Championship Central | Results | Photos
Indianapolis, Ind. – Houston became the first women’s team in American Athletic Conference history to win three-straight Swimming and Diving titles, as the Cougars won 12 events and registered 25 trips to the podium. Houston swept the relays and scored 916 points through 21 events at the 2019 conference meet held at the IUPUI Natatorium.
Starting the day in fifth place, Cincinnati ended the title meet with 604.5 points to move into second place. SMU took home six gold medals and had 14 podium finishes to place third with 599 points. Tulane made 11 trips to the podium and finished fourth with 504.5 points, while UConn placed fifth with 466 points. ECU finished in sixth place with 338 points.
SMU’s Erin Trahan won three events and was named The American’s 2019 Most Outstanding Swimmer. Trahan tallied 60 points to tie for the conference’s lead after winning the 50 freestyle, as well as the 100 and 200 butterfly. She swam as part of four relay teams to help the Mustangs earn the runner-up spot in three of them.
Houston’s Zarena Brown also had 60 points and took home three individual titles for the Cougars (100 free, 200 free and 500 free), while helping Houston became the second team in meet history to sweep the relays. Houston Head coach Ryan Wochomurka picked up his third-consecutive Women’s Coach of the Year award.
Tulane’s Olivia Johnson was the women’s third-highest points scorer, registering 57 through the four-day meet. Johnson finished the week with gold medals in the 400 IM and 1,650 freestyle and swam as part of the Green Wave’s second place 500 freestyle relay team.
UConn graduate student Monica Marcello was voted Most Outstanding Diver by The American’s six head coaches after setting the meet record in the 3-meter dive with 349.20 points Friday. Marcello was also the runner-up in the 1-meter dive Wednesday (298.15). UConn head diving coach John Bransfield was named the conference’s Diving Coach of the Year. Houston’s Katie Deininger won the platform dive and finished third in the 3-meter on the way to earning The American’s Swimming and Diving Freshman of the Year honor.
Houston became the second team in the conference to sweep the relay events with the team of Brown, Laura Laderoute, Kathryn Power and Mykenzie Leehy clocking The American’s second-fastest 400 freestyle relay time (3:18.29) in meet history. It marked back-to-back titles in this event for Houston after the Cougars took home their first 400 free relay title in 2018. Cincinnati swam close behind in second place with the team of Madeline Exton, Anhelina Kutsko, Olivia Schmelzer and Abigail Johnston placing second (3:19.79). SMU’s squad of Trahan, Felicity Passon, Gabriella Grobler and Samantha Smith placed third (3:21.39).
Houston saw five of its swimmers qualify for the 200 back finals, including last year’s runner-up and 2016 champion, Eleanna Koutsouveli. The Cougars swept the podium with sophomore Monique Rae clocking a personal-record B-Cut time of 1:55.64. Koutsouveli retained her runner-up status, placing second with a B-Cut time of 1:56.30. Laderoute improved from a fifth-place finish in this event a year ago, taking third place with her time of 1:57.49.
Last year’s top two 100 freestyle finishers were both Cougars, as Brown and Leehy finished one and two, respectively, and returned to this year’s conference race. After they each clocked B-Cut times in the prelims, Brown reclaimed her title, earning her sixth gold medal of the week. Brown swam a personal-record B-Cut time of 48.76 seconds in the final. Leehy, who entered the meet ranked first in the league in this event, took second place with her B-Cut time of 49.03 seconds. ECU’s Catherine Johnson notched her first trip to the podium this year with her time of 49.90 seconds.
The American’s 200 breaststroke record-holder, Andrea Podmanikova of SMU, returned to the finals in a race that featured six of the top eight finishers from last year. After clocking the top seed time in the prelims (2:12.20), Podmanikova made conference history again, re-setting her meet record for a second-straight year with her first-place personal-record time of 2:08.66. Peyton Kondis moved up from her fourth-place finish in 2018, placing second with her time of 2:10.62. Tulane’s Katherine McDonald earned a spot on the podium with her time of 2:12.09 after placing seventh in 2018. Each of the top-six finishers in this event registered B-Cut times.
Cincinnati’s Simone Palomo and Houston’s Rebecca Brandt—two 200 butterfly All-Conference finishers from a year ago—returned to the finals race this year. However, it was two Mustangs that clocked the fastest seed times, including Trahan with a B-Cut mark of 1:58.06. Trahan, who improved from a fourth-place finish last year, swam 1:56.44 in the finals to earn her second gold medal of the meet, while teammate Olivia Grossklaus clocked a B-Cut time of 1:58.19 to finish as this year’s runner-up. Brandt earned her second 200 fly All-Conference nod in as many years with her B-Cut time of 1:59.00. Cincinnati placed three Bearcats in the top eight.
Finishing third place a year ago, Tulane junior Olivia Johnson clocked 16:31.20 in the 1,650 freestyle to take home gold this season. Her mark was only 1.39 seconds off from meeting the NCAA B Standard criteria. UConn’s Ryan Delaney also improved her time from 2018, finishing second place in the mile swim (16:34.13). ECU’s Mariana Lippert Vignoli earned her first-career trip to the podium, taking third place in 16:36.89.
Three rookies swept the podium in the women’s platform dive. Houston’s Deininger saved her best dive for last, using a back 2 1/2 somersault pike to score 58 points on the way to winning her first-career American title (268.25). Another freshman placed second with SMU’s Johanna Holloway earning her second top-two finish of the weekend with her score of 234.95. ECU freshman Mary Warker finished third place with her score of 214.60. Last year’s champion, Patricia Roscoe of Cincinnati, finished fifth (211.95), while teammate and 2018 Diver of the Year Claire Schuermann placed fourth (213.95).
Women’s Teams Scores
1. Houston – 916
2. Cincinnati – 604.5
3. SMU – 599
4. Tulane – 504.5
5. UConn – 466
6. ECU – 338
Women’s Most Outstanding Swimmer
Erin Trahan, SMU
Women’s Most Outstanding Diver
Monica Marcello, UConn
Women’s Swimming and Diving Freshman of the Year
Katie Deininger, Houston
Women’s Swimming Coach of the Year
Ryan Wochormurka, Houston
Women’s Diving Coach of the Year
John Bransfield, UConn
All-Conference performers are top-three finishers in each event.