RV Houston Powers Back for Win at SMU

DALLAS – The University of Houston Swimming & Diving team started the New Year in Dallas with a win over SMU at the Robson & Lindley Aquatics Center and Barr-McMillon Natatorium. Houston battled back from an early deficit to defeat SMU in a 162.5 - 137.5 decision.

"I am proud of our effort today", said Head Coach Ryan Wochomurka. "It wasn't pretty, but road wins are always tough to come by and are always special. We opened the door early with an unfortunate DQ in the medley relay and had to battle back all afternoon until the final event. I'm very proud of the toughness we showed in doing that. We've asked a lot of this group this year, and to show up with the attitude and effort we had today on the road against a conference opponent was a big win. I'm grateful to be racing and have a sense of normalcy. We have a tough week ahead with Tulane and Texas A&M, and then we need to settle in to fine tune our racing over the next five weeks for The American Championships here in Dallas."

Houston opened the day with a second-place finish in the 200 Medley. Kaley Hoffman, Hannah Farmer, Mai Ortega Bonilla, and Rachel Hicks combined for a time of 1:46.34.

The Cougars secured three of the top five spots in the 1000 Freestyle with freshman Laura Garcia Marin placing first with a time of 10:23.32. Shayla Erickson finished in a close second with a time of 10:27.94, followed by Maddie Wallin (10:35.19).

Houston swept the podium in the 100 Back with a strong performance from senior Kathryn Power placing first at 55.93. Ioanna Sacha touched shortly after, clocking in at 56.34 and Kaley Hoffman trailed, rounding out the podium with a time of 57.67.

Mykenzie Leehy made her presence known against SMU, finishing first in the 100 Free with a time of 50.97, dropping 0.83 off of her entry time, and Katie Power in third-place at 52.02.

The Cougars posted another sweep later on in the day securing the top-three finishes in the 200 Back with Ioanna Sacha leading the way at 2:03.63. She was followed by Kaley Hoffman in second-place at 2:06.12 and Morgan Rosas in third-place at 2:07.26.

In the final swimming event of the meet, Power, Cassie Stegner, Leehy, and Samantha Medlin combined for a time of 3:26.62 in the 400 Free Relay helping the Cougars cement their first victory of 2021.

On the boards Katie Deininger finished the day with a first-place finish in the 3-Meter scoring 303.08 points. Junior Chase Farris finished in fourth place with 278.63 points, followed by Emilia Waters with 269.10.

UP NEXT
Houston will return to action on Jan. 11 when they host Tulane at the Campus Recreation & Wellness Center. The meet is set to begin at 2 p.m. and will be streamed live on the Houston Swimming & Diving Facebook page.

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.

--UHCougars.com--

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Players Mentioned

Katie Deininger

Shayla Erickson

Hannah Farmer

Chase Farris

Laura Garcia Marin

Rachel Hicks

Kaley Hoffman

Mykenzie Leehy

Samantha Medlin

Mai Ortega Bonilla

Kathryn Power

Morgan Rosas

Ioanna Sacha

Cassie Stegner

Maddie Wallin

Emilia Waters

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