Texas Longhorns Release Monster Swimming Schedule for 2015-16

The University of Texas men’s and women’s swimming & diving teams have released a monster schedule for the 2015-16 season. The Longhorns will face several of the NCAAs top teams, including NC State, Auburn, Georgia, Florida, Indiana, Arizona, and the Stanford women. This is one of the best schedules we’ve ever seen.

The defending NCAA champion Longhorn men, who lost only one dual meet last season to the University of Michigan, will kick off their schedule with their Orange and White intersquad meet.

The women will then join the men in hosting Florida and Indiana. This meet for the men against the defending 5th place Gators sets a potential match up between the top 2 NCAA butterfliers from last season, Joseph Schooling and Jack Conger, and Florida’s NCAA 50 free champion Caeleb Dressel. Dressel and Schooling were club teammates in high school when they swam for the Bolles School Sharks, and traded National High School Records in the 100 fly.

The Longhorn women will battle with 2 top 10 teams from last season in that tri-meet, the first meet of their season.. Texas was 7th last season, while Florida and Indiana were 9th and 10th respectively.

The women return to competition 2 weeks later, as the Stanford Cardinal will travel to Austin. They’ll be up against the likes of Simone Manuel and Lia Neal, who led Stanford to a 3rd place finish at 2015 NCAAs. The Cardinal fell to Texas at their home pool in the duel between these teams last year, but came out ahead in the post season. It should be another intense battle, as both teams have some of the best incoming freshman classes this year.

The men will rejoin the women for the next 3 competitions, which will all be away meets. On Nov. 6 they’ll head to college station to swim against Texas A&M. The Aggie women landed 4th at NCAAs in 2015 and will look to defend their dual meet win over the Longhorns from last season. The Texas men will look to beat their in-state rivals again this season.

On Nov 13-14 they’re making their way to Chapel Hill and Raleigh, North Carolina to face UNC and NC State. They’ll race a slew of Wolfpack All-Americans and a men’s team that placed in the top 10 at last year’s NCAA championships and won the ACC title.

Following those meets, they’ll return home to host the annual Texas Swimming & Diving Hall of Fame meet, which has historically seen many swimmers qualify for the NCAA championships. This gives them a chance to race against teams from around the nation that they wouldn’t normally meet before the post-season. The USC Trojans will bring in the defending 4th place men’s team, and the women’s team that finished 8th just behind Texas last season.

Following the meet, they’ll have a long course time trial at home. Heading into the Olympic year, this will give swimmers like Schooling and Conger a chance to race in long course meters before the games and the U.S. Olympic Trials. Other swimmers can use this as an opportunity to make cuts.

Both teams will take a break from racing after the invite, picking up where they left off with some intense home competition against Auburn and Georgia on Jan 7. The Longhorn men and women both topped the Tigers in their dual meet last year. Auburn will bring the heat in the sprint events and relays against an extremely versatile Texas team.

The Georgia men and women will travel to Austin on Jan 9, though it will miss a match between American Record holder Chase Kalisz and defending NCAA Champion Will Licon due to Kalisz’s sitting out the season to prepare for the Olympic Trials. Kalisz won the 400 I.M. at NCAAs as a freshman and sophomore, before Licon overtook him for the title in 2015.

Texas will swim in the Arena Pro Swim Austin, hosting some of the top U.S. swimmers in long course competition. The meet will likely see several international pros compete for some of the top times in the world. Last year, Jack Conger posted the fastest time for an American in 2015 at the meet with a 51.64 100 fly. That time still ranks him 6th in the world.

Backstrokers Tasija Karosas and Bonnie Brandon will get a chance to race when the Longhorn men and women travel to Tucson, Arizona for a head-to-head duel, while All American Madisyn Cox will look to top a competitive field of Arizona breaststrokers led by Emma Schoettmer. The Longhorns topped the Wildcats last year in a tri-meet with SMU in Austin.

Texas will then close out their regular meet season against TCU in Forth Worth on Feb 5.

The post-season begins with the Big 12 Championships on Feb 24-27 at their home pool in Austin. Texas has dominated the conference for years, with some eye opening performances. Last year’s meet saw Conger break the American and U.S. Open records in the 200 yard fly in a time trial with a 1:39.31.

The women will get another chance to qualify for NCAAs at a last chance meet in Austin on Feb 28. Also in Austin, the men’s NCAA hopefuls will compete at the American Short Course Championships on Mar 3-5. Those meets will be followed by another long course time trial at home on Mar 6.

The women will head to the NCAA Championships in Atlanta, Georgia Mar 17-19. They’ll meet several of the teams they battled in the regular season as they look to improve on their 7th place finish from 2015.

The men’s NCAA Championship meet will also be held in Atlanta on Mar 24-26. The Longhorn men will return to the ultimate NCAA stage as the team to beat. It’ll be hard to stop this deep Texas team from taking another title, but the Cal Golden Bears and Michigan Wolverines will face them for the first time in 2016 to challenge.

2015-2016 MEN’S & WOMEN’S SWIMMING & DIVING SCHEDULE