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University of Houston Athletics
Cougars Split Squad for Weekend Competition
10/7/2016 12:00:00 AM | Swimming & Diving
HOUSTON - The University of Houston Cougar Swimming & Diving team will split its squad and compete in two separate meets this weekend with nine student-athletes going to Springfield, Mo., to compete in the Missouri State Invitational and the other group staying home to host the Houston Pentathlon at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center.
The Cougars will host their first meet of the season, the Houston Pentathlon, at 10 a.m., Saturday, at the CRWC. Houston welcomes Rice for their first of five meetings this season in a 6-event competition. The Cougars and Owls will face off in the 100-yard freestyle, 100-yard backstroke, 100-yard breaststroke, 100-yard butterfly, 500-yard freestyle and the 200-yard IM.
The Missouri State Invitational will be hosted by the University of Missouri State at the Hammons Student Center. Eight teams will compete in the event including the host team Missouri State, Illinois State, Northern Iowa, Southern Illinois, Rice and Little Rock.
The Missouri State Invitational is a one-day, two-session meet with the first session beginning at 10 a.m., and the second session stating at 4 p.m.
ORDER OF EVENTS
Session 1 (10 a.m.) 400 Medley Relay, 200 Free, 400 IM, 100 Fly, 50 Free, 100 Breast and 100 Back.
Session 2 (4 p.m.) 200 Medley Relay, 500 Free, 200 Breast, 200 Back, 100 Free, 200 Fly, 200 IM and 400 Free Relay.
LAST TIME OUT
The Cougars won three relay events - 300-yard backstroke, 400-yard medley, 1,500-yard freestyle relays - and freshman Laura Laderoute set a school record on Sept. 30 in the 100-yard IM, en route to season-opening win at North Texas Relays.
RETURNERS
Houston is returning six of seven student-athletes from the 2016 All-American Conference Team. Sophomore Eleanna Koutsouveli swept the backstroke events and podiumed in the 400 IM at the 2016 American Championships. Fellow Sophomore Hannah Herbst won the 500-yard freestyle and placed third in the 1,650-yard freestyle.
On the boards, diver Taylor Olanski will look to four-peat in the platform, while Micaela Bouter looks to defend her 3-meter crown.
Back in the pool, junior Ashley Grijalva won bronze in the 100-yard breaststroke, and senior Jasmine Williams earned a bronze medal in the 100-yard backstroke.
NEWCOMERS
The Cougars' 2016 signing class includes Miami (Fla.) transfer Ksenia Yuskova along with freshmen Hanna Blewett, Zarena Brown, Lauren Burrell, Gaby Jimenez, Peyton Kondis, Laderoute, Sydney Larson, Claire Liptak, Emily Longfellow, Hannah Middleton, Victoria Roubique and Isabel Tank.
UP NEXT
Houston will hit the road for its first dual meets of the season on Oct. 28-29. First up Houston travels to Dallas to take on defending American Athletic Conference champions SMU at 6 p.m., Oct 28. The Cougars will make their second trip to Denton to face North Texas at 11 a.m., Oct. 2.
COUGARS TO HOST AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIP
Houston will host the American Athletic Conference Championships for the second consecutive year as the best swimmers and divers in the league visit the CRWC Feb. 15-18, 2017. Following the conference meet, the Cougars look to close the season at the NCAA Championships, to be held March 15-18, 2017, in Indianapolis, Ind.
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
