Texas Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving Notes

No. 3 Texas Men (4-1) vs. No. 9 Arizona (3-3)/No. 5 Arizona St. (5-2) No. 2 Texas Women (7-2) vs. No. 3 Arizona (5-2)/No. 7 Arizona St. (5-2)

Friday-Saturday, Feb. 1-2 * Hillenbrand Aquatic Center * Tucson, Ariz.

The Longhorns Checklist
* The Texas women's team is ranked No. 2 in the most recent College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Top 25 Poll released on Jan. 17. It is the highest ranking for the Longhorns since March 20,
1994.

* The UT men fell one spot to No. 3 in the latest edition of the CSCAA Top 25 Poll released on Jan. 17. The Horns have been ranked in the top three since Nov. 13, 1997.

* Senior-diver Troy Dumais (Ventura, Calif.) posted another perfect outing during UT's last competition against No. 19 Texas A&M on Jan. 26. The two-time NCAA Diver of the Year swept the dual meet field, capturing first place on both the one-meter and three-meter springboard events.

* The women's team returns seven of 11 All-Americans and 18 of 28 letterwinners from the 2000-01 Big 12 Conference Championship team.

* The Texas men's team won its second consecutive NCAA Championship last year and its eighth national title (1981, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1996, 2000, 2001) in school history. The Longhorns return 11 of 16 All-Americans and 20 of 26 letterwinners from the 2000-01 NCAA Championship team.

THIS WEEK: The University of Texas men's and women's swimming and diving teams both hit the road this weekend to take on Arizona and Arizona State, respectively, at the Hillenbrand Aquatic Center in Tucson, Ariz. The two-day, three-session meet will begin on Friday, Feb. 1, at 3 p.m. (CST). The second session will begin at 10 a.m. (CST) on Saturday, followed by the third and final session at 3 p.m.

IN THE RANKINGS: The No. 2-ranked women's squad will face an Arizona team which is ranked No. 3 and an Arizona State team ranked No. 7. The men's team is paired against a Wildcat squad that stands at No. 9, while ASU is at No. 5. The next edition of the CSCAA team rankings are scheduled to be released on Jan. 31.

TRIANGULAR MEET SPECIFICS: With three sessions of competition, events will be ordered as they will be at the NCAA Championships in March. In individual events, each team will be allowed to enter five competitors, with swimmers being divided into two heats of each individual event. Additionally, each individual swimmer will be allowed to enter only three events per day (two individual races and one relay or one individual race and two relays). Scoring will also follow the NCAA Championships rules. Texas will have the opportunity to record the equivalent of two dual-meet outcomes this weekend, as they will be scored against Arizona and Arizona State.

THE HORNS ARE HOT: The UT women's No. 2 ranking in the latest CSCAA Top 25 is its highest ranking since finishing the 1994 season with a second-place finish at the NCAA Championships (3/20/94). Texas also has won six consecutive dual meets, its longest streak since winning six straight during the 1991-92 season (11/1/91-1/25/92).

WOMEN"S LAST TIME OUT: During its last time out, the Texas women's team posted one of its most impressive outings of the 2001-02 season, upsetting then-No. 2 Georgia (174.5-125.5) on Jan. 11 and then-No. 8 Florida (173-126) on Jan. 12. Against Georgia, the Longhorns were led by senior-transfer Lauren Thies (Portland, Ore./Stanford) and juniors Tanica Jamison (Dublin, Calif.) and Erin Phenix (Cincinnati, Ohio), all of which were double-event winners. Thies led the way in the individual distance events, winning both the 500 (4:52.58) and 1,000-yard
(10:02.13) freestyle, while Jamison took charge in the backstroke by winning both the 100 (55.65) and 200 (2:00.47) races. The sprint free events were highlighted by the performance of Phenix, who touched first in the 50 (23.13) and the 100 (50.20) free. Junior-transfer Joscelyn Yeo (Republic of Singapore/California) stole the show the following day against the Gators, tallying three individual victories on the day. Yeo placed first in the 100-yard butterfly (54.83), as well as the 100
(1:03.17) and 200 (2:17.78) breaststroke events. All three times were NCAA "B" consideration times.

MEN'S LAST TIME OUT: The men's team won 12 out of 14 individual events en route to a 167-125 victory over No. 19 Texas A&M, on Saturday, Jan. 26, at the Texas A&M Student Rec Center Natatorium in College Station. The Horns were led by senior Tommy Hannan (Baltimore, Md.) and junior Chris Kemp (Southlake, Texas), who led the pack in two individual events each. Hannan captured first in the 100-yard backstroke (48.42) and the 200 breaststroke (2:02.37), while Kemp took top honors in the 100
(44.89) and 200 (1:37.29) freestyle races. All four times qualified for NCAA "B" consideration.

EXAMINING ARIZONA AND ARIZONA STATE: Both the Arizona and Arizona State men's and women's teams are coming off of losses against No. 1-ranked Stanford. On Jan. 25, the Wildcat women lost to the Cardinal, 182-118,
while the men fell 192-106. The following day on Jan. 26, Stanford
took care of the ASU men, 136-99, then the ASU women, 188-112. In his
24 years at Texas, men's head coach Eddie Reese holds an 11-0 dual meet record against Arizona and his Horns stand 7-1 against Arizona State, with the only loss coming in 1988. On the women's side, co-head coach Jill Sterkel stands 4-4 vs. the Wildcats, while both Sterkel and co-head coach Mike Walker are 0-1 against ASU.

ON A ROLL: Senior-diver Troy Dumais (Ventura, Calif.) is off to an outstanding dual meet season on the one and three-meter springboards, yet again. Dumais has totaled a perfect 5-0 record on the three-meter board this season, while also posting a 4-1 mark on the one-meter board, winning his last four competitions. Most recently, Dumais toppled the field in UT's dual meet against No. 19 Texas A&M, winning the one-meter diving competition with a score of 377.40 and the three-meter with a 409.80 mark. The two-time NCAA Diver of the Year's third-place finish against Southern Cal this season was first time he has not finished first in a dual meet competition since the 1998-99 season.

DIVING DUO STEPS UP: The diving duo of sophomore Ally Hartzell (Austin,
Texas) and freshman Nicole Pohorenec (Winter Springs, Fla.) both added to the UT scoring effort in its victories over Georgia and Florida, Jan. 11-12. Hartzell, a two-time All-Big 12 performer, took top honors on the boards against the Lady Bulldogs with first-place showings on the one (282,37) and three-meter (296.24) springboards. Pohorenec came through the following day vs. Florida, placing first on both the one-meter (264.45) and three-meter (275.32) springboard events.

LEADING THE WAY: While becoming mainstays on the winners stand for the Longhorns this year, Chris Kemp and sophomore Brendan Hansen (Havertown,
Pa.) are also leading the way for the rest of the nation. Kemp's time of 1:36.02 in the 200 freestyle and Hansen's times of 53.57 in the 100 breaststroke and 1:56.09 in the 200 breast currently stand as the fastest collegiate times during 2001-02, according to Taper & Shave's College Quick 50 released on Jan. 23. The Horns also have shown dominance in relay events, posting the nation's fastest times in both the 200 (1:27.69) and 400 (3:12.03) medley relays.

RELAY SUCCESS: The Longhorn women took control of the relay events during the 2001 Texas Invitational, posting top finishes in the 200, 400 and 800 freestyle relays, with all three quartets tallying NCAA automatic qualifying times. The free relay marks of 1:30.74 in the 200 and 7:14.58 in the 800 not only led all relay teams at the Texas Invite, but are also the nation's fastest collegiate times during 2001-02, according to Taper & Shave's College Quick 50 released on Jan. 23. UT's 400 free relay time of 3:19.35 is the nation's second fastest collegiate
time.

MEN'S HIGHLIGHTS OF SUMMER COMPETITION: Leading the way for Texas men's swimmers at the 2001 World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, were sophomores Brendan Hansen and Ian Crocker. Hansen captured the 200-meter breaststroke gold medal in meet-record time of 2:10.69, while Crocker took the silver in the 100 butterfly (52.25). Crocker's second-place performance broke his previous American record of 52.44 set at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. At the 2001 U.S. National Championships, seniors Tommy Hannan and Joe Montague (Houston, Texas) both won silver medals – Hannan in the 100-meter butterfly (53.91) and Montague in the 200 IM (2:02.04). Senior Justin Dumais led the way for UT divers at the Speedo Outdoor National Diving Championships, winning four gold medals (3m, synchro 3m, platform, synchro platform).
STELLAR SUMMER FOR WOMEN: Phenix and Jamison continued to compete at meets throughout the summer. The duo teamed to capture the gold medal in the 400-meter freestyle, touching in a meet record time of 3:43.49, at the U.S. National Championships (Aug. 14-18). Phenix also won silver medals in the 400 freestyle relay (3:40.80) and 400 medley relay
(4:01.81) at the World Championships (July 22-29). Jamison capped off the summer by taking the gold medal in the 400 freestyle relay at the World University Games (Aug. 23-29). The relay time of 3:44.47 broke the Univeriade meet record of 3:46.41 set by China in 1991. Jamison swam the fastest split time of the four Americans, touching the second leg of the relay in 56.10.

2001 NCAA CHAMPIONS: The Texas men's swimming and diving team captured its second consecutive NCAA title in 2001. A total of nine American and eight NCAA records were broken at the meet with the Longhorns setting six of those marks. The Longhorns claimed its eighth NCAA team title in school history with 597.5 points. Stanford finished second (457.5) and Tennessee (330.5) placed third. Texas posted a UT-record seven individual titles and four relay championships at the meet.

2001 IN REVIEW: With a core group of swimmers led by Colleen Lanné, the Texas women's team earned its third consecutive Big 12 Conference title and finished third at the 2001 NCAA Championships. This marked the Longhorns' highest finish at the NCAAs since a third-place showing in 1995. It was also the 17th top-10 finish for the Longhorns in 18 years at the NCAA Championships. A total of 11 Texas swimmers claimed All-America honors and four NCAA Championship trophies (two individual/two relay).

MEN'S HEAD COACH EDDIE REESE: Head coach Eddie Reese is in his 24th season at the helm of the Texas men's swimming program. During his tenure, the Longhorns have won seven of the last 14 NCAA Championships and an incredible 22 consecutive conference titles. Last year, he led the Longhorns to their eighth NCAA Championship. Reese has coached 31 NCAA individual champions, 25 National Champion relays, 120 All-Americans and 18 Olympians. Those Olympians have claimed 19 gold medals in four Olympiads.

WOMEN'S CO-HEAD COACH JILL STERKEL: Co-head coach Jill Sterkel enters her 10th season at The University of Texas. In her first nine seasons, she has directed the Longhorns to eight top-10 finishes at the NCAA Championships, seven conference titles and to two runner-up league finishes. This includes four top-three finishes at the NCAA Championships (1993, 1994, 1995, 2001) and three consecutive Big 12 Conference Championships (1999, 2000 and 2001). Sterkel's Longhorns also claimed four consecutive Southwest Conference crowns from 1993-1996.

WOMEN'S CO-HEAD COACH MIKE WALKER: Co-head coach Mike Walker is entering his second season at Texas. Following the 2000-01 season, Walker was named the Big 12 Conference women's swimming Co-Head Coach of the Year. His impact was felt immediately last season as the Longhorns finished third at the 2001 NCAA Championships, claiming four NCAA trophies (two individual/two relay titles), as well as setting NCAA records in the 200 and 400 freestyle relays. Walker joined the 2000-01 coaching staff after spending the previous six years at the University of California where he led the Bears to four consecutive top-10 NCAA finishes (ninth, 1997; eighth, 1998; fifth, 1999; fourth, 2000). The fourth-place finish in 2000 was the best in Cal history.

HEAD DIVING COACH: Matt Scoggin begins his eighth year at Texas as the head diving coach, where he has clearly established UT as one of the nation's top men's and women's diving programs. A former U.S. Olympic diver and a 2000 USA Olympic men's assistant diving coach, Scoggin has been recognized nationally for his outstanding efforts. He was selected NCAA Women's Diving Coach of the Year in 1996-97, 1997-98 and 1998-99, as well as the NCAA Men's Diving Coach of the Year in 2000-01. Additionally, Scoggin is a four-time Big 12 Conference Women's Diving Coach of the Year and was the 1994-95 Southwest Conference Women's and Men's Diving Coach of the Year. Scoggin has also coached the U.S. National Team seven times, including his most recent appointment as the head coach of the national team that competed at the 2001 World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan (July 22-29).

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