The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
NC State
No. 2 Women’s Swimming and Diving preview: No. 4 NC State
01.26.2023 | Women's Swimming and Diving
The Longhorns square off with the Wolfpack in Austin, Jan. 27-28.
No. 2 Texas vs. No. 4 NC State
When: Friday, Jan. 27 – Saturday, Jan. 28
Where: Austin, Texas
Facility: Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center (FREE ADMISSION)
Live Stream: Available here.
The stream will begin without commentary at 3:15 p.m. for the diving events. Commentary will be available for swimming events beginning at 5:30 p.m. with Kyle Sockwell and Jill Sterkel on the call.
Results: Live Stats | Meet Mobile | DiveMeets
Top Times: 2022-23 | All-Time Top 10 | UT Record Holders
FRIDAY! BE THERE!
— Texas Women's Swimming & Diving (@TexasWSD) January 25, 2023
🤘 Top-4️⃣ Matchup
🤘 @TexasMascot
🤘 Live DJ, Hype Man and Announcer
🤘 Giveaways
Texas Diving kicks the weekend off at 3:15 💪🙌 pic.twitter.com/2YNXvey8NL
Meet Notes
Texas and NC State will square off in a pair of dual meets on Friday and Saturday.
Friday's action will feature the return of the International Swimming League-style meet.
In-meet highlights include:
- Music
- DJ and hype man
- Light show
- Walk-up music for athlete introductions
Between diving and the start of the swimming, Bevo will be on site beginning at 4:30 p.m. for photo opportunities with fans. Beginning at 5 p.m., the first 250 fans will receive a limited-edition Texas Swimming & Diving retro Hook 'Em koozie, while the first 100 UT students will receive a Whataburger Honey Butter Chicken Biscuit.
Friday will also be Senior Day for the men's squad, celebrating 13 Longhorns for their contributions to Texas Swimming and Diving.
Saturday's action will consist of a traditional dual meet schedule and events.
Event Schedule
Friday, January 27 (3:15 p.m.)
1-meter Springboard (Women)
3-meter Springboard (Men)
*Men's Senior Day Recognition*
200 Medley Relay
Diving Exhibition (3m / Platform)
200 Freestyle
100 Butterfly
500 Freestyle (Women)
200 Individual Medley (Men)
50 Freestyle
200 Individual Medley (Women)
500 Freestyle (Men)
200 Backstroke
1000 Freestyle (Women)
400 Freestyle Relay
Saturday, January 28 (10:00 a.m. CT)
1-meter Springboard (Men)
200 Freestyle Relay
1000 Freestyle (Men)
100 Backstroke
-Break-
3-meter Springboard (Women)
100 Freestyle
200 Breaststroke
-Break-
200 Butterfly
1000 Freestyle (Women)
400 Medley Relay
The Matchup
The last time Texas faced NC State was at the 2022 NCAA Championships, where the Longhorns picked up a runner-up finish and the Wolfpack finished fifth.
A Look at the Longhorns
Last time out, the Longhorns swept a pair of dual meets in Tuscaloosa, Ala., defeating host Alabama Crimson Tide, 213.50-139.50, and Ohio State, 196-157.
Kelly Pash won for events, collecting wins in the 100 free, 200 free, 100 IM and 200 IM, while Lydia Jacoby swept the breaststroke events. Texas took first in both fly events, with Dakota Luther touching the wall first the 200 fly and Emma Sticklen tallying a win in the 100 fly.
Bridget O'Neil took first on the 3-meter, while Hailey Hernandez had top marks on the 1-meter.
National Team
A trio of Longhorns were selected to the 2022-23 USA Swimming National Team. Chosen by their ranking among the six fastest swimmers in their respective event(s) from the past calendar year, the list of includes Lydia Jacoby (100 breast, 200 breast), Dakota Luther (200 fly) and Kelly Pash (100 fly, 200 fly). Additionally, Anna Elendt competes for Germany, for which she holds national long course records in the 50m breaststroke, 100m breaststroke and 200m breaststroke, as well as short course records in the 50m breaststroke and 100m breaststroke. Two-time Olympic medalist Leah Smith, who trains with UT head coach Carol Capitani, is also a member of the U.S. National Team.
Capitani to lead USA Women's Swimming at 2023 World Championships
Head coach Carol Capitani was selected by USA Swimming to lead the Women's National Team at the 2023 World Championships. The competition will take place World Aquatics Championships are set for July 14-30 in Fukuoka, Japan.
Last summer, she served as an assistant coach for the United States men's and women's teams at the FINA World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, helping Team USA establish a meet record with 45 total medals (17 gold, 12 silver, 16 bronze), breaking the previous record of 38 set by the U.S. in 2017.
She previously served as the U.S. women's head coach for the 2017 World University Games. Capitani joined Team USA as an assistant coach for the U.S. women's team at the 2016 FINA Short Course World Championships in Windsor, Ontario and served previous stints as an assistant coach for the U.S. at the World University Games in 2011 and 2013. She was the head coach for the U.S. women at the 2013 Mutual of Omaha Duel in the Pool, as well.
Diving honored with 2022 USA Diving Collegiate Impact Award
Texas Diving was honored with the 2020 USA Diving Collegiate Impact Award, presented to the top-contributing school on the 2020 U.S. Olympic Diving Team in Tokyo. The Longhorns were recognized during the Team USA Collegiate Recognition Awards that ran in conjunction with the National Football Foundation's 64th Annual Awards celebration in December.
At the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, 100% of the U.S. Olympic Diving Team competed collegiately. Texas had three divers competing in the Games, the largest representation of any program on Team USA in Tokyo, which earned the Longhorns the 2020 USA Diving Collegiate Impact Award.
FINA Short Course World Championships
- Dakota Luther won gold in the 200m butterfly and Anna Elendt earned bronze in the 100m breaststroke this week at the 2022 FINA Short Course World Championships (25m) at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatics Centre.
- Luther won the first World Championships medal of her career in Thursday's exciting 200-meter fly final that saw her battle United States teammate Hali Flickinger throughout the race, winning with a personal-best time of 2:03.37. She became the first American woman to win that 200m butterfly (SCM) world title since Mary Descenza in 2008 and her time makes her the third-fastest American in the event's history.
- Elendt claimed third in the 100m breaststroke on Thursday, setting a German national record with a time of 1:04.05. She out-touched China's Tang Qianting by one one-hundredth of a second to bring home the bronze. Elendt also took fifth in the 50m breast in 29.30.
USA Diving Winter Nationals
- Hailey Hernandez won the national crown on the 1-meter
- Hernandez also claimed silver on the 3-meter, while Bridget O'Neil finished as the runner-up on the 1-meter and Jordan Skilken took second on the platform.
- Hernandez scored 510.60 points in the 1-meter preliminary and final, the second-highest total of the competition, but as the event's top American finisher she was credited with the U.S. national title. O'Neil's, who placed fifth in the prelims, joined Hernandez on the podium with a total score of 489.60 points, the third-best score of the day and earned silver with the second-highest American score.
- On the 3-meter, Hernandez tallied 573.85 point to finish just 5.75 points behind champion Sarah Bacon. Sitting in fourth following the prelims, Hernandez opened the finals scoring 64.80 points with an inward 2 1/2 somersault tuck, the highest score of the opening round. She added a pair of 63-point dives in the third and fourth round to help secure her second medal of the event.
- Of Skilken's five final-round dives on the platform, three were for at least 61 points. She twice scored 67.20 points in the final, first with a third-round armstand back two somersault 1 1/2 twist free, then clinching the silver on her final dive with a back 2 1/2 somersault 1 1/2 twist pike.
- Texas Divers won the women's team title with 130 points and earned a third-place finish on the men's side with 66 points. Collectively, Texas divers scored a combined 196 points to win the overall team competition.
Longhorns in the NCAA Top-16
50 free:
10. Grace Cooper (21.89)
100 free:
3. Kelly Pash (47.35)
200 free:
2. Kelly Pash (1:43.40)
10. Kyla Leibel (1:44.75)
16. Olivia Bray (1:45.10)
500 free:
2. Erica Sullivan (4:39.26)
1650 free:
3. Erica Sullivan (15:58.97)
100 back:
6. Olivia Bray (50.92*)
200 back:
4. Olivia Bray (1:50.71)
100 breast:
2. Anna Elendt (57.48*)
3. Lydia Jacoby (57.54*)
200 breast:
4. Anna Elendt (2:06.43*)
10. Lydia Jacoby (2:07.14)
100 fly:
6. Emma Sticklen (50.91*)
7. Kelly Pash (51.01)
200 fly:
1. Kelly Pash (1:51.96*)
3. Dakota Luther (1:52.58*)
6. Emma Sticklen (No. 5 – 1:54.21)
200 IM:
3. Kelly Pash (1:54.26)
11. Emma Sticklen (1:56.07)
12. Olivia Bray (1:56.14)
200 free relay:
13. Texas (1:28.64 – Grace Cooper, Kelly Pash, Bridget Semenuk, Kyla Leibel)
400 free relay:
3. Texas (3:12.06* – Kelly Pash, Kyla Leibel, Grace Cooper, Bridget Semenuk)
800 free relay:
2. Texas (6:59.67* – Kyla Leibel, Kelly Pash, Erica Sullivan, Emma Sticklen)
200 medley relay:
2. Texas (1:34.46* – Olivia Bray, Anna Elendt, Emma Sticklen, Grace Cooper)
400 medley relay:
1. Texas (3:25.96* – Olivia Bray, Anna Elendt, Emma Sticklen, Kelly Pash)
* Denotes A Standard
Texas' 2022-23 Big 12 Conference Weekly Honors
Oct. 12
Emma Sticklen (Swimmer)
Bridget O'Neil (Diver)
Dakota Luther (Newcomer)
Oct. 26
Kelly Pash (Swimmer)
Bridget O'Neil (Diver)
Lydia Jacoby (Newcomer)
Nov. 9
Kelly Pash (Swimmer)
Bridget O'Neil (Diver)
Lydia Jacoby (Newcomer)
Nov. 23
Bridget O'Neil (Diver)
Jan. 18
Kelly Pash (Swimmer)
Bridget O'Neil (Diver)
Lydia Jacoby (Newcomer)
Team Rankings
The Longhorns are ranked second in the latest College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association (CSCAA) Division I poll (January 19), trailing only Virginia. The top 10 includes Virginia (449), TEXAS (432), Stanford (411), NC State (388), Ohio State (387), Louisville (354), Florida (337), Alabama (323), Indiana (299) and Southern California (285).
Storied Program
Texas finished as the runner-up at the 2022 national meet after placing third in 2021. Overall, Texas has claimed a total of nine national titles in its proud history. The Longhorns won AIAW national championships in 1981 and 1982. UT added NCAA team titles in 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990 and 1991.
Conference Dominance
The Longhorns have captured 10 consecutive Big 12 Conference crowns (2013-22) and 20 overall Big 12 team titles. UT has won a total of 34 conference championships (14 Southwest Conference, 20 Big 12 Conference).
Head Coach Carol Capitani
Carol Capitani is in her 11th season at the helm of the Texas program. She has led the Longhorns to 10-straight Big 12 Conference crowns (2013-22) and top-10 finishes at the NCAA Championships in eight of the last nine meets held. Capitani has guided UT to back-to-back top-three NCAA results, finishing as the runner-up in 2022, Texas' best showing since 1994.
Up Next
Both Texas squads will be back in action on Friday, Feb. 3 when the Longhorns host SMU and celebrate the Senior Day for the women's team and the men close out the regular season slate of the schedule. The women wrap up the regular season on Saturday, Feb. 4 at home with the Sterkel Classic.
Players Mentioned
