The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Georgia
No. 4 Women's Swimming and Diving upsets No. 1 Georgia, 153-147
01.09.2010 | Women's Swimming and Diving
Jan. 9, 2010
AUSTIN, Texas -- With a one-point lead going into the final event, No. 4 Texas secured a narrow victory in the 400-yard freestyle relay to hold on for a 153-147 win over No. 1 Georgia (5-1) Saturday afternoon on Senior Day at UT's Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center. The win snaps Georgia's seven-meet winning streak over the Longhorns and hands the Bulldogs - ranked No. 1 throughout the season - their first defeat.
With Texas holding a 142-141 lead with only the 400 freestyle relay remaining, the winner of the relay was set to take 11 of the event's 17 available points and clinch the team victory. Texas sophomore Karlee Bispo put UT into the lead after the first 100 yards at 49.32 seconds, and sophomore Katie Riefenstahl kept UT in the lead halfway through the event, as Texas led Georgia by 33 one-hundredths of a second after 200 yards.
UT freshman Bethany Adams kept the Horns in the lead after 300 yards with a split of 49.93, and with Texas leading by .21 with 100 yards to go, the race came down to a pair of Beijing Olympians in Georgia's Allison Schmitt and Texas' Kathleen Hersey, a Georgia native. Hersey led Schmitt by a tenth of a second heading into the final 50 yards and held off Schmitt in the end, as the Longhorns' sophomore anchored in 48.70 and topped Schmitt's effort of 48.84. Texas finished in 3:17.84 and edged Georgia's effort of 3:18.19.
Texas opened the meet by edging Georgia in the 200 medley relay. Freshman Jessica Guro led off the relay in 25.79 before giving way to freshman Laura Sogar, who split 28.53 on the breaststroke. Hersey split 24.14 on the butterfly before Bispo anchored for the win in 22.24, as the relay finished in a NCAA "B" cut of 1 minute, 40.70 seconds.
Guro went on to add a win for Texas in the 100 backstroke, where she finished in 55.42, good for a NCAA "B" cut. Katie Riefenstahl took third in 56.18. Sogar notched another win for the Longhorns in the 100 breaststroke, where she took first with a NCAA "B" cut of 1:01.25. Texas sliced further into the early Georgia lead, as sophomore Leah Gingrich claimed the 200 butterfly with a NCAA "B" cut of 1:57.93. Freshman Caroline McElhany took third in 2:00.81.
The Longhorns assumed a 67-64 lead after the 50 freestyle, where UT collected 14 points with first, third and fourth-place finishes. Bispo picked up the win with a NCAA "B" cut of 22.73, and Adams took third in 23.40. Georgia took the next event, the three-meter diving event, but Texas placed second, third and fourth to maintain a 76-74 lead. Sophomore Lauren Caldwell took second with 297.83 points.
Bispo registered her second win of the day in the 100 freestyle, where she was victorious with a NCAA "B" cut of 49.21. Georgia regained the lead in the 200 backstroke, as Kelsey Gaid took the event in 1:58.82. Texas' Riefenstahl took second in 1:59.24. Sogar led the Texas contingent in the 200 breaststroke with her second win of the day in 2:12.48. Senior Alexi Spann took third with a NCAA "B" cut of 2:16.46.
Georgia regrouped with first, third and fourth-place finishes in the 500 freestyle before Hersey answered with a win for the Horns in the 100 butterfly in 53.78. Georgia added a second diving win from Hannah Moore, though Texas collected second, third and fourth-place finishes in the three-meter event from Caldwell and freshmen Maren Taylor and Diana Wilcox.
Gingrich scored a key victory in the final individual event, the 400 individual medley, that positioned Texas to win the meet with a 400 freestyle relay win. Gingrich won decisively in a NCAA "B" cut of 4:13.86, and Sogar added three crucial points by taking third in 4:19.28, good for another NCAA "B" cut, to give UT the 142-141 lead going into the final event.
POST-MEET QUOTES
Texas head coach Kim Brackin
On the win: We wanted to send our seniors out with a win today, as a tribute to them. I think the team raced with some great emotions. I felt very confident in our capability to win. In the relay at the end, I felt confident that that was the best group. I told the ladies that regardless of what happened (in the relay), this is exactly the meet that we needed. They felt comfortable in going out there face-to-face with Georgia. Our team dynamic changed 180 degrees during our training trip. I give 50 percent of this win to the team building and the training that we did down in Miami. We beat a great team, but there are other teams who can be a spoiler for our team goals. As Richard Quick would say, 'Believe in belief.' That's what this meet allows us to do.
On Kathleen Hersey's anchor leg in the 400 freestyle relay: I've seen Kathleen excel in many other pressure situations. She was disappointed in her 200 free from earlier in the meet and wanted some redemption. She wanted to make a tremendous impact, and it was good to see her regroup against another phenomenal swimmer (Georgia's Allison Schmitt).
On Karlee Bispo's performances: Karlee Bispo continues to be the go-to girl. I'm really happy with her progress. She continues to grow and get more confident.
On Leah Gingrich's win in the 400 IM: If Leah didn't win that race, this wouldn't have been a contest. The relay would not have won the meet for us. She was a rock in this meet and has been this entire season. She will carry this team much more than last year. I believe she's enjoying that responsibility immensely.
On Laura Sogar's performances: Laura had awesome performances in the 100 and 200 breaststroke. Both of those wins were crucial in putting us in a position to win. I was very surprised with her swim in the 400 IM. She is coming around and gaining some steam, and her future is extremely bright.
Sophomore swimmer Kathleen Hersey
On helping UT win the meet with her 400 free relay anchor leg: It was great to have our team behind me, but the men's team also gave us so much support. The last thing I heard was from Jimmy Feigen when he said, 'Let's go Hersey!' The Georgia relay had four extremely fast and talented girls with the same competitive drive our team has. This was one of those races where we race with an overwhelming feeling of Texas Pride, much like we had last year.
(UT men's assistant coach) Kris Kubik showed me one of Colt McCoy's interviews , and Colt said, 'I gave everything I had to Texas.' For him to have watched the rest of the (BCS National Championship) game must have been one of the hardest things for him. I knew I wanted to leave it all out there just like he would have. Kim (Brackin) talked to me after my not-so-good 200 free from earlier in the meet. She reminded me that I didn't want to get to the end of the meet and say, 'I should have done this.' Giving everything I have to Texas is something I want to be able to say I did.
On the last 50 yards of the 400 free relay: I saw people going nuts after my first 50 when I took a breath, and I was thinking, 'Finish, finish! Walls, walls! When you're in a race and you're properly prepared, it's not about anyone else. When you get that feeling of Texas Pride, it becomes easier to race a well-prepared race. It's easier to apply those tools that our team has given to each other. It was an easier application because of that Texas spirit that was in the pool today.
On winning the meet for the Texas senior class: The seniors are a special class, for a lot of reasons. With Alex Basso, it was like the situation with Colt. She got injured last season, but she was a key player, and she still is. She was my host when I visited. I kept in touch with her the whole time, and she is one of the main reasons I'm here. Alex is a fantastic person. Her love for Texas is so contagious. It's the same thing with Alexi Spann, Susana Escobar and Traci Van Matre. They've led us all along. Alex Basso has been a key player in terms of why I'm here, and before the meet, I knew I wanted to do this in honor of Alex Basso. We have strong mentalities in our leadership positions that are indispensable to our team attitude.
