Texas’ Men’s and Women’s Teams Lead Arizona and SMU After Day One of Dual Meet Competition in Austin

AUSTIN, TX, January 29. THE ninth-ranked University of Texas men’s swimming and diving team used three first-place finishes to take a narrow 81.50-79.50 lead over fifth-ranked Arizona and a 95-47 advantage over SMU during the first of two days of dual meet competition at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swim Center on Friday, Jan. 28, per both UT and UofA reports.

UT’s fifth-ranked women’s squad placed first in four events and holds a 96.50-69.50 advantage over No. 4 Arizona and a 101-65 lead over No. 6 SMU.

The Texas men started off the evening with a first-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle relay. The team of sophomore Tyler O’Halloran (Boardman, Ohio), freshman Matthew McGinnis (Raleigh, N.C.), senior Daniel DiToro (Scottsdale, Ariz.) and sophomore Garrett Weber-Gale (Fox Point, Wis.) finished the race in a time of 1:21.34.

The men also placed in the top spot in the 400-yard individual medley with junior Wade Kelley (Marietta, Ga.) touching the wall in 3:57.23, and the 200-yard breaststroke as freshman Matt Lowe (Minot, N.D.) posted a winning time of 2:01.31. Additionally for the men, McGinnis and DiToro also posted runner-up performances in the 500-yard freestyle and 100-yard butterfly, respectively.

The Longhorn women were led by strong performances from junior Sarah Wanezek (Brookfield, Wis.) and sophomore Elizabeth Tinnon (Bowling Green, Ky.), each of whom posted individual event wins on Friday. Tinnon finished first in the 200-yard breaststroke in a time of 2:13.12, one spot ahead of teammate senior Leah Avilla (Livermore, Calif.), while Wanezek won both the 100-yard freestyle (50.14) and the 100-yard butterfly (54.66) and swam the butterfly leg on Texas’ victorious 400-yard medley relay squad.

The team of freshman Hayley McGregory (Houston, Texas), Avilla, Wanezek and junior Kristy Siminski (Portage, Ind.) turned in a time of 3:42.49.

Paving the way for the two Texas diving squads, meanwhile, was senior Monica Maxwell (San Jose, Calif.) for the women and freshman Brian Smith (Carrollton, Texas) for the men. Maxwell finished in second place in the women’s three-meter event posting a score of 472.20, bested only by SMU’s Elizabeth Pike, while Smith finished with a score of 263.25 and placed fourth in the men’s one-meter dive.

Arizona Junior Lyndon Ferns swept the competition in the 100y freestyle, winning with a time of 43.87. Ferns also won the 100y butterfly with a time of 47.21.

Wildcat Freshman Nick Thoman posted the second first-place finish for the Arizona men’s team, winning the 200y backstroke with a time of 1:45.48.

UofA also got a win from Tyler DeBerry, who won the 500y freestyle with a time of 4:23.62.

Finally, the Wildcats dominated the 400y medley relay as the team of Thoman, Barnes, Ferns and junior Simon Burnett took the race with a time of 3:15.69, winning by about three seconds

The Arizona women won the 200y free relay at 1:32.58 to open the meet, and Senior Emily Mason won the 400y individual medley with a time of 4:19.97.

SMU also had some impressive performances on day one. Anja Carman was a double-winner, taking the 200 back at 1:56.87 and then leading a 1-2 sweep of the 500 free, with senior Swiss Miss Flavia Rigamonti at 4:45.17 and 4:47.03, respectively.

On Saturday, the divers will return to the pool for competition at 10:15 a.m., while the swimming events will begin at Noon.

UofA – SMU scores:
Men
Arizona 126, SMU 40

Women
Arizona 88, SMU 79

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