Houston Makes Statement at Championships

INDIANAPOLIS – The University of Houston Swimming & Diving team made a statement in its first day of competition at the 2019 American Athletic Conference Championships, with a pair of first-place finishes in each of the relays.

" It was a great night," said Head Coach Ryan Wochomurka. "Starting with the boards and Coach Bob's (Gunter) kids. Lauren and Katie getting to finals in the 1-meter, Claire and Makayla getting into the consolation final. They got us off to a great start."

"To go two-for-two in the relays was very exciting with the school record there on the 200 Medley Relay. It's a good start and we'll take that start. Now we have to try and capitalize on that in the morning and execute some great races to get us into the championship finals tomorrow night to score some points. I'm pleased with where we are at, but it's a long meet and we have six sessions to go. One session out of seven done and we've got six to go. We'll see if we can come out swinging in the morning."

HOW IT HAPPENED

The divers got things going for the Cougars, competing in the 1-Meter springboard. Katie Deininger and Lauren Burrell finished in fourth-place and seventh-place, respectively, to move onto the finals in the event.
Deininger posted an NCAA Diving Zone qualifying mark in the prelims with 274.95 points, her best dive coming on her third attempt when she scored 50.40 points after completing a reverse 1 ½ somersault pike.
Burrell closed out prelims with 256.50 points, her best dive coming in the third round when she notched 55.20 points after completing a Forward 2 ½ somersault tuck.
In the finals, the duo finished in the top-five, racking up 29 points for the Cougars.
Makayla Wallar and Claire Liptak advanced to the consolation final where they finished 11^th and 16^th overall, respectively. Wallar finished with 246.50 points in the B-Final, while Liptak posted 218.90 points.
Houston wasted no time setting the standard in the swimming events, taking top honors in both the 800 Freestyle Relay and the 300 Medley Relay.
Mykenzie Leehy, Samantha Medlin, Morgan Rosas and Zarena Brown combined for a time of 7:11.17 in the 800 Freestyle Relay, taking an early lead and never looking back. Houston won the race by over four seconds.
In the 200 Medley Relay Laura Laderoute, Peyton Kondis, Katie Higgins and Leehy would best the program record and come from behind to take first-place by 18 milliseconds with a time of 1:37.47.
Houston closed out the day with 116 points and in first-place overall.

UP NEXT
Houston will continue meet action at the 2019 American Athletic Conference Championships with prelims beginning at 10 a.m. ET tomorrow at IUPUI Natatorium. Ticket for all sessions are on sale and can be purchased here.

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/UHCougarSwim) and Twitter pages (@UHCougarSwim), which provide regular updates on the team and live results during home meets.

Upcoming Events

Recent Results

Players Mentioned

Zarena Brown

Lauren Burrell

Katie Deininger

Katie Higgins

Peyton Kondis

Laura Laderoute

Mykenzie Leehy

Claire Liptak

Samantha Medlin

Morgan Rosas

Makayla Wallar

Upcoming Events

Recent Results

University of Houston Athletics