By Sarah Lloyd, Swimming World College Intern
It was a very successful Senior Meet for the No. 1/No. 4 Texas Longhorns as they hosted the unranked conference rivals the TCU Horned Frogs. With numerous sweeps from both men and women, the Longhorns closed out their regular season schedule in spectacular fashion.
Men’s Meet
The men’s meet kicked off with a 1-2 finish for the Longhorns in the 1650 freestyle. The senior Sam Lewis was the only sub-15:00 in the field with his winning time of 14:54.53. His sophomore teammate Jonathan Roberts grabbed second with a 15:01.02, while TCU freshman Heyward Brown was a distant third (16:08.18). The Texas team of Joseph Schooling, Austin Temple, Ryan Harty, and Townley Haas then took first in the 200 medley relay (1:29.26). They were followed by the TCU team of Christopher Hearl, John Story, John Smith, and Garrett Hills (1:32.68). The Texas junior Clark Smith won the 200 free (1:37.20) and led a sweep of the event that was completed by the freshman Jeff Newkirk (1:40.44) and the senior Ian LeMaistre (1:43.28).
Another Texas sweep followed when the senior John Murray won the 100 back (50.01) and was followed by fellow senior Aaron Gustafson (50.13) and freshman Max Holter (50.38). The Longhorns then took the top two spots in the 100 breast–Temple won with a 54.66, while freshman Casey Melzer was second (55.70). TCU’s Story was third (56.41). A pair of Longhorn freshman went 1-2 in the 200 fly, as well. Harty was first with a 1:47.45, while Haas was second with a 1:48.71. Sophomore Carlos Hunnicutt was third for TCU (1:50.84). Freshman Jeremy Nichols was first in the 50 free (20.63), followed by junior PJ Dunne (21.03). TCU’s Hills and Texas’ freshman Safa Anya tied for third (21.30).
Ryan Harty grabbed another individual win when he went a 45.42 in the 100 free. TCU’s freshman Tommy Thach was second (46.71) and he was followed by fellow TCU freshman Ross Sullivan (46.75). LeMaistre (1:47.49), Newkirk (1:48.42), and Holter (1:48.54) swept the 200 back ahead of TCU’s junior Jake Powell (1:55.42) and Hearl (1:57.09). Texas junior Will Licon posted the only sub-2:00 time in the 200 breast with a 1:58.10, more than seven seconds ahead of senior teammate Liam Lockwood (2:05.74). TCU’s senior Cameron Rattray was third with a 2:07.52. The meet after this point was scored exhibition with Texas junior Jack Conger posting a 4:27.06 in the 500, freshman Mason Tenney clocking a 49.34 in the 100 fly, and senior John Martens finishing the 400 IM with a 3:45.25.
Both boards were won by won by Texas senior Cory Bowersox. The final score was 156.5-121.5 in Texas’ favor.
Women’s Meet
The Longhorn women had just as much success as the men. The meet opened with an impressive showing by freshman Joanna Evans in the 1650 free, who posted a 16:20.09, over a minute ahead of TCU’s senior Mikayla Winkler (17:25.65). A Longhorn team of Rebecca Baxley, Madisyn Cox, Sam Sutton, and Brynne Wong then grabbed first in the 200 medley relay (1:43.70). TCU’s team of Madison Ibrahim, Devin Newton, Micaela Roemer, and Bryn Lohrberg were third (1:47.86). The Texas women, led by junior Tasija Karosas (1:49.41), then swept the 200 free. Freshman Remedy Rule was second (1:52.45) and junior Makayla Markey was third (1:54.10).
Karosas doubled up with a win in the 100 back (54.09) and was followed by freshman teammate Quinn Carrozza (54.93). TCU freshman Ibrahim was third (58.36). The Longhorn freshman Olivia Anderson was first in the 100 breast with a time of 1:01.56. She led a sweep of the event that was completed by freshman Brooke Hansen (1:04.01) and sophomore Bethany Leap (1:04.50). Cox and Baxley then went 1-2 in the 200 fly for Texas, going 2:00.99 and 2:06.06 respectively. TCU senior Catherine Rash was third (2:07.83). A trio of Longhorn women then swept the 50 free. Freshman Mimi Schneider was first (22.51), Sutton was second (23.30), and sophomore Rebecca Millard was third with a time of 23.83.
Another sweep for Texas occurred in the 100 free by a trio of freshmen. Nora McCullagh was first (50.70), Hansen was second (50.93), and Anelise Deiner was third (51.29). Cox added another individual win to her resume with a victory in the 200 back (1:57.93). She was followed by junior teammate Maggie D’Innocenzo (2:02.34) and TCU’s Ibrahim (2:06.29). Bethany Leap grabbed the 200 breast (2:19.37), ahead of TCU junior Ashley Dyke (2:21.97) and senior Michelle Garland (2:26.60). Texas senior Erin Yeager‘s 5:03.88 was good enough to win the 500 free, followed by freshman teammate Sammie Hashbarger (5:04.99) and TCU’s Winkler (5:08.19). The rest of the meet was then scored as exhibition with Wong clocking a 54.85 in the 100 fly and Evans going a 4:20.89 in the 400 IM.
Senior Texas diver Meghan Houston took the 1-meter board, while her freshman teammate Meghan O’Brian took the 3-meter. The final score of the meet fell in the Longhorns’ favor 167-120.
Full results: 2016 Texas vs. TCU dual – Results