The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
California
Freshmen pace No. 7 Women's Swimming and Diving to 175-123 victory at No. 5 California
10.18.2008 | Women's Swimming and Diving
Oct. 18, 2008
BERKELEY, Calif. -- No. 7 Texas kicked off the 2008-09 season with a bang Saturday, as the Longhorns claimed 13 of 16 events and toppled a long-standing school record in a commanding 175-123 victory over No. 5 California at the Spieker Aquatics Center.
The nation's top freshman class immediately made its mark with victories in eight individual events and the toppling of a 22-year-old school record by Olympian Kathleen Hersey. Freshman Karlee Bispo complemented Hersey's three wins with two individual wins of her own after taking down an Olympic medalist in the 200-yard freestyle.
Freshmen Katie Riefenstahl and Leah Gingrich added one win apiece, as did freshman diver Lauren Caldwell, who helped Texas to one-two-three finishes in the diving events. The Texas coaches selected Bispo at UT's Swimmer of the Meet and Livingston as the Diver of the Meet.
Texas kicked off the meet with a win in the 200 medley relay, as Hersey, sophomore Carlye Ellis, Gingrich and senior Hee-Jin Chang finished in 1:42.39, topping Cal's second-place effort of 1:42.93. Gingrich followed with her first individual collegiate victory, as she took the 1,000 freestyle in 9:47.67.
Bispo, a Modesto, Calif., native who grew up less than 100 miles from Cal's Berkeley campus, toppled Cal freshman Sara Isakovic, a silver medalist in the 200-meter freestyle at the Beijing Olympics. Bispo edged Isakovic in the 200-yard freestyle with a mark of 1:46.68 to win by five one-hundredths of a second.
Ellis added a decisive two-second victory in the 100 breaststroke, finishing in 1:02.81. Junior Alexi Spann placed third in 1:05.33, and senior Alison Soelter took fourth in 1:06.52.
Hersey chalked up a new school record in her first collegiate competition, as she took the 200 butterfly in 1:54.83 to easily eclipse a 22-year-old school mark. Kara McGrath's previous mark of 1:56.91 had stood since March 22, 1986. Hersey was a finalist in the 200-meter butterfly at the Beijing Olympics.
Bispo added a second victory in the 100 freestyle, finishing in 49.86, and Riefenstahl added a victory in the 200 backstroke, winning in 2:00.09. Ellis led a one-two-three Texas finish in the 200 breaststroke for her second win of the day, finishing in 2:17.27. Spann took second in 2:19.96, and Soelter placed third in 2:20.17. Freshman Kierstin Thornhill took fifth in 2:22.30.
Hersey took the 100 butterfly in 53.27, good for the eighth-fastest swim in UT history, before taking the 400 IM in 4:12.27 for the third-fastest swim in that event in school history. Gingrich took second in 4:23.49.
Bispo, Chang, Riefenstahl and sophomore Adrienne Woods finished off the meet with a win in the 400 freestyle relay, as the quartet finished in 3:20.94, although with the team victory in hand, UT exhibitioned the event and declined the points.
The Texas divers did their part to complement the solid Longhorns swimming effort. Caldwell took the one-meter event with a score of 263.84, while Livingston took second at 252.87. Freshman Shelby Cullinan took third at 246.37. Livingston captured the three-meter event with 322.65 points. Cullinan took second at 291.23, and Caldwell placed third at 276.08.
Texas returns to action on Friday, Oct. 24 at the Big 12 Relays in Kansas City, Kan.
POST-MEET QUOTES
HEAD COACH Kim Brackin
We talked about starting off the season with a confident demeanor, racing with pride in what Texas represents and taking one race at a time. We absolutely did that. The momentum from that first relay pushed both Leah Gingrich and Karlee Bispo to race from behind and put their hands on the wall first. Leah's 1,000 freestyle swim was our pick for swim of the meet, and Karlee, who stayed composed and tough enough to touch out the Olympic silver medalist in the 200 freestyle, put herself in the hunt for Swimmer of the Meet.
Carlye Ellis was exceptional...an entirely different racer than last year! Those were her two best times, and to see her big smile at the end was all worth it! I was really proud of all of our upperclassmen. They did an outstanding job of leading the team. The freshmen were, as expected, the catalysts to our success. Kathleen broke her first school record and showed her versatility by leading off that medley relay. The divers dominated the boards and showed they will be a strong group.
It was a great day for us, and the team is enjoying it. They recognize how good of a team Cal is and what it means to beat them. That being said, we are not overconfident. It is a long season, but it is great to start with momentum.
