University of Houston
Day 2
Cougar Relay Teams Continue to Shine at UIW Invitational
12/20/2014 12:00:00 AM | Swimming & Diving
FULL RESULTS
SAN ANTONIO, Texas - The University of Houston swimming relay teams continued their successful week with four top-five finishes on the second day of the UIW Christmas Invitational, including a second place finish in the 800-yard freestyle relay at the Aquatic Center at Palo Alto College. Overall, the Cougars ended the day with 13 top-10 finishes.
"As well as I thought we swam last night, I think we performed even better today and made a lot of great adjustments from our prelims to our final swims," said Houston interim head coach Keith Dawley. "We continued to do a great job focusing in all aspects today, and I think that has allowed us to continue building a strong meet."
In the 800-yard freestyle relay, the team of Maya Owens, Mackenzie Alspaugh, Michaela Hamrick and Victoria Padial took second place with a time of 7:42.43. Houston also fielded a squad that finished fifth in a time of 7:44.71 as Rachel Hobbins, Leah Ortiz, Caitlin Horner and Emma Moore turned in a strong performance.
Houston's 200-yard medley team of Doroteja Bednjanec, Ashley Grijalva, Owens and Moore secured fourth place with a time of 1:46.56. The team of Taylor Derevyanik, Cameron Balkom, Horner and Taylor Gregory won the B flight, good for fifth place overall with a time of 1:46.26.
In the 200-yard freestyle, three Cougar swimmers reached the A final. Hamrick led the group by finishing fifth in a time of 1:52.84, followed by Hobbins in sixth with a time of 1:53.03 and Padial in seventh with a swim of of 1:55.70. Also, Ortiz finished 16th with a time of 1:58.40.
"Each of our 200-yard freestyle swimmers had exceptional days, with three girls reaching the A final," said Dawley. "Each of those kids put up some of the best swims of their lives today, and I am proud of them."
All six Houston swimmers qualified for the 100-yard butterfly finals. Leading the way was Owens, who captured sixth place with a time of 56.92. Derevyanik came in 14th, completing the race in 57.02, followed by Alspaugh in 15th (58.02), Gregory in 18th (57.61), Moore in 20th (58.62) and Horner in 23rd (59.86).
"The 100-yard butterfly was a very strong event for us, with all six of our entrants qualifying for the finals," said Dawley. "Taylor Gregory really stood out for her performance tonight after breaking the 58-second barrier for the first time in her career."
UP NEXT FOR THE COUGARS
Houston's swimmers will compete in day three of the UIW Christmas Invitational on Sunday. Prelims begin at 10 am and finals start at 6 pm. Fans can follow live stats of the event by clicking here.
"We have some tough swims ahead of us tomorrow, but I expect us to continue bringing the same energy we showed over the last two days," said Dawley about Sunday's schedule. "I'm excited to see how we finish out the meet and the semester."
RESULTS
1. Rice - 1496.5
2. North Texas - 902
3. UIW - 848
4. Houston - 709.5
200-Yard Medley Relay
4. Houston A 1:46.56
1) Bednjanec 2) Grijalva 3) Owens 4) Moore
5. Houston B 1:46.26 (first in the B flight)
1) Derevyanik 2) Balkom 3) Horner 4) Gregory
100-yard Butterfly
6. Maya Owens 56.92
14. Taylor Derevyanik 57.02
15. Mackenzie Alspaugh 58.02
18. Taylor Gregory 57.61
20. Emma Moore 58.62
23. Caitlin Horner 59.86
200-yard Freestyle
5. Michaela Hamrick 1:52.84
6. Rachel Hobbins 1:53.03
7. Victoria Padial 1:55.70
16. Leah Ortiz 1:58.40
100-yard Breaststroke
6. Ashley Grijalva 1:05.33
10. Cameron Balkom 1:06.45
14. Marissa Lehman 1:08.12
100-yard Backstroke
6. Taylor Derevyanik 57.04
7. Doroteja Bednjanec 57.2
9. Jasmine Williams 57.43
15. Mackenzie Alspaugh 58.90
800-yard Freestyle Relay
2. Houston A 7:42.43
1) Owens 2) Alspaugh 3) Hamrick 4) Padial
5. Houston B 7:44.71
1) Hobbins 2) Ortiz 3) Horner 4) Moore
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 (@UHCougarSports), 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
