No. 2 Texas at 2023 NCAA Championships
When: Wednesday, March 15 – Saturday, March 18
Where: Knoxville, Tenn.
Facility: Allan Jones Aquatic Center
Watch: ESPN+
Results: Live Stats | Meet Mobile | DiveMeets
Texas’ Top Times: 2022-23 | All-Time Top 10 | UT Record Holders
Schedule of Events
Wednesday, Mar. 15, 2023 (Finals: 5 p.m. CT/6 p.m. ET)
Broadcast Links: 200 medley relay; 800 free relay
200-yard Medley Relay: Texas
800-yard Freestyle Relay: Texas
Thursday, Mar. 16, 2023 (Prelims: 9 a.m. CT/10 a.m. ET; Finals: 5 p.m. CT/6 p.m. ET)
Broadcast Links: Prelims; 1-meter trials (11:15 a.m. CT); Finals
500-yard Freestyle: Erica Sullivan, Olivia Bray, Olivia McMurray, Abby Pfeifer (Invited)
200-yard Individual Medley: Kelly Pash, Emma Sticklen
50-yard Freestyle: Grace Cooper, Bridget Semenuk, Kyla Leibel (Invited), Ava Longi (Invited)
1-meter springboard: Janie Boyle, Hailey Hernandez, Bridget O’Neil, Jordan Skilken
200-yard Freestyle Relay: Texas
Friday, Mar. 17, 2023 (Prelims: 9 a.m. CT/10 a.m. ET; Finals: 5 p.m. CT/6 p.m. ET)
Broadcast Links: Prelims; 3-meter trials (11:15 a.m. CT); Finals
400-yard Individual Medley
100-yard Butterfly: Emma Sticklen, Dakota Luther, Ava Longi
200-yard Freestyle: Kelly Pash, Kyla Leibel
100-yard Breaststroke: Lydia Jacoby, Anna Elendt, Channing Hanley (Invited)
100-yard Backstroke: Olivia Bray
3-meter springboard: Sarah Carruthers, Hailey Hernandez, Bridget O’Neil
400-yard Medley Relay: Texas
Saturday, Mar. 18, 2023 (Prelims: 9 a.m. CT/10 a.m. ET; Finals: 5 p.m. CT/6 p.m. ET)
Broadcast Links: Prelims; Platform trials (11:00 a.m. CT); 1650 free prelims (2:45 p.m. CT); Finals
1,650-yard Freestyle: Erica Sullivan, Abby Pfeifer, Olivia McMurray (Invited)
200-yard Backstroke: Olivia Bray
100-yard Freestyle: Ava Longi (Invited), Grace Cooper (Invited), Kyla Leibel (Invited), Bridget Semenuk (Invited)
200-yard Breaststroke: Lydia Jacoby, Anna Elendt, Channing Hanley
200-yard Butterfly: Emma Sticklen, Kelly Pash, Dakota Luther
Platform: Janie Boyle, Sarah Carruthers, Jordan Skilken
400-yard Freestyle Relay: Texas
Meet Notes
Television/Streaming Coverage
ESPN+ will provide live digital broadcast coverage for preliminary and finals sessions Wednesday through Saturday. Additionally, ESPNU will air a two-hour show at 8:30 p.m. Eastern time, Wednesday, March 29.
Individual Swimming Event Seedings
Olivia Bray is seeded third in the 200 back (1:50.09), fourth in the 500 free (4:37.31) and seventh in the 100 back (50.92).
Grace Cooper is 16th in the 50 free (21.89).
Anna Elendt is fourth in the 100 breast (57.48) and fifth in the 200 breast (2:05.50).
Channing Hanley is 31st in the 200 breast (2:09.32).
Lydia Jacoby is second in the 200 breast (2:04.32) and third in the 100 breast (57.29).
Kyla Leibel is 23rd in the 200 free (1:44.75).
Ava Longi is 31st in the 100 fly (52.01).
Dakota Luther is third in the 200 fly (1:51.58) and 28th in the 100 fly (51.90).
Olivia McMurray is 17th in the 500 free (4:39.38).
Kelly Pash is second in the 200 fly (1:51.45), third in the 200 free (1:42.73) and sixth in the 200 IM (1:53.81).
Abby Pfeifer is 23rd in the 1650 free (16:07.14).
Bridget Semenuk is 32nd in the 50 free (22.06).
Emma Sticklen is first in the 200 fly (1:51.37), fourth in the 100 fly (49.79) and 10th in the 200 IM (1:54.70).
Erica Sullivan is seeded first in the 500 free (4:35.88) and third in the 1650 free (15:49.16).
In the Diving Well
Texas qualified five divers during the three-day NCAA Zone D Diving Championships in Minneapolis last week. Each diver qualified for two events each. Hailey Hernandez, the Big 12 Champion on 1-meter, and Bridget O’Neil, who won the Big 12 Championship on 3-meter, both qualified for the 1-meter and 3-meter. Big 12 Platform Champion Janie Boyle qualified on platform and 1-meter, as did Jordan Skilken. Freshman Sarah Carruthers will be making her first appearance at the national meet on 3-meter and platform. All told, the Longhorns will have four NCAA Championship competitors on 1-meter and three on 3-meter and platform.
National Team
A trio of Longhorns were selected to the 2022-23 USA Swimming National Team. Chosen by their ranking among the six fastest swimmers in their respective event(s) from the past calendar year, the list of includes Lydia Jacoby (100 breast, 200 breast), Dakota Luther (200 fly) and Kelly Pash (100 fly, 200 fly). Additionally, Anna Elendt competes for Germany, for which she holds national long course records in the 50m breaststroke, 100m breaststroke and 200m breaststroke, as well as short course records in the 50m breaststroke and 100m breaststroke.
Capitani to lead USA Women’s Swimming at 2023 World Championships
Head coach Carol Capitani was selected by USA Swimming to lead the Women’s National Team at the 2023 World Championships. The competition will take place World Aquatics Championships are set for July 14-30 in Fukuoka, Japan.
Last summer, she served as an assistant coach for the United States men’s and women’s teams at the FINA World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, helping Team USA establish a meet record with 45 total medals (17 gold, 12 silver, 16 bronze), breaking the previous record of 38 set by the U.S. in 2017.
She previously served as the U.S. women’s head coach for the 2017 World University Games. Capitani joined Team USA as an assistant coach for the U.S. women’s team at the 2016 FINA Short Course World Championships in Windsor, Ontario and served previous stints as an assistant coach for the U.S. at the World University Games in 2011 and 2013. She was the head coach for the U.S. women at the 2013 Mutual of Omaha Duel in the Pool, as well.
Diving honored with 2020 USA Diving Collegiate Impact Award
Texas Diving was honored last December with the 2020 USA Diving Collegiate Impact Award, presented to the top-contributing school on the 2020 U.S. Olympic Diving Team in Tokyo. The Longhorns were recognized during the Team USA Collegiate Recognition Awards that ran in conjunction with the National Football Foundation’s 64th Annual Awards celebration in December.
At the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, 100% of the U.S. Olympic Diving Team competed collegiately. Texas had three divers competing in the Games, the largest representation of any program on Team USA in Tokyo, which earned the Longhorns the 2020 USA Diving Collegiate Impact Award.
2022 FINA Short Course World Championships
Dakota Luther won gold in the 200m butterfly and Anna Elendt earned bronze in the 100m breaststroke this week at the 2022 FINA Short Course World Championships (25m) at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatics Centre.
Luther won the first World Championships medal of her career in Thursday’s exciting 200-meter fly final that saw her battle United States teammate Hali Flickinger throughout the race, winning with a personal-best time of 2:03.37. She became the first American woman to win that 200m butterfly (SCM) world title since Mary Descenza in 2008 and her time makes her the third-fastest American in the event’s history.
Elendt claimed third in the 100m breaststroke on Thursday, setting a German national record with a time of 1:04.05. She out-touched China’s Tang Qianting by one one-hundredth of a second to bring home the bronze. Elendt also took fifth in the 50m breast in 29.30.
2022 USA Diving Winter Nationals
Hailey Hernandez won the national crown on the 1-meter and claimed silver on the 3-meter, while Bridget O’Neil finished as the runner-up on the 1-meter and Jordan Skilken took second on the platform.
Hernandez scored 510.60 points in the 1-meter preliminary and final, the second-highest total of the competition, but as the event’s top American finisher she was credited with the U.S. national title. O’Neil’s, who placed fifth in the prelims, joined Hernandez on the podium with a total score of 489.60 points, the third-best score of the day and earned silver with the second-highest American score.
On the 3-meter, Hernandez tallied 573.85 point to finish just 5.75 points behind champion Sarah Bacon. Sitting in fourth following the prelims, Hernandez opened the finals scoring 64.80 points with an inward 2 1/2 somersault tuck, the highest score of the opening round. She added a pair of 63-point dives in the third and fourth round to help secure her second medal of the event.
Of Skilken’s five final-round dives on the platform, three were for at least 61 points. She twice scored 67.20 points in the final, first with a third-round armstand back two somersault 1 1/2 twist free, then clinching the silver on her final dive with a back 2 1/2 somersault 1 1/2 twist pike.
Texas Divers won the women’s team title with 130 points and earned a third-place finish on the men’s side with 66 points. Collectively, Texas divers scored a combined 196 points to win the overall team competition.
Big 12 Championship Honors
Following standout performances at the Big 12 Swimming and Diving Championships, the Longhorns swept all four individual meet honors. Kelly Pash earned Swimmer of the Meet honors for the third-straight year and Hailey Hernandez was tabbed Diver of the Meet for the second year in a row. Lydia Jacoby, who establish American Age Groups Records in the 100-yard breast (57.29) and 200-yard breast (2:04.32) was named the Swimming Newcomer of the Meet and Sarah Carruthers garnered Diving Newcomer of the Meet accolades.
Team Rankings
The Longhorns are ranked second in the latest College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association (CSCAA) Division I poll (March 9), trailing only Virginia. The top 10 includes Virginia (450), TEXAS (428), Stanford (417), NC State (392), Ohio State (380), Florida (363), Tennessee (327), Louisville (312), Kentucky (303) and Indiana (282).
Storied Program
Texas finished as the runner-up at the 2022 national meet after placing third in 2021. Overall, Texas has claimed a total of nine national titles in its proud history. The Longhorns won AIAW national championships in 1981 and 1982. UT added NCAA team titles in 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990 and 1991.
Conference Dominance
The Longhorns have captured 11 consecutive Big 12 Conference crowns (2013-23) and 21 overall Big 12 team titles. UT has won a total of 35 conference championships (14 Southwest Conference, 21 Big 12 Conference).
Head Coach Carol Capitani
Carol Capitani is in her 11th season at the helm of the Texas program. She has led the Longhorns to 11-straight Big 12 Conference crowns (2013-23) and top-10 finishes at the NCAA Championships in eight of the last nine meets held. Capitani has guided UT to back-to-back top-three NCAA results, finishing as the runner-up in 2022, Texas’ best showing since 1994.
