University of Houston Athletics
University of Houston
Houston Pentathlon
Houston Wins Seven Events; Shares First at Missouri State
10/8/2016 12:00:00 AM | Swimming & Diving
HOUSTON - True freshmen Peyton Kondis, Sydney Larson and Isabel Tank combined to win four individual events at the Houston Pentathlon, while sophomores Eleanna Koutsouveli and Ksenia Yuskova, and junior Sharo Rodriguez won three individual events as the Cougars tied Missouri State for first at the Missouri State Invitational on Saturday.
"It was a great effort across the board today in Missouri and at home," Head Coach Ryan Wochomurka said. "We saw some very exciting things, and even a few lifetime best times. For Peyton Kondis to get an NCAA B cut and a lifetime best is great to see in October. It's nice to come away with a share of the victory at the Missouri State Invitational."
At the MSU Invitational, the Cougars netted a team score of 347 to share first overall with the host Bears. Crosstown rival Rice rounded out the podium with a score of 326.
MISSOURI STATE INVITATIONAL
Koutsouveli lead the Cougars with 52 points after finishing first in the 100-yard backstroke, second in the 200-yard backstroke and third in both the 200- and 400-yard medley relay. In the 100-yard backstroke, the defending American Athletic Conference champion touched the wall at 55.29 to grab her first individual podium finish of the season.
Miami (Fla.) transfer Ksenia Yuskova tallied 47 points for Houston with a first place finish in the 200-yard freestyle and three second-place finishes in the 100-yard freestyle and 200- and 400-yard freestyle relays. Yuskova posted a time of 1:50.00 to capture first in the 200-yard freestyle. Her time places her eighth in the 200-yard freestyle program bests. The Moscow, Russia native, also is 10th in the 500-yard freestyle program's best times, 4:53.87.
Junior Sharo Rodriguez grabbed her first individual win in the 200-yard butterfly. The Queretaro, Mexico, native captured her first place victory with a time of 2:02.56. Rodriguez also netted 32 points, grabbing three third-place finishes in the 100-yard butterfly and 200- and 400-yard medley relays.
In the 200-yard backstroke, freshman Laura Laderoute's time of 2:00.99 places her fourth in the program's best times. Laderoute also is fourth in the 200-yard IM after touching the wall in a time of 2:04.36. Along with those the West Linn, Ore., native, holds the eighth best time in program history in the 100-yard backstroke, 55.36.
Fellow freshman Victoria Roubique and Gaby Jimenez also entered the program's record book. In the 100-yard breaststroke, Roubique's time of 1:03.99 places her eight in Houston's bests. Jimenez is seventh in the 200-yard breaststroke after touching the wall in a time of 2:18.72.
"It's rare that after a full day of racing and 16 events you finish in a tie, but we will take it," Wochomurka said. "A tough road challenge, but a successful trip."
HOUSTON PENTATHLON
Kondis lead the Cougars with two individual event wins. In the 100-yard breaststroke, the Pittsburg, Penn., native touched the wall at 1:02.30, to earn her first colligate individual event victory. Kondis' time places her third in program best. Fellow Cougars Cameron Balkom and Hannah Middleton finished second and third, respectively, giving Houston the podium sweep.
In the 200-yard IM, Kondis netted a time of 2:06.25 to capture her second first-place finish. Freshman Emily Longfellow also podiumed for the Cougars touching the wall at 2:08.38 to edge out Rice for third place.
Larson placed first overall in the 500-yard freestyle. The Sacramento, Calif., native swam a time of 4:55.96 to give the Cougars their second individual win of the meet. Teammate Rachel Hobbins rounded out the podium after netting a time of 5:00.01.
In the 100-yard butterfly, Tank captured first overall after touching the wall with a time of 57.14. The Woodlands, Texas, native edged out second place by 52 milliseconds to earn her first collegiate win.
"We have a lot of cleaning up to do," Wochomurka said. "We raced hard but have lots of areas to improve upon in terms of execution."
UP NEXT
Houston will hit the road for its first dual meets of the season on Oct. 28-29. First up Houston travels to Dallas to take on defending American Athletic Conference champions SMU at 6 p.m., Oct 28. The Cougars will make their second trip to Denton to face North Texas at 11 a.m., Oct. 2.
COUGARS TO HOST AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIP
Houston will host the American Athletic Conference Championships for the second consecutive year as the best swimmers and divers in the league visit the CRWC from Feb. 15-18, 2017. Following the conference meet, the Cougars will look to close the season at the NCAA Championships, to be held March 15-18, 2017 in Indianapolis, Ind.
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--
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