The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Texas A&M
Women's Swimming and Diving knocks off Texas A&M, 166-134
11.06.2009 | Women's Swimming and Diving
Nov. 6, 2009
AUSTIN, Texas -- Texas sophomores Lauren Caldwell, Leah Gingrich and Kathleen Hersey collectively swept their eight individual events to lift the Longhorns to a 166-134 victory over Texas A&M Friday evening in the State Farm Lone Star Showdown at UT's Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center.
Texas (2-0, 2-0 Big 12) earns one point in the State Farm Lone Star Showdown standings with the win and now holds a 4.0-1.0 lead in the season-long, all-sports series between the two schools. It marks the Longhorns' second consecutive dual-meet win over the Aggies and UT's first victory over Texas A&M (1-1, 1-1 Big 12) in Austin since the 2005-06 season.
Texas opened the meet with by claiming the 200-yard medley relay in a NCAA provisional-qualifying mark of 1:40.45. Freshman Jessica Guro led off in 25.62 on the backstroke before giving way to freshman Bethany Adams, who split 28.15 on the breaststroke. Kathleen Hersey split 23.86 on the butterfly before sophomore Karlee Bispo anchored in 22.82.
Gingrich collected her first of three wins on the night when she captured the 1000 freestyle in 9:49.06. Texas took its third win in as many events in the 200 freestyle, where Hersey was victorious in a NCAA "B" cut of 1:46.80. Hersey edged Texas A&M's Kristen Heiss, who led after 150 yards and finished in 1:47.16. Texas junior Adrienne Woods took fourth in 1:51.18.
The Aggies' Julia Wilkinson took the 100 backstroke in 54.26 and added a win from Alia Atkinson in the 100 breaststroke to cut the Texas lead to 49-44. Notably, Texas took the second, third, fourth and fifth slots in the 100 breaststroke, with freshman Laura Sogar leading the way in second at 1:02.56. Gingrich scored her second win of the night in the 200 butterfly, as she clocked 1:58.08 for a NCAA "B" cut. UT freshman Caroline McElhany took third in 1:59.21 for another NCAA "B" cut.
Texas A&M's Maria Sommer claimed the 50 freestyle in 23.00 to cut the UT lead to 68-63, but the Longhorns stretched their cushion significantly in the one-meter diving event with first, third and fourth-place finishes. Texas' Caldwell narrowly won the event with 300.97 points, while Texas A&M's Jaele Patrick took second with 298.42 points. Texas freshman Maren Taylor placed third with 277.27 points.
The Aggies' Wilkinson claimed the 100 freestyle in a NCAA "B" cut of 49.71 to trim the Texas lead to 88-81, and Texas A&M evened the tally at 94 apiece by taking first, third and fifth in the 200 backstroke. The Aggies' Atkinson took the next event, the 200 breaststroke, but with the Longhorns' second-through-fourth place finishes from Sogar, junior Carlye Ellis and senior Alexi Spann, Texas A&M led by only one point.
Texas' Gingrich posted her third win of the night, this time in the 500 freestyle, where she was victorious in 4:48.19, good for another NCAA "B" cut, as Texas assumed a 114-112 lead. The Longhorns began to pull away with their showings in the 100 butterfly, as Hersey took first, McElhany placed second and Guro placed fourth to give UT a 129-116 lead. Hersey took the win in a NCAA "B" cut of 53.77, and McElhany topped Texas A&M's Kendra Chernoff for second place in 55.45. Guro placed fourth in 55.96.
Texas extended its cushion to 20 points with its first, third and fifth-place efforts in the three-meter diving event. UT's Caldwell completed the springboard sweep with 319.42 points, while Taylor took third with 306.53 points. UT freshman Diana Wilcox placed fifth with 267.83 points.
The Longhorns put the meet out of the Aggies' reach in the 200 individual medley, where Hersey notched her third win in 1:59.12. Texas finished off the win in the meet's final event, the 400 freestyle relay, where sophomore Katie Riefenstahl, Adams, Bispo and Gingrich finished in a NCAA "B" cut of 3:21.59.
Texas resumes competition on Dec. 3 when it hosts the annual three-day Texas Invitational at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center.
POST-MEET QUOTES
Texas head coach Kim Brackin
Before we started the meet, we talked about not doing this for ourselves, but for Texas. This team really rallies when they think about a greater cause than just the team wanting to win a meet. I saw that today. To see performances like Caroline McElhany's in the 100 fly was no surprise. She has been feeling good in workouts, and she is starting to shift into a different gear. You can see it mentally and physically. She raced really well and I'm really happy with that. It's nice to know you can count on your divers. The freshmen all just stepped up, and you can't say enough about Lauren Caldwell winning both boards. I'm really pleased with how she has come around.
On Leah Gingrich's performances: She's just a workhorse in daily workouts and in the weight room. She loves to race. Leah has shown a little bit of inconsistency from event to event, and I think she's trying to tackle that. So far this season, she has shown she has that under control. She loves to compete for her team, and that's something you can't really teach.
Texas diving coach Matt Scoggin
On Lauren Caldwell's performances: Lauren is really starting to figure some things out. She is in the best physical shape in her athletic career and has done some great work in the weight room. She has to be willing to care so much about her diving that she's willing to relax and go out there and dive like she does in practice. That is a big key for her.
