University of Houston
Day 4
Shedd Named Most Outstanding Diver & Cougars Place Third
2/21/2016 12:00:00 AM | Swimming & Diving
HOUSTON - University of Houston Senior Danielle Shedd was named the Most Outstanding Diver to conclude the American Athletic Conference Swimming and Diving Championships Saturday evening. The Cougars finished the season-ending meet with six individual championships and five school records capturing third overall at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center.
Houston finished the conference championships in third with a score of 554, their highest finish since the 2013 Conference USA Championship where the Cougars finished second. SMU finished in first place overall with a score of 681, while Tulane finished in second, ending with 637.5.
"What a night, two individual conference championships and three more school records," said head swimming and diving coach Ryan Wochomurka. "I could not be more proud of the total team effort this week. We set out on a mission in August to return to relevancy with in the conference, and we made huge strides in that direction this week."
Shedd was honored as the conference Most Outstanding Diver for her impressive performance during the meet. The senior was crowned Thursday evening the 1-meter diving champion and finished third overall in the 3-meter. Shedd also placed seventh in the platform diving event, bringing her individual point total to 48, the most points among all divers.
The Cougars have taken Most Outstanding Diver laurels for the past three years at the American Championships. Also, Houston's Bob Gunter was named Co-Female Diving Coach of the Year, the program's 15th in a row.
Taylor Olanski is now tied for eighth in the program's leaders in individual conference wins with four individual championships after capturing her third platform diving title. The London, Ontario native netted a score of 237.65 with her best dive coming in her first dive, the inward 1 ½ somersault pike, off the five-meter platform to earn a score of 50.40.
Houston won all three diving titles at the American Athletic Conference Championships for the second year in a row. Sophomore Micaela Bouter took the 3-meter title on Wednesday, Shedd the 1-meter and Olanski on platform.
Freshman Eleanna Koutsouveli swept the backstroke events in her first conference meet. The Athens, Greece native initially improved her program record in preliminaries (1:57.86) and then shattered it again dropped her time again to 1:56.15. Koutsouveli was second overall in the entire meet in individual scoring with 56 points, 4 points behind the conference leader and female swimmer of the year Jaqueline Keire from Cincinnati.
Hannah Herbst took home her second medal of the conference after placing third in the 1,650-yard freestyle. The freshman touched the wall at 16:32.45, setting a personal best and a new school record previously set by teammate Delia Weber at the Phill Hansel Invitational in Nov. Also during her 1,650 race, the Scottsdale, Ariz. native set another school record in the 1,000-yard freestyle with a time of 9:57.39.
Also in the 1,650-yard freestyle teammate Delia Weber placed fourth with a time of 16:45.86. Rachel Hobbins set a personal best with a time of 17:12.24 to finish eighth overall. While freshman Conor Glenn grabbed 11th in the event with a time of 17:19.21, a personal best.
In the 100-yard freestyle, Caitlin Horner set a personal best after touching the wall at 51.05, finishing third in Heat B. Senior Doroteja Bednjanec placed 14th overall after netting a time of 51.71.
Freshman Jenny Penneck finished sixth in the 200-yard backstroke after dropping 0.62 seconds off her preliminary time, setting a personal best of 2:00.57.
In the 200-yard breaststroke, sophomore Ashley Grijalva placed fourth overall with a time of 2:13.98, notching 1.17 seconds off of her prelims time. Right behind her was teammate Cameron Balkom in fifth, touching the wall at 2:14.38, a personal best. Balkom's time jumped her up to the second best time in program history behind Grijalva.
Sharo Rodriguez placed fourth in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 1:58.91, the third best time in program history and a personal best. Senior Maya Owens finished Heat B in second with a time of 2:03.49, dropping 0.62 seconds off her preliminary time.
"This team and this program have bold and lofty goals," said Wochomurka. "The fun part is we are only getting started."
POINT EARNERS
OVERALL
1. SMU - 681
2. Tulane - 637.5
3. Houston - 554
4. Cincinnati - 536
5. ECU - 515.5
6. UConn - 457
1,650 Free
3. Hannah Herbst -16:32.45 [16]^*
4. Delia Weber - 16:45.86 [15]
8. Rachel Hobbins - 17:12.24 [11]*
11. Conor Glenn - 17:19.21 [6]*
Platform
1. Taylor Olanski - 237.65 [20]
7. Danielle Shedd- 159.80 [12]
200 Back
1. Eleanna Koutsouveli - 1:56.15 [20]^*
6. Jenny Penneck- 1:50.87 [13]*
100 Free
11. Caitlin Horner - 51.05 [16]*
14. Doroteja Bednjanec - 51.71 [13]
200 Breast
4. Ashley Grijalva - 2:13.98 [15]
5. Cameron Balkom- 2:14.38 [14]*
200 Fly
4. Sharo Rodriguez - 1:58.91 [15]*
10. Maya Owens- 2:03.49 [14]
400 Freestyle Relay
Houston - DQ
Program Record -^
Personal Best -*
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. Following the conference meet, the Cougars will look to close the season at the NCAA Championships, to be held March 17-19 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
