The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
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No. 2 Women’s Swimming and Diving preview: SMU; The Sterkel Classic
02.02.2023 | Women's Swimming and Diving
The Longhorns will host the Mustangs on Senior Day on Friday then close out the final regular season in The Sterkel Classic on Saturday.
No. 2 Texas vs. SMU; The Sterkel Classic
When: Friday, Feb. 3 (SMU - Dive: 2 p.m. | Swim 4 p.m.); Saturday, Feb. 4 (The Sterkel Classic)
Where: Austin, Texas
Facility: Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center (FREE ADMISSION)
Results: Live Stats | Meet Mobile | DiveMeets
Top Times: 2022-23 (PDF) | All-Time Top 10 (PDF) | UT Record Holders (PDF)
MEET NOTES
The Matchup
Texas and SMU will square off in a dual meet on Friday. It marks the third time in four years the teams will face off in a dual meet with Texas having won the previous two matchups.
A Look at the Longhorns
Last time out, Texas dominated a pair of home dual meets against No. 4 NC State, winning 124-62 on Friday followed by an 93-53 victory on Saturday.
Texas established a pair of program records, opening the swimming events with a 1:33.70 in the 200 medley relay (Olivia Bray, Anna Elend, Emma Sticklen, Grace Cooper), the second-fastest time in the NCAA this season, and closing the weekend with a program-record 3:25.29 in the 400 medley relay (Olivia Bray, Lydia Jacoby, Emma Sticklen, Kelly Pash), the top time in the nation by 1.68 seconds.
Sticklen won two events and had three top-two individual results against NC State. On Friday, she won the 100 fly with a program-record time of 49.79, besting her own previous mark and becoming the first Longhorn to swim sub-50 seconds in the 100 fly. The mark is the fourth-fastest in the NCAA this season. The next day, the junior won the 200 fly in 1:51.37, the fastest time in the nation this season and the second-fastest mark in program history. She added a second-place result in Friday's 200 IM, swimming a personal-best 1:54.70 that made her the fifth-fastest performer in program history and gave her the number five time in the NCAA this season.
Hailey Hernandez native won both the 1-meter and 3-meter springboard competitions to help Texas to a two-meet sweep of No. 4 NC State. She began the weekend with a victory on the 1-meter, scoring 337.13 points, almost 10 points ahead of the runner-up as Texas took the top-four spots in the competition. The sophomore followed that with a dominating performance on 3-meter, tallying 402.15 points to win by over 40 points as Texas once again claimed the top-four spots.
Jacoby swept the breaststroke events, winning the 100 and improving her American Age Group Record with a time of 57.45, then collecting the victory in the 200 in 2:06.66.
Pash collected to victories, winning the 200 free with an NCAA-leading time of 1:42.73, then swimming a season-best in the 200 IM at 1:53.81.
Bray won a pair of events, taking first in the 100 back (51.50) and 200 back (1:50.46), and Erica Sullivan swam a NCAA-leading times in the 500 free (4:35.88) and 1000 free (9:33.66).
Dakota Luther had a second-place performance in the 200 fly in which she swam a personal-best 1:51.58 that is the second-fastest time in the NCAA this season and places her as the No. 3 performer all-time in program history.
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.
Capitani to lead USA Women's Swimming at 2023 World Championships
Head coach was 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.
2022 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.
2022 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:
1. Kelly Pash (1:42.73*)
10. Kyla Leibel (1:44.75)
15. Olivia Bray (1:44.94)
500 free:
1. Erica Sullivan (4:35.88)
1650 free:
3. Erica Sullivan (15:58.97)
100 back:
7. Olivia Bray (50.92*)
200 back:
4. Olivia Bray (1:50.46*)
100 breast:
2. Lydia Jacoby (57.45*)
3. Anna Elendt (57.48*)
200 breast:
4. Anna Elendt (2:06.43*)
7. Lydia Jacoby (2:06.66)
100 fly:
4. Emma Sticklen (49.79*)
8. Kelly Pash (51.01)
200 fly:
1. Emma Sticklen (1:51.37*)
2. Dakota Luther (1:51.58*)
3. Kelly Pash (1:51.96*)
200 IM:
3. Kelly Pash (1:53.81)
5. Emma Sticklen (1:54.70)
12. Olivia Bray (1:56.14)
200 free relay:
6. Texas (1:27.05* – Grace Cooper, Emma Sticklen, Kyla Leibel, Kelly Pash)
400 free relay:
4. Texas (3:12.53* – Bridget Semenuk, Kyla Leibel, Ava Longi, Kelly Pash)
800 free relay:
2. Texas (6:59.67* – Kyla Leibel, Kelly Pash, Erica Sullivan, Emma Sticklen)
200 medley relay:
2. Texas (1:33.70* – Olivia Bray, Anna Elendt, Emma Sticklen, Grace Cooper)
400 medley relay:
1. Texas (3:25.29* – Olivia Bray, Lydia Jacoby, 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)
Feb. 1
Emma Sticklen (Swimmer)
Hailey Hernandez (Diver)
Dakota Luther (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
Texas will host the 2023 Big 12 Swimming and Diving Championships. The championships will get underway the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center on Wednesday, February 22 and run through Saturday, Feb. 25.
Players Mentioned
