Houston in First-Place After Day One of Phill Hansel Invitational

11/16/2018 8:43:00 PM | Swimming & Diving

Personal-best and eight top-10 finishes highlight first day of meet

HOUSTON – The University of Houston Swimming & Diving team posted seven top-five finishes and 490 points on the opening day of action at the Phill Hansel Invitational.

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW

The Cougars got out to a strong start, with 21 different Cougars advancing to the finals in the first three individual events of the weekend.
Zarena Brown notched the first NCAA B-Cut of the weekend for Houston with a second-place finish in the prelims of the 500 Freestyle. Brown advanced to the A-Final of the event after posting a time of 4:47.19. In the finals, Brown posted a time of 4:53.26 to finish seventh. Six other Cougars advanced to the finals in the event as well with three Cougars posting lifetime best (Haley Benjamin; 4:49.84) (Shayla Erickson; 4:55.83)(Monique Rae; 4:52.83).
Laura Laderoute had a stellar outing, finishing second in the prelims of the 200 IM at 2:01.25 to advance to finals. Laderoute closed out the event with a third-place finish, touching the wall at 2:00.97. Six other Houston swimmers advanced to finals where Eleanna Koutsouveli turned in the highest Cougar finish in second-place at 2:00.06. Peyton Kondis finished shortly behind her at 2:01.05 for fourth.
Sophomore Mykenzie Leehy came within milliseconds of an NCAA B-Cut time in the prelims of the 50 Free after finishing the race at 22.90 for second-overall. The time is the third-best in program history and a lifetime best for the Leehy. In the finals, Leehy led Houston with a third-place finish at 23.0. Six other Cougars qualified for the finals in the event with Rachel Hicks and Julie Gibson each recorded personal-best.
On the boards all four Cougars qualified for the finals of the 1-meter led by a first-place finish in prelims by Lauren Burrell. Burrell posted a lifetime-best 257.40 points in prelims, closing out the day with a second-place finish in the event after finishing with a lifetime best 272.10 points.
Katie Deininger trailed Burrell by less than one point for second-place in the prelims with 256.35 points. She advanced to the finals where she took first-place with a lifetime best 293.75.
Jaylynn Whitt advanced to the A-Final after posting 224.05 points in the prelims. Whitt finished sixth-overall with 252.35 points.
Claire Liptak closed out the day with 219.50 points in the prelims of the 1-meter for 11^th-overall. Liptak finished fourth in the B-Final with a career-best 234.60 points.
The Cougars posted a program-best 1:31.23 in the 200 Freestyle Relay, besting the previous program record of 1:31.47. Mykenzie Leehy, Laura Laderoute, Kathryn Power, and Hannah Middleton combined for a second-place finish in the event, picking up 56 points.
In the final event of the day Laderoute, Kondis, Katie Higgins and Brown finished at 3:36.22 for first-place, racking up 64 points.

HOUSTON FINISHES

200 FREESTYLE RELAY
2. Leehy, Laderoute, Power, Middleton – 1:31.23

500 FREE
7. Zarena Brown – 4:53.26
9. Haley Benjamin - 4:49.84
10. Samantha Medlin - 4:50.17
17. Reese Lamph - 4:52.43
20. Shayla Erickson - 4:55.83
23. Conor Glenn - 4:59.50
25. Monique Rae - 4:52.83

200 IM
2. Eleanna Koutsouveli – 2:00.06
3. Laura Laderoute - 2:00.97
4. Peyton Kondis - 2:01.05
7. Morgan Rosas - 2:02.26
16. Gaby Jimenez - 2:03.32
19. Becca Brandt - 2:03.20

50 FREE
3. Mykenzie Leehy – 23.03
11. Katie Power - 23.30
13. Middleton - 23.48
17. Katie Higgins - 23.45
19. Kylie Andrews - 23.59
25. Julie Gibson - 23.43
26. Rachel Hicks - 23.58
29. Hanna Blewett - 23.87

1-METER
A-Final
1. Katie Deininger – 293.75
2. Lauren Burrell – 272.10
6. Jaylynn Whitt – 252.35

B-Final
4. Claire Liptak – 232.85

400 MEDLEY RELAY
1. Laura Laderoute, Peyton Kondis, Katie Higgins, Zarena Brown – 3:36.22

WHO IS PHILL HANSEL
From 1975-1996, Hansel was the most influential man for the University of Houston swimming and diving team. He guided the Cougars to more than 70 dual meet victories and ten Top 20 finishes at the AIAW and NCAA Championships. All of that hard work paid off, as Phill Hansel was inducted into the Hall of Honor on Nov. 14, 2008. In 1996, Hansel finished out the season with over 39 years of coaching experience and was recognized as one of the most successful collegiate swim coaches in the nation.
In his honor, the University of Houston will host the Phill Hansel Invitational every fall. The event will take place this season from Nov. 16-18 at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center Natatorium.

WHERE TO WATCH
Meet information including teams, event schedule, parking, and meet results can be found by clicking HERE.

FOLLOW THE COUGARS!
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