University of Houston
Day 1
Houston Opens Phill Hansel with Six Top-10 Finishes
11/19/2015 12:00:00 AM | Swimming & Diving
HOUSTON - The University of Houston Swimming team had a strong opening day of the Phill Hansel Invitational led by freshmen Eleanna Koutsouveli and Delia Weber and the 400-yard relay who all had podium finishes for the Cougars Thursday night at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center.
"We came into the meet with energy and attitude," said head coach Ryan Wochomurka. "We came into this meet knowing it was a challenge. It's a marathon. It's a six-session, three-day meet. It's preparation for the conference meet for us. We came out with fire and swam very well as a group this morning. We made some adjustments and either were right at or improved on our seed times this morning, and that's all we can ask."
The Cougars are currently in fourth place with a score of 243 after the first day of the invitational. Rice leads the pack with 310. Tulane follows in second with 264.5, and UC Davis rounds out the podium with 258 points.
The team opened the invitational with a fifth place finish in the 200-yard freestyle relay. The team of Caitlin Horner, Doroteja Bednjanec, Julie Gibson and Maya Owens swam a time of 1:33.97, a team season best.
In the second race of the day freshman Weber grabbed a podium finish in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:52.56. In prelims Weber set a personal best and team season best with a time of 4:50.60. Teammate Rachel Hobbins placed seventh after swimming a time of 4:59.93.
Koutsouveli had an impressive finish in the 200-yard IM as she placed second, netting a personal and team season best time of 2:04.24.
In the 50-yard freestyle, sophomore Horner netted a fifth place finish, swimming in a time of 23.53, a team and season personal best.
The Cougars placed second overall in the final race of the day. The 400-yard medley relay team of Koutsouveli, Ashley Grijalva, Sharo Rodriguez and Horner finished with a season best time of 3:43.51.
"Both the A relays, in the 200-yard freestyle and the 400-yard medley, are far beyond, as a program, where we were at this point last year and much better than the conference meet this past year, so it's exciting," Wochomurka said. "We're excited about relays, and for us that's what collegiate swimming is all about - to be the very best at relays."
RESULTS
OVERALL
1. Rice - 310
2. Tulane - 264.5
3. UC Davis - 258
4. Houston - 243
5. Oregon State - 214
6. Colorado State - 192.5
7. North Texas - 171
8. Idaho - 145
9. New Mexico State - 135
10. Northern Colorado - 105
TOP-10 FINISHES
200 Free Relay
5. Houston A - 1:33.97*
(Horner, Bednjanec, Gibson, Owens)
500 Free
3. Delia Weber - 4:52.56
7. Rachel Hobbins - 4:59.93
200 IM
2. Eleanna Koutsouveli - 2:04.24*^
50 Free
5. Caitlin Horner - 23.53*^
400 Medley Relay
2. Houston A - 3:43. 51*
(Koutsouveli, Grijalva, Rodriguez, Horner)
* - Personal Best
^ - Team Season Best
ABOUT PHILL HANSEL
This weekend's meet is named in honor of former University of Houston Swimming & Diving Head Coach Phill Hansel. Hansel, considered the Father of Cougar Swimming and Diving, led the Cougars from 1975 to 1996, racking up 70 dual-meet victories, a school record that still stands. He helped UH finish in the Top-20 ten times at the AIAW and NCAA Championships.
Hansel, a 1949 graduate of Purdue, was named the Southwest Conference Coach of the Year three times during his tenure, and mentored 31 swimmers to All-America honors, including Diane Johannigman, the first NCAA swimming national champion in UH history.
Hansel also had an impressive resume at the international level, serving as the manager of the 1992 U.S. Olympics teams and working with the Singapore teams at the 1984 and 1988 Olympics.
UP NEXT
The Cougars take to the water for the second day of the Phill Hansel Friday morning. Prelims begin at 10 a.m. and finals will begin at 6 p.m. You can follow live results at http://www.uhcougars.com/livestats/w-swim.
COUGARS TO HOST AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIP
Houston will host the American Athletic Conference Championships for the first time as the best swimmers and divers in the league visit the CRWC from Feb. 17-20, 2016. Following the conference meet, the Cougars will look to close the season at the NCAA Championships, to be held March 17-19, 2016 in Atlanta.
FOLLOW THE COUGARS!
Fans can keep up with the latest in University of Houston Cougar athletics by following us on Facebook (Facebook.com/HoustonAthletics), Twitter (@UHCougars), Instagram (houstoncougars) and YouTube.com (Youtube.com/UHAthletics). In addition, the swimming & diving team has established its own official Facebook (Facebook.com/HoustonCougarSwimmingDiving) and Twitter pages (@UHCougarSwim), which provide regular updates on the team and live results during home meets.
--UHCougars.com--
Players Mentioned
