Men's Swimming and Diving ranks No. 1 in CSCAA coaches' poll
Nov. 10, 2010
AUSTIN, Texas -- Under 33rd-year head coach Eddie Reese, defending NCAA champion Texas held the No. 1 spot in the initial college swimming and diving poll released Wednesday by the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA). The Longhorns took the No. 1 spot in the poll with 510 points and were followed by California and Stanford, who are tied for the second spot with 445 points. Florida and Arizona round out the top-five. Texas returns 11 All-Americans from the 2009-10 squad that captured the program's 10th NCAA team title last March. Reese became the first coach in NCAA Division I men's swimming and diving history to win NCAA team titles in four separate decades. Reese has led Texas to all 10 of its NCAA titles plus eight NCAA runner-up finishes. His teams have finished in the top three at the NCAA Championships in 25 of his 32 seasons at Texas. Assistant coach Kris Kubik has been at Reese's side for all 10 NCAA titles, and diving coach Matt Scoggin, a former Longhorn diver now in his 17th season as a coach, has helped Texas to five of those titles. The Longhorns are off to an unblemished start to the young season with a victory at the two-day, five-team Southwest Collegiate Plunge last month along with dual-meet wins recorded against No. 6 Michigan and No. 10 Indiana last weekend. Texas features two NCAA individual champions on its roster with sophomore swimmer Austin Surhoff and junior diver Drew Livingston. UT also returns a pair of swimmers in Neil Caskey and Scott Jostes who helped the Horns win the NCAA title last season in the 800-yard freestyle relay.
Surhoff was UT's top individual point scorer at the 2010 NCAA Championships with 40 points. His first appearance in a championship final at the NCAA meet resulted in a victory in the 200 individual medley, marking UT's first NCAA win in that event since 2001, when Olympian Nate Dusing claimed the title. After tallying 20 points with his win in the 200 IM, Surhoff added seven points by placing 10th overall in the 400 IM and 13 points with his sixth-place finish in the 200 backstroke. Livingston, the 2009 NCAA champion in the one-meter diving event, is off to a quick start this season. He broke the one-meter diving pool record at Indiana's Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center in just his second meet of the season last week at Indiana. Beijing Olympian Scott Spann returns after enjoying a stellar 2010 NCAA meet with a pair of runner-up finishes in the breaststroke events. He also helped the 200 and 400 medley relays to a pair of top-five finishes at the NCAA Championships. Junior Jimmy Feigen returns as a two-time NCAA runner-up in the 100 freestyle. He added an additional top-five finish in the 50 freestyle at the 2010 NCAA meet and also competed in four relays that secured top-five finishes. Jostes returns as the lone Longhorn to compete on all three freestyle relays at the 2010 NCAA Championships. Jostes has helped UT win the 800 freestyle relay at the last two NCAA championship meets. Versatile senior Bryan Collins scored in all three of his individual events at the 2010 NCAA meet. In addition to helping the 800 freestyle relay to victory, Caskey scored in one individual event and nearly scored in two others. Junior Eric Friedland teams up with Spann to form one of the sport's top one-two punches in the breaststroke events. Junior Jackson Wilcox returns as a two-time All-American in the 1,650 freestyle. Sophomore Michael McBroom, a transfer from Minnesota, joins the Horns after finishing just behind Wilcox in the 1,650 freestyle event at the 2010 NCAA Championships. Sophomore Cole Cragin scored in the 100 backstroke at the 2010 NCAA meet and is likely to contribute on the medley relays. Sophomore Dax Hill enjoyed a standout summer during which he placed fifth in the 100m freestyle consolation final and the 200m freestyle consolation final at the USA Swimming National Championships. Sophomore Nick D'Innocenzo was a consolation finalist in the 100m and 200m breaststroke events in addition to the 200m IM at the USA Swimming National Championships. He currently holds college swimming's fastest time in the 200-yard breaststroke. The Horns return to action on Dec. 2 when they host the annual Texas Invitational at UT's Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center. FOLLOW THE HORNS ON TWITTER: For news and updates on the Texas men's swimming and diving program, follow the Longhorns on Twitter at Twitter.com/TexasMSD. |
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