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Jan. 12, 2011

WHAT:  No. 3 Texas (4-0) resumes the 2010-11 dual-meet season with a pair of meets at Southeastern Conference powers Auburn and Georgia.  

WHEN:  UT vs. Auburn – Thursday, Jan. 13 – 5 p.m. Central; UT vs. Georgia – Saturday, Jan. 15 – 10 a.m. Central  

WHERE:  UT vs. Auburn – James E. Martin Aquatic Center - Auburn, Ala.; UT vs. Georgia – Gabrielsen Natatorium – Athens, Ga.

LIVE RESULTS:  UT vs. Auburn - http://auburntigers.cstv.com/livestats/c-swim/

LAST MEETING vs. AUBURN:  Texas won nine of 13 events en route to a 134-107 victory over Auburn on Jan. 7, 2010 in Austin.  The Longhorns have claimed the last two meetings against the Tigers.   

LAST MEETING vs. GEORGIA: In a meet later acclaimed as the sport’s top women’s meet of the 2009-10 season, Texas took down top-ranked Georgia by a 153-147 count on Jan. 9, 2010 in Austin.  UT needed to win the final event, the 400 freestyle relay, to win the meet.  The Longhorns narrowly won the relay to secure the win over the top-ranked Bulldogs. 

PRE-MEET COMMENTS
Texas head coach Kim Brackin
On the Auburn and Georgia meets
“I think it’ll be an electric atmosphere at Auburn, going into that town after a national championship in football has been won.  We have to be cautious of the energy and momentum that any team at Auburn would have right now.  I think its fan base will be charged.  We can’t go into that thinking it will be an average meet.  But, I do feel like we are in a position where we can race Auburn really well and make it a good stepping stone for the Georgia meet.  These meets will be challenging, given the depth of the two teams.  We’re taking things day-by-day, like we have with everything else this season.  I look forward to the challenges and opportunities to learn from these meets.” 

HORNS REMAIN AT NO. 3 IN CSCAA POLL
Texas ranks No. 3 in the latest college swimming and diving poll released Wednesday (Jan. 12) by the College Swimming Coaches' Association of America (CSCAA).  Stanford secured the top spot in the poll while Georgia took the No. 2 slot.  Florida ranked fourth, and California came in at the fifth slot.

Texas is off to an unblemished start with road victories over No. 4 California, No. 8 Texas A&M, No. 15 Michigan and No. 14 Indiana.  The Horns opened the 2010-11 season on Oct. 16 with a 156-144 win at California before nabbing a pair of wins at Indiana and Michigan the following week in Bloomington, Ind.  UT picked up three wins from junior Karlee Bispo and two apiece from junior Leah Gingrich and sophomore Laura Sogar in a 163-137 victory over Texas A&M on Nov. 5.  Texas also went on to victory at its annual Texas Invitational, which featured a new school record in the 400 medley relay.

SOGAR SHATTERS BREASTSTROKE RECORDS
UT sophomore Laura Sogar entered the season in possession of UT’s school mark in the 200 breaststroke while being just off of the school mark in the 100 breaststroke.  Three months into the season, Sogar has torched both school marks and has posted the nation’s second-fastest times in the 100 and 200 breaststroke events. 

Sogar went well under the one-minute barrier in the 100 breaststroke last month at the Texas Invitational and posted a winning time of 59.07 to break Elizabeth Tinnon’s school mark of 59.96.  She lowered her school mark in the 200 breaststroke once again at the Texas Invite and posted a mark of 2:07.43.         

SOGAR NAMED NATIONAL SWIMMER OF THE WEEK
CollegeSwimming.com selected Texas sophomore Laura Sogar as its National Division I Women’s Swimmer of the Week (Oct. 20) after the All-American registered a pair of decisive victories and broke her own school record in the Longhorns’ season-opening win at California (Oct. 16).

Sogar posted what was then the nation’s fastest time in the 200-yard breaststroke, as she won the event in 2:10.15 to top her school record of 2:10.31 set at the 2010 Big 12 Championships.  Sogar also claimed the 100 breaststroke at California in 1:00.97, good for the second-fastest time in college swimming.  She placed second in the 400 individual medley only behind Cal’s Caitlin Leverenz, the 2010 U.S. national champion in the event.  Sogar went on to lower her school record in the 200 breaststroke with a mark of 2:09.72 on Oct. 30 against Indiana and Michigan before obliterating the mark at the Texas Invite.  

BISPO EARNS BIG 12 HONORS
Big 12 Conference coaches selected Texas junior Karlee Bispo on Nov. 11 on Thursday as the league's women's swimmer of the week after the All-American won three individual events to help the Horns to a win over Texas A&M (Nov. 5).

Bispo won the 200-yard freestyle against the Aggies with a NCAA provisional-qualifying mark of 1:47.57.  She added a win in the 50 freestyle in 23.06 and an additional victory in the 200 individual medley in 2:00.54, good for another NCAA "B" cut. Bispo also anchored UT's 200 medley relay to victory in 22.67 seconds.

SOGAR, TAYLOR EARN BIG 12 HONORS
The Big 12 Conference selected Texas sophomore swimmer Laura Sogar as its women’s swimmer of the week and sophomore diver Maren Taylor as the league’s women’s diver of the week on Oct. 27 after the pair helped the Horns to a win at California. 

Taylor dominated the one-meter event at Cal, as she outdistanced her nearest competitor by 60 points.  She went on to lead a one-two-three Texas finish in the three-meter event, where she was victorious with 310.13 points.

MORE ON THE LONGHORNS:  Fifth-year head women’s swimming and diving coach Kim Brackin welcomes a large freshman class of swimmers to complement its deep group of returning veterans – which includes 11 All-Americans - that helped the Horns to 11th place at the 2009 NCAA Championships.  Freshman Lily Moldenhauer brings a loaded resume that boasts multiple Texas UIL state titles and a national public high school record set last February in the 100-yard backstroke. Moldenhauer’s mark of 52.89 threatened the all-time national mark of 52.86 set by Olympic gold medalist Natalie Coughlin (later broken by incoming Cal freshman Cindy Tran).  The versatile Moldenhauer also is a threat in the butterfly and freestyle events.  

Texas also welcomes freshman Samantha Tucker, a member of the 2009-10 Women’s National Youth Team and a multiple medalist at the Texas UIL State Championships.  Tucker won a gold medal alongside UT sophomore Laura Sogar in the 400 medley relay at the 2008 FINA World Youth Championships.  She also teamed up with Moldenhauer to win gold in the 400m and 800m freestyle relays at the 2008 FINA World Youth Championships.   

UT picks up additional depth in the backstroke events from freshmen Ellen Lobb, Melanie McClure, Alex Hooper and Ashley Brewer.  Marylyn Toledo and Catherine Wagner join a talented Longhorns breaststroke corps, while freshmen Lauren Ross joins UT’s distance-freestyle group.  Sarah Gandy is the lone diving newcomer, and UT also regains the services of redshirt sophomore diver Shelby Cullinan, a two-time All-American who received a medical redshirt last season.