DALLAS – Following strong showings on the opening day of the 2021 American Athletic Conference Swimming and Diving Championships, the SMU men’s team and Houston’s women’s squad built upon meet leads during Friday’s finals session at the Robson & Lindley Aquatics Center/Barr-McMillion Natatorium.
SMU extended its lead over Cincinnati in the men’s competition with 864 points to the 721 of the Bearcats. Defending four-time women’s champion Houston compiled 688 points through day two to lead host SMU (498.5), Cincinnati (472) and Tulane (410.5).
The Cincinnati men struck the first blow of the finals session in the 200 medley relay, as Blake Hanna, Dominic Polling, Michael Balcerak and Hunter Gubeno established a meet record with a time of 1:25.54. SMU’s lineup of Riley Hill, Caleb Rhodenbaugh, Jack Easton and Justin Baker placed second in 1:26.00.
Houston claimed a third straight title in the women’s 200 medley relay, with Ioanna Sacha, Hannah Farmer, Katie Higgins and Katie Power carrying the Cougars to victory in 1:38.84. SMU’s Gabi Grobler, Maddy Lewis, Maxine Parkinson and Alexandra Stevens finished second with a time of 1:40.63, and the Cincinnati lineup of Jaclyn Klimczak, Logan Lawhorn, Abby Johnston and Molly Chelovitz placed third in 1:41.91.
SMU’s Parker Hardigree won a second career men’s 1-meter diving title after finishing as the runner-up last season, scoring 353.75 points in the triumph. Peter Smithson claimed second place with 329.15 points and Dominic Hoefer took third with 323.65 points for the Mustangs.
Cincinnati’s Camryn Streid became the first Bearcat to win the women’s 400 IM in meet history with a victorious finals heat swim of 4:16.78. Laura Garcia Marin from Houston was the event runner-up in 4:19.05 and Tulane’s Gianna Spremullo was the third-place finisher with a time of 4:20.48.
Colin Feehery earned his second event win of the weekend to sweep the IM events with a 400 IM triumph for SMU, touching the wall in an NCAA B-cut time of 3:47.37. Cincinnati’s Spencer Sehlhor claimed second with a time of 3:51.04 and SMU’s Brayden Rudd was third with a 3:51.43 effort.
Houston’s Higgins earned the first win by a non-SMU swimmer in the women’s 100 butterfly final, swimming an NCAA B-cut time of :53.70 to take the gold. Teammate Abby Jackson was the event runner-up with a time of :54.27 and SMU’s Parkinson secured bronze in :54.52.
Balcerak picked up the inaugural Cincinnati gold medal in the men’s 100 butterfly, bring home the title with a time of :46.97 for an NCAA B-cut. Cincinnati teammate Alberto Garcia took second place with a :47.57 showing, and SMU’s Jack Easton was third with a time of :48.03.
Another freestyle event for Houston’s Mykenzie Leehy yielded another gold medal, as the Cougar standout scored the victory in the women’s 200 freestyle with a 1:46.27 performance and NCAA B-cut. Cincinnati’s Sydney St. Rose-Finear (1:47.80) and Maddie Exton (1:47.84) rounded out the podium finishers.
Daniel Forndal returned SMU to the winner’s circle in the men’s 200 freestyle for the first time in five years, swimming an NCAA B-cut time of 1:36.07 in the finals heat. Cincinnati’s Calvin Coetzee was next to the wall in second with a time of 1:36.74, followed in third by SMU’s Wyatt Cronk with a 1:36.96 outing.
Kate McDonald scored the first Tulane win of the meet with an impressive women’s 100 breaststroke performance, scoring the victory in 1:00.57 for the first Green Wave gold medal ever in the event. Christiana Williams was the second Tulane swimmer to place in second with a time of 1:01.94, and Houston’s Farmer was third in 1:02.05.
SMU’s Rhodenbaugh repeated as the men’s 100 breaststroke champion, establishing a pool record of :53.23 during the finals heat. Teammates Evan McCormick (:53.49) and Connor Dalbo (:53.93) capped the Mustang podium sweep.
Sacha motored through the women’s 100 backstroke for her first gold in the event representing Houston, posting an NCAA B-cut time of :53.17 for the championship. Tulane’s Danielle Titus was runner-up with an NCAA B-cut time of :53.85, and Houston’s Power claimed third in :54.55.
Hanna brought home the first Cincinnati men’s 100 backstroke championship with an NCAA B-cut performance of :46.57. SMU’s Hill secured second with a B-cut time of :47.61 and Cincinnati’s Garcia placed third with a time of :48.26.
Kati Deininger earned the second straight gold medal for Houston off the women’s 3-meter board, scoring a total of 322.70 points. SMU’s Taylor Ohlhauser was narrowly off the pace with a runner-up showing of 318.70 points, and Houston’s Hedda Grelz finished third with 309.90 points.
The Houston women’s lineup of Garcia Marin, Sam Medlin, Elizabeth Richardson and Leehy recorded the fourth straight Cougar win in the 800 freestyle relay, taking the title by nearly five full seconds at 7:13.86. Cincinnati’s entry of Exton, Jessica Davis, Erin Shema and St. Rose-Finear claimed runner-up honors in 7:18.80. SMU’s Jenna Watson, Indra Vandenbussche, Janelle Gursoy and Olivia Grossklaus took third with a time of 7:21.34.
SMU capped day two with its first win in the men’s 800 freestyle relay. The Mustang lineup of Feehery, Forndal, Tyler Mansheim and Cronk took the gold with a time of 6:25.50 for a pool record. Cincinnati’s entry of Coetzee, Gubeno, Mohamed Adelbaky and Balcerak clocked a time of 6:27.60.
The final day of the American Swimming and Diving Championships will begin at 10 a.m. (CT) on Saturday with prelim heats on ESPN+. The Saturday finals session is set to begin at 5 p.m. (CT), with the awards ceremony to immediately follow.
Men’s Teams Scores
1. SMU – 864
2. Cincinnati – 721
Women’s Teams Scores
1. Houston – 688
2. SMU – 498.5
3. Cincinnati – 472
4. Tulane – 410.5
Championships Schedule:
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 27
SESSION 5 – 10:00 A.M. (SWIMMING PRELIMS)
12 P.M. (DIVING PRELIMS)
SESSION 6 – 5:00 P.M. (FINALS)
Event #37 Platform Diving PRELIMS Women
Event #38 Platform Diving PRELIMS Men
Event #39 1,650 Yard Freestyle Women
Event #40 1,650 Yard Freestyle Men
Event #37 Platform Diving FINALS Women
Event #29 200 Yard Backstroke Women
Event #30 200 Yard Backstroke Men
Event #31 100 Yard Freestyle Women
Event #32 100 Yard Freestyle Men
Event #33 200 Yard Breaststroke Women
Event #34 200 Yard Breaststroke Men
Event #35 200 Yard Butterfly Women
Event #36 200 Yard Butterfly Men
Event #38 Platform Diving FINALS Men
Event #41 400 Yard Freestyle Relay Women
Event #42 400 Yard Freestyle Relay Men