Louisville Women, Indiana Men Top SMU Classic; Owen McDonald Impressive in Indiana Debut
The University of Louisville Cardinals and Indiana University men were victorious at the SMU Classic held this weekend at the Robson & Lindley Aquatics Center in Dallas, with the six teams competing recording numerous elite performances at one of the season’s first invitational meets. Louisville’s women scored 329 points to outpace Auburn (294) and Texas A&M (293) while the Hoosier men beat Louisville 326-308, with Virginia Tech third (303).
Louisville’s women opened the competition with Kim Herkle topping the 400 IM in 4:09.67, and the team of Summer Cardwell, Fernanda Gomes Celidonio, Tristen Ulett and Paige Hetrick swam a time of 7:07.46 to win the 800 freestyle relay. Herkle returned to the pool Saturday to win the 200 breaststroke (2:09.88), and Gomez Celidonio crushed the field in the 200 IM (1:58.51).
The women’s meet opened with Auburn’s team of Lora Komoroczy, Stasya Makarova, Abigail Gibbons and Polina Nevmovenko hold off a surging Texas A&M team to win the 400 medley relay, 3:33.41 to 3:33.67. Makarova later won the 100 breaststroke (1:00.58), and Saturday’s session opened with Komoroczy, Makarova, Gibbons and Lexie Mulvihill winning the 200 medley relay (1:37.25). Auburn won yet another relay to conclude the meet, with Mulvihill, Komoroczy, Gibbons and Nevmovenko topping the 200 free relay (1:29.50).
Miami’s Giulia Carvalho scored first place in the 50 free (22.06), 100 butterfly (51.87) and 100 free (48.56), and the Hurricanes’ Mia Vallee dominated diving winning 3-meter (343.00) and 1-meter (303.05). Ashlyn Massey won the 200 fly for Miami in 1:56.55).
Texas A&M’s Chloe Stepanek fired off a time of 1:44.22 to top the 200 free by almost two seconds, and teammate Hayden Miller won the 500 free (4:43.39). Virginia Tech’s Carmen Weiler Sastre won the 100 backstroke (52.17) and 200 backstroke (1:52.55).
On the men’s side, Indiana’s Miroslav Knedla, an Olympic semifinalist in the 100-meter back for Czechia, made his college debut in strong fashion. Knedla led a team also including graduate transfer Brian Benzing, Finn Brooks and Luke Barr to win the 400 medley relay in 3:04.01. Knedla later dominated the 200 back with a time of 1:39.88.
Owen McDonald, who transferred to Indiana after playing a significant role on Arizona State’s national-title-winning team last year, also had a strong start with the Hoosiers. He won the 400 IM in 3:41.69 and returned to win the 100 back in 45.35. The next day, McDonald clocked 4:18.10 for the win in the 400 IM and 1:42.09 for first in the 200 IM.
Also for Indiana, Brooks won the 100 fly (45.38), and the team of McDonald, Barr, Brooks and Dylan Smiley concluded the meet with a time of 1:17.97 in the 200 free relay, touching out Auburn by one hundredth in a furious finish.
Louisville’s Murilo Sartori finished first in the 200 free (1:34.46), and teammate Denis Petrashov won the 100 breast, touching out Virginia Tech’s Carles Coll Marti by 11-hundredths, 51.50 to 51.62. Sartori, Guy Brooks, Gregg Enoch and Jackson Millard clocked 6:20.46 for a win in the 800 free relay. Enoch returned to win the 200 fly in 1:43.14.
Youssef Ramadan and Coll Marti handled the front half of a Virginia Tech team that won the 200 medley relay, with WIlliam Hayon and Brendan Whitfield swimming the back half on the way to a time of 1:23.60. Coll Marti grabbed an individual win in the 200 breast, touching in 1:50.77, and Whitfield won the 100 free (42.65).
Auburn’s Kalle Makinen touched out Brooks (19.46) and Ramadan (19.63) in the 50 free. Luke Sitz of the host Mustangs won 1-meter diving (347.20) and 3-meter diving (337.90).