UW swimmers fare well in Texas

AUSTIN, Texas -- Day two of the Texas Swimming and Diving Hall of Fame Invitational proved to be another day of solid performances from both the Cowboys and Cowgirls, including a Cowgirl NCAA provisional qualifying time at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center.

Both the Cowboys and Cowgirls remain in sixth place. The meet features numerous top-25 teams on both the men’s and women’s side. Fourth-ranked Arizona leads the way on the women’s side again with 725.5 points and are followed by No. 3 Texas (656), No. 16 Wisconsin (311.5), No. 7 Auburn (261), North Texas (188), and the Cowgirls (180). The sixth-ranked Arizona men also remain in first with 732.5 points and are trailed by top-ranked Texas (668), No. 5 Auburn (303), UC Davis (246.5), Wisconsin (187), and the Cowboys (139).

“We made great steps today and had a few individuals stand out,” said UW head coach Tom Johnson. “The divers did awesome and I am happy with some of our times that we swam today.”

Lesley Young led the Cowgirls with an excellent time in the preliminary round in the 100 breaststroke that put her in the top-eight for the finals. Later in the day, Young improved on her prelim time and finished in seventh with a time 1 minute, 2.71 seconds, an NCAA “B” cut time.

Stephanie Vint continued her stellar weekend with a ninth place finish in the 400 IM. Sophomore Caroline Wells was also in the 400 IM final and finished in 15th. A day after her own NCAA provisional qualifying time in the 50 freestyle, senior Cassie Stelow swam the 100 breaststroke and finished 16th with a time of 1:05.73. Other Cowgirls in event finals include a 26th place finish from Shelby Bull in the 200 freestyle (1:51.35), and Wells placed 24th in the 100 backstroke (59.21).

The Cowgirls had two divers reach the finals today on the one-meter springboard. Allie Smith placed the highest for UW in seventh with a mark of 234.15 points, while Stephanie Ortiz was close behind in eighth with a score of 227.70.

The Cowgirls also swam two relays today. The 800 freestyle relay finished eighth, while the 200 medley relay was ninth.

“Hopefully, we can get Young’s time to an NCAA “A” time during the season, but Bull, Vint, Wells, and Stelow were awesome today,” Johnson said.

The best performance for the Pokes came from diver Mark Murdock on three-meter springboard. Murdock ended the day in third place with a score of 341.60, and teammate Kyle Bogner placed sixth.

For the Cowboy swimmers, Brandon Fischer reached the finals in both the 400 IM and 100 breaststroke. Fischer swam the 100 breaststroke in 56.34 which was good enough for 12th, and then placed 14th in the 400 IM at 4:03.69.

Sam Holmes and Marshall Dilworth joined Fischer in the 400 IM and finished 20th and 21st respectively. Three more Cowboys earned final round spots today as well. Tommy Gregory placed the highest in the 200 freestyle in 26th (1:42.63), while Tyler Kybartas was 27th (1:42.95), and Christian Johnson placed 30th (1:44.19).

Like the Cowgirls, the Pokes also swam in two relays. The best finish came in the 800 freestyle relay that finished fourth, while the 200 medley was 10th.

“Fischer and Holmes had tremendous times in the 400 IM today, especially in the morning,” Johnson added. “Fischer came back in the 100 breaststroke and had his second great swim of the day.”

The meet will wrap-up Saturday and Wyoming will only compete in the preliminary rounds that will start at 9 a.m. Mountain. Along with the Texas Invite, Cowgirls not in Texas will travel to Greeley, Colo., for a dual meet against Northern Colorado at noon.