Texas vs. California-Berkeley

BERKELEY, California. October 18. NO. 7 Texas kicked off the 2008-09 season with a bang as the Longhorns claimed 13 of 16 events and toppled a long-standing school record in a commanding 175-123 victory over No. 5 California at the Spieker Aquatics Center.

The nation's top freshman class immediately made its mark with victories in eight individual events and the toppling of a 22-year-old school record by Olympian Kathleen Hersey. Freshman Karlee Bispo complemented Hersey's three wins with two individual wins of her own after taking down an Olympic medalist in the 200-yard freestyle.

Freshmen Katie Riefenstahl and Leah Gingrich added one win apiece, as did freshman diver Lauren Caldwell, who helped Texas to one-two-three finishes in the diving events. The Texas coaches selected Bispo at UT's Swimmer of the Meet and Livingston as the Diver of the Meet.

Texas kicked off the meet with a win in the 200 medley relay, as Hersey, sophomore Carlye Ellis, Gingrich and senior Hee-Jin Chang finished in 1:42.39, topping Cal's second-place effort of 1:42.93. Gingrich followed with her first individual collegiate victory, as she took the 1,000 freestyle in 9:47.67.

Bispo, a Modesto, Calif., native who grew up less than 100 miles from Cal's Berkeley campus, toppled Cal freshman Sara Isakovic, a silver medalist in the 200-meter freestyle at the Beijing Olympics. Bispo edged Isakovic in the 200-yard freestyle with a mark of 1:46.68 to win by five one-hundredths of a second.

Ellis added a decisive two-second victory in the 100 breaststroke, finishing in 1:02.81. Junior Alexi Spann placed third in 1:05.33, and senior Alison Soelter took fourth in 1:06.52.

Hersey chalked up a new school record in her first collegiate competition, as she took the 200 butterfly in 1:54.83 to easily eclipse a 22-year-old school mark. Kara McGrath's previous mark of 1:56.91 had stood since March 22, 1986. Hersey was a finalist in the 200-meter butterfly at the Beijing Olympics.

Bispo added a second victory in the 100 freestyle, finishing in 49.86, and Riefenstahl added a victory in the 200 backstroke, winning in 2:00.09. Ellis led a one-two-three Texas finish in the 200 breaststroke for her second win of the day, finishing in 2:17.27. Spann took second in 2:19.96, and Soelter placed third in 2:20.17. Freshman Kierstin Thornhill took fifth in 2:22.30.

Hersey took the 100 butterfly in 53.27, good for the eighth-fastest swim in UT history, before taking the 400 IM in 4:12.27 for the third-fastest swim in that event in school history. Gingrich took second in 4:23.49.

Bispo, Chang, Riefenstahl and sophomore Adrienne Woods finished off the meet with a win in the 400 freestyle relay, as the quartet finished in 3:20.94, although with the team victory in hand, UT exhibitioned the event and declined the points.

The Texas divers did their part to complement the solid Longhorns swimming effort. Caldwell took the one-meter event with a score of 263.84, while Livingston took second at 252.87. Freshman Shelby Cullinan took third at 246.37. Livingston captured the three-meter event with 322.65 points. Cullinan took second at 291.23, and Caldwell placed third at 276.08.

Special thanks to Texas for contributing this report.

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x