November 15-18 Results:
Men’s Results
| Cincinnati |
House of Champions Invite |
RECAP |
| UConn |
House of Champions Invite/Frank Elm Invitational |
RECAP |
| ECU |
Georgia Tech Invite |
RECAP |
| SMU |
Art Adamson Invite/IU Diving Invite |
RECAP |
Women’s Results
| Cincinnati |
House of Champions Invite |
RECAP |
| UConn |
House of Champions Invite |
RECAP |
| ECU |
Georgia Tech Invite |
RECAP |
| Houston |
Phill Hansel Invite |
RECAP |
| SMU |
Hawkeye Invite/IU Diving Invite |
RECAP |
| Tulane |
Phill Hansel Invite |
RECAP |
Highlights
- All six American Athletic Conference swimming and diving programs were in action over the weekend, competing in four large-scaled meets. Meet and school records in addition to top conference and NCAA B Cut qualifying marks highlighted the competition from November 15-18.
- Cincinnati and UConn each competed at the House of Champions Invitational at the IUPUI Natatorium—the site of the 2019 American Athletic Conference Swimming and Diving Championships. The Bearcats swept the men’s and women’s titles in the three-day event. The UConn women finished second, while the Husky men placed fourth.
Cincinnati set four meet records in the opening day of competition on Friday night. Rocky Laabs set the 500 freestyle record (4:49.00), Dominic Polling broke the 200 IM record (1:46.11), Olivia Schmelzer swam the fastest 50 freestyle (22.92) and the quartet of Natalie Obando, Victoria Hunt, Lina Kutsko and Schmelzer won the 400 medley relay with a time of 3:42.59. Claire Schuermann won on the platform dive with a score of 219.55. She also scored 299.35 in the three-meter dive for a second-place finish.
Laabs continued to dominate the freestyle distance events, finishing first in the 1,650 freestyle with a meet-record time of 16:38.59. Schmelzer also had another meet-record mark, winning the 100 freestyle with a time of 49.82. Jordyn Ryan (women’s) and Parker Saladin (men’s) each won the 200 butterfly before Cincinnati swept the 400 freestyle relays.
On Friday, UConn junior Will Kearsey set a school and meet record in the 50 freestyle with a time of 19.82 to win the event and capture 32 points for the team. The time also was an NCAA B-Cut standard mark. In the relays, the combination of Brazil Rule, Maddy Blair, Linnea Anderson and Jackie Van Lew pushed UConn to the top of the podium with a time of 1:32.63 in the 200 Free Relay, as the time marked a meet record. The men earned a first place finish in the 400 Medley Relay with Kearsey, Mark Hunter, David May and Kyle Dunlap setting a meet-record time of 3:13.66. Megan Wenman scored a win for the Huskies on the women's side with a first place finish in the 200 IM (2:02.27).
Kearsey (100 backstroke), May (400 IM) and Monica Marcello (one-meter dive) highlighted day two of the meet action by securing first place finishes for the Huskies.
- Houston and Tulane battled in the Phill Hansel Invitational hosted by the Cougars. Houston won the event for a third-consecutive year, as the meet was highlighted by 19 NCAA B-Cut times, a multitude of lifetime bests, including a 40-year old program record falling. Houston’s Katie Higgins shattered the 100 butterfly program record that dates back to 1978 when she finished second in the event at 53.83.
Olivia Johnson shined for the Green Wave, setting a school record in the 500 freestyle on Friday with time a time of 4:48.92 and winning the 400 IM with a time of 4:12.76. Tulane finished fifth in the meet.
Eleanna Koutsouveli recorded an NCAA B-Cut time of 4:15.37 in the 400 IM for the Cougars. Zarena Brown continued to swim past the competition with her second NCAA B-Cut time of the weekend, taking first place in the 200 freestyle at 1:45.51. Brown also met the B-Cut criteria on Friday in the 500 freestyle (4:47.19) and with a first-place finish in the 100 freestyle (49.06). Mykenzie Leehy also had a B-Cut time of 49.23 in the 100 freestyle for a second-place finish. In the 100 breaststroke, Peyton Kondis and Angeliki Mavrantza each registered NCAA B-Cuts, finishing first and third, respectively. Kondis followed with a career-best and B-Cut time of 2:11.81 in the 200 breaststroke.
Laura Laderoute posted an NCAA B-Cut time of 53.76 for first-place in the 100 backstroke. Lauren Burrell finished with a lifetime best 314.80 in the three-meter dive. She took second place in the one-meter dive with a score of 272.10 points. Each dive was good for meeting the NCAA Zone Diving standards.
- ECU turned in a trio of NCAA “B” qualifying times and a pair of top-five finishes Friday night at the Georgia Tech Invitational at the McAuley Aquatic Center. Gustavo Santos claimed the Pirates' first individual victory of the meet with an NCAA “B” qualifying time of 46.25 in the 100 butterfly. Jacek Arentewicz posted a NCAA “B” qualifying time of 53.52 in the 100 breaststroke to capture fourth-place and freshman Marek Osina recorded a B-Cut time of 3:50.59 in the 400 IM.
- SMU sent its women’s swimmers to the Hawkeye invitational and divers at the IU Invitational. Andrea Podmanikova led the Mustangs with a runner-up finish in the 200 IM, finishing in a career-best and NCAA “B” standard time of 1:58.57. Erin Trahan also represented SMU in the 100 butterfly, finishing third and continuing to stay under the NCAA “B” standard at 53.30. Podmanikova finished as the runner-up in the 100 breaststroke with an NCAA B-Cut time of 1:00.01. She also placed second in the 200 breaststroke. Freshman Olivia Grossklaus led the Mustangs winning the Championship Final of the 200 butterfly with her first-career NCAA “B” standard time of 1:58.17. Finishing just behind her for runner-up honors was Erin Trahan, also under the provisional standard at 1:58.70.
SMU’s men’s team competed in the Art Adamson Invitational hosted by Texas A&M in College Station on Friday. Matan Segal led SMU with a Championship Final performance in the 200 backstroke, finishing in 1:46.07 for seventh place. Parker Hardigree also represented the Mustangs in diving events at the IU Invitational.