(Horner, Moore, Bednjanec, Gibson)
4. Houston B – 3:34.31
(Herbst, Weber, Owens, Derevyanik)
* – Personal Collegiate Record
^ – Houston Season Best
UP NEXT
Houston is back at the CRWC Natatorium Saturday morning, when they face off with North Texas. The dual meet begins at 11 a.m. and is part of a packed day in Cougar Athletics, with the Men’s Basketball scrimmage scheduled for 3 p.m. at Hofheinz Pavilion and the Football game vs. Vanderbilt booked for 6 p.m. at TDECU Stadium. Fans are encouraged to join Wochomurka’s club at the Natatorium to start a full day of cheering on the Coogs.
Swimming news courtesy of Houston Swimming & Diving.
