University of Houston
Day 4
CHAMPIONS! Cougars Win American Championships
2/19/2017 12:00:00 AM | Swimming & Diving
HOUSTON â€" The Houston Cougar Swimming & Diving Team scored 265 points on the final day of The American Athletic Conference Championships Saturday to claim the conference title. Head Coach Ryan Wochomurka, Diving Coach Bob Gunter and junior Micaela Bouter earned conference honors at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center.
The Cougars captured the program's first ever conference championship with a score of 772, defeating the 2016 American Athletic Conference Champions SMU by 96 points. Cincinnati rounded out the podium with a score of 625.
"This program has a long history with Olympic medalists and finalists and NCAA champions and finalists, but we've never had a conference championship," Wochomurka said. "It's something we set out to do as a coaching staff when we first got here. That's the vision for this program and the opportunity to get just a little bit better. This is a step along the way in how we can continue to become more relevant nationally."
In his sophomore season, Wochomurka was named Women's Coach of the Year to end the conference championship. With Gunter's conference laurel, a Houston diving coach has been named Diving Coach of the Year for the 15th consecutive year. Johannesburg native, Bouter was named the conference meet's Most Outstanding Diver after winning the 3-meter, nabbing a second place finish in the platform and finishing fourth in the 1-meter.
During the four-day meet, the Cougars won three individual events: the 100-yard backstroke, 200-yard IM and the 3-meter dive. The American Athletic Conference Champions also broke nine school records.
In the platform event, the Cougars netted two podium finishes. Bouter nabbed her second medal of the meet after earning a score of 213. Freshman Katelyn Abernathy also captured her second medal of the meet after netting a score of 202.8 to finish third overall.
The Cougars captured three more individual podium finishes. In the 200-yard backstroke, sophomore Eleanna Koutsouveli bettered her school record with a time of 1:55.97 to earn a second-place finish. Freshman Victoria Roubique took home her second individual medal after placing second in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:13.71, a NCAA B cut. In the 100-yard freestyle, junior Ksenia Yuskova earned another trip to the podium. The Miami (Fla.) transfer netted a time of 49.93 to place third overall. During prelims of the 100-yard freestyle, freshman Zarena Brown set a school record with a time of 49.80. Both Brown and Yuskova's times are NCAA B cuts.
In the final event, the 400-yard freestyle relay, the team of Brown, Laderoute, Yuskova and Cait Horner set a new program best. The team touched the wall at 3:20.71 to finish third overall.
"Look around at everything we have at this university," Wochomurka said. "We have one of the best facilities in the country. We've got the best administration in the country. We've got an athletic director who wants to jump in the pool with us at the end of the meet. Why can't we play and be extremely relevant nationally?
We're just getting started. I'm excited for these kids and most importantly I'm excited for these seniors because they had a couple of years where they struggled, but they battled and they led us to this championship. We are not here today without our seniors."
Overall
1. HOUSTON - 772
2. SMU - 676
3. Cincinnati - 625
4. East Carolina - 473
5. UConn - 460
6. Tulane - 395
1,650-Yard Freestyle
6. Hannah Herbst â€" 16:41.39
7. Connor Glenn â€" 16:53.00
200-Yard Backstroke
2. Eleanna Koutsouveli â€" 1:55.97
6. Laura Laderoute â€" 1:59.05
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9. Jasmine Williams â€" 1:58.65
12. Jennifer Penneck â€" 2:01.22
100-Yard Freestyle
3. Ksenia Yuskova â€" 49.93
6. Zarena Brown â€" 50.49
8. Caitlin Horner â€" 50.88
200-Yard Breaststroke
2. Victoria Roubique â€" 2:12.50
4. Peyton Kondis â€" 2:13.68
5. Cameron Balkom â€" 2:14.60
200-Yard Butterfly
5. Sharo Rodriquez Rivera â€" 2:00.51
Platform Dive
2. Micaela Bouter â€" 213.00
3 Katelyn Abernathy â€" 202.80
7. Laurel Burrell â€" 158.00
400-Yard Freestyle Relay
3. Houston â€" 3:21.71
Zarena Brown, Laura Laderoute, Ksenia Yuskova, Caitlin Horner
UP NEXT
Following the conference meet, the Cougars will look to close the season at the NCAA Championships, to be held March 15-18 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--
Players Mentioned
