The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
North Carolina State
No. 1 Men's Swimming and Diving holds off No. 5 N.C. State, 154-136
11.14.2015 | Men's Swimming and Diving
Longhorns improve to a 6-0 in fall dual-meet competition.
RALEIGH, N.C. – No. 1 Texas (6-0) finished off a superb weekend of swimming and diving and put away a formidable fifth-ranked North Carolina State squad by a 154-136 count Saturday afternoon at the Wolfpack's Willis R. Casey Aquatic Center.
Texas took an early lead after the 200-yard medley relay and led the Wolfpack throughout the meet. The Horns held on for a tight win in the relay at 1 minute, 27.58 seconds and edged the Wolfpack by four one-hundredths of a second. The Texas relay featured freshman John Shebat and All-Americans Will Licon, Joseph Schooling and Brett Ringgold.
N.C. State claimed the 1,000 freestyle but Texas all but canceled out the points with its second, third and fourth-place showings. Sophomore Jonathan Roberts took second at 9:08.26 while senior Sam Lewis claimed third at 9:09.83.
All-America junior Jack Conger clocked the nation's No. 3 time in the 200 freestyle and won going away in 1:35.77. Freshman Townley Haas chipped in three points with his third-place mark of 1:36.70. Freshman Ryan Harty notched a season best in the 100 backstroke and won the event with a NCAA provisional-qualifying mark of 47.11. Shebat followed in third at 48.44.
Licon added another win for Texas and captured the 100 breaststroke at 54.40. Schooling, the defending NCAA champion in the 200 butterfly, claimed the same event Saturday in 1:43.76, the fastest time in the country this season. Conger holds the No. 2 national time at 1:44.12. Senior John Martens placed third in the race at 1:47.58.
All-America senior diver Cory Bowersox swept the two diving events. He led a one-two-three Texas finish on the one-meter board with 373.50 points, while redshirt junior Sean O'Brien took second at 362.25. Bowersox won the three-meter contest with 395.70 points while All-America junior Mark Anderson took second at 383.48.
Harty returned to post his second individual win in the 200 backstroke, as he posted the nation's second-fastest time en route to victory at 1:42.52. Licon registered the nation's No. 3 time in the 200 breaststroke and won by over five seconds at 1:56.67.
The 500 freestyle featured a showdown between defending NCAA champion Clark Smith of Texas and N.C. State's Anton Ipsen, who entered the meet with the top time in college swimming at 4:20.29. Smith, however, won Saturday with room to spare at 4:20.85, while Ipsen settled for second at 4:22.66.
With the team victory in hand, Texas elected to decline any points due them in the ensuing events, but the Longhorns continued to pile up wins. Schooling, last year's NCAA champion in the 100 and 200 butterfly events, smashed the top national mark he set in Friday's meet and won with a new national top time of 46.08.
The versatile freshman Harty closed out a strong weekend of racing with a convincing win in the 200 individual medley at 1:46.71. Licon, last year's NCAA runner-up in the event, settled for second at 1:47.26.
Texas' 200 freestyle relay featuring Ringgold, Schooling, senior John Murray and Conger edged the Wolfpack for the win in 1:19.04. N.C. State momentarily won the same relay last March at the 2015 NCAA Championships, but the Wolfpack's disqualification awarded the title to the Longhorns.
The Texas divers resume fall competition this week when they host the UT Diving Invitational (Nov. 19-21) at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center.
Players Mentioned
