Kelly Pash (Texas Women), Alex Quach (Ohio State) Lead Their Teams on Day One of Tri-Meet
The University of Texas and Ohio State swimming programs are in Tuscaloosa, Ala., this weekend for a two-day tri-meet, and on the first day, the Texas women have opened up a lead over both rivals behind senior Kelly Pash while on the men’s side, Alex Quach has led Ohio State to a lead over the powerhouse Longhorns as well as the Crimson Tide.
The meet will conclude Saturday morning with diving beginning at 9 a.m. CT and swimming at 10:30 a.m. from the Alabama Aquatic Center.
Women’s Meet
The day started off with a barnburner in the 200 medley relay as Alabama’s team of Rhyan White, Avery Wiseman, Kailyn Winter and Kalia Antoniou pulled off a come-from-behind win over Texas. Antoniou anchored in 21.79 to overtake Texas’ Bridget Semenuk, and Bama won in 1:38.06, just ahead of Texas’ Olivia Bray, Lydia Jacoby, Emma Sticklen and Semenuk (1:38.14). Ohio State’s top two teams finished just behind with times of 1:38.26 and 1:38.45, respectively.
Immediately afterward, Pash took over as she won the first individual event, the 100 IM, in 54.28, and shortly thereafter, she blasted her final two lengths of the 200 freestyle to overtake the Buckeyes’ Amy Fulmer and take the win by almost a second, 1:46.45 to 1:47.43. Bray won the 100 backstroke for Texas in 53.50, and although star Texas breaststroker Anna Elendt did not compete, Jacoby was able to handle business in the 100 breast as she won in 59.21. Dakota Luther won the 200 butterfly for the Longhorns in 1:56.05, while Sticklen finished just behind (1:56.31) for a Texas 1-2.
Alabama got wins in the 1000 free, where Kensey McMahon beat Texas’ Erica Sullivan by three seconds, 9:44.97 to 9:47.89, and in the 50 free, where Antoniou went 22.39 for the first-place finish. Finally, Ohio State got on the board in the last event of the day as Katherine Zenick, Tristan Harrison, Teresa Ivan and Fulmer won the 400 free relay in 3:15.70, edging out Texas’ time of 3:16.37. The Longhorns had a comfortable lead with 50 yards remaining, but a huge 48.09 anchor split from Fulmer helped her get ahead of the Longhorns to secure the win.
The five individual wins helped Texas open up big leads on both other teams in the meet while Ohio State is leading Alabama.
Team Scores:
- Texas 114.5, Alabama 71.5
- Texas 109, Ohio State 77
- Ohio State 115, Alabama 71
Men’s Meet
Meanwhile, Ohio State’s quickly-improving men’s program has a 16-point lead over Texas, a team heavily favored to earn a top-two finish at the NCAA Championships for the ninth consecutive meet (and 14th in the last 15). The Buckeyes won a pair of relays Friday to bolster their cause. First, Quach, Pete Krusinski, James Ward and Ruslan Gaziev raced to a time of 1:26.20 in the 200 medley relay, three tenths ahead of Alabama and almost a second clear of Texas.
To conclude the session, Quach, Ward, Tomas Navikonis and Gaziev won an epic race in the 400 free relay. Alabama actually led most of the way, but on the final leg, Gaziev split 42.34 to deliver the Buckeyes a first-place finish in 2:53.76. Texas, meanwhile, also surged through the field as Danny Krueger anchored in 42.52, but he did not have enough to get ahead of Gaziev, and the Longhorns finished 0.12 behind in 2:53.88. Alabama ended up third in 2:54.07.
Quach opened up the individual events with a 100 IM win in 48.23, beating out Bama’s Derek Maas (48.45) and Texas’ Carson Foster (48.80). Later on, Quach won the 100 back in 46.88 while teammate Thomas Watkins made it a OSU 1-2 with his 47.21. Additionally, Charlie Clark held off Texas’ David Johnston to win the 1000 free, 8:49.84 to 8:50.54, and Gaziev was the only swimmer under 20 seconds in the 50 free as he touched first in 19.90.
Texas, meanwhile, had Foster only swimming races 100 yards and shorter while breaststroker Caspar Corbeau was absent, but three Longhorns won individually: Jake Foster edged Maas in the 100 breast, 53.49 to 53.68, and Cole Crane won the 200 fly (1:46.49). In one-meter diving, Nick Harris scored 379.95 points to lead a 1-2-3 finish with teammates Brendan McCourt and Noah Duperre.
Alabama’s only men’s win came in the 200 free, where Charlie Hawke won in 1:34.64.
Team Scores:
- Ohio State 124, Alabama 62
- Ohio State 101, Texas 85
- Texas 109, Alabama 77