2019 Phill Hansel Invite
- November 21-23, 2019
- Houston, TX
- Thursday Final Results
- Thursday Final Scores
Courtesy: Houston Athletics
HOUSTON – The 21st-ranked University of Houston Swimming & Diving program leads the field by 230 points after the opening day of action at the Phill Hansel Invitational. The Cougars closed out the opening day of action with 537 points.
Prelims will begin at 10 a.m. each day, with finals beginning at 6 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, and 3 p.m. on Saturday.
Diving events will take place 12 p.m. on Thursday and Friday with a 11 a.m. start on Saturday. A consolation final will follow each of the preliminary rounds and be immediately followed by finals.
For more information visit the meet page by clicking HERE.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Cougars got things going early, as eight swimmers advanced to the finals of the 500 Free, behind first-place finishes from Samantha Medlin and Zarena Brown in the prelims. The duo posted the fifth-fastest time in program history in the event at 4:48.09, a collegiate-best for Medlin.
In the final Brown would come out on top after nearly besting her previous lifetime best in the event with a time of 4:44.89. The time is an NCAA B-Cut time, the first one of the day for Houston. Medlin finished in third-place with a time of 4:50.07.
In the 200 Individual Medley senior Peyton Kondis swam the fastest time in program history twice, rewriting the program record in the prelims of the event at 1:58.50 to advance to the final. The time marked an NCAA B-Cut and was a one-second improvement from Kondis’ previous lifetime best in the event. Ioanna Sacha would advance to the finals as well with the fourth-fastest time in program history in the event at 2:00.04. Laura Laderoute would complete the prelim sweep of the event for Houston, coming in third-place at 2:00.15.
In the final, three Cougars post NCAA B-Cut times led by Kondis who for the second time in one day smashed the program record in the event. Kondis swam a time of 1:58.28 to take first-place. Sacha would also post an NCAA B-Cut time, finishing at 1:58.92 for the third-fastest time in program history in the event. Laderoute would complete the sweep for the Cougars with a third-place finish at 1:59.22, nearly besting her lifetime best in the event.
The 50 Freestyle would see seven Cougars advance to the final, led by a top finish from Leehy at 22.83. In the final, Leehy would shatter the oldest program-record in the Houston record book with a time of 22.60 in the final. Leehy won the event and notched an NCAA B-Cut. The previous record set by Ingrid Lawrence in 1983 was one of three records yet to be rewritten in Head Coach Ryan Wochomurka‘s tenure.
Rachel Hicks, Mykenzie Leehy, Kathryn Power and Hannah Middleton posted a time of 1:30.97, nearly besting the current program record in the 200 Freestyle Relay for first-place in the event.
Houston would sweep the relays on the first day of action with a top finish in the 400 Medley Relay, the final event of the day. Laderoute, Kondis, Katie Higgins and Brown combined for a time of 3:35.32.
On the diving side, all six Cougars advanced to the A-Final of the 1-meter led by Lauren Burrell with 286.40 in the prelims. In the final, Burrell would once again come out on top with 288.20 points. Katie Deininger picked up 263.05 points for third-place, followed by Makayla Wallar in sixth-place with 262.35 points. Claire Liptak would pick up a seventh-place finish with 248.55 points, followed by Jolie Blodgett in 11th (219.70) and Chase Farris in 12th-place (218.05).
ABOUT THE PHILL HANSEL INVITATIONAL
From 1975-1996, Hansel was the most influential man for the University of Houston swimming and diving team. He guided the Cougars to more than 70 dual meet victories and ten Top-20 finishes at the AIAW and NCAA Championships. All of that hard work paid off, as Phill Hansel was inducted into the Hall of Honor on Nov. 14, 2008. In 1996, Hansel finished out the season with over 39 years of coaching experience and was recognized as one of the most successful collegiate swim coaches in the nation.
In his honor, the University of Houston will host the Phill Hansel every fall.
This year’s Phiill Hansel Invitational will include Nevada, UC Davis, Rice, Air Force, Tulane, Colorado State, Florida Gulf Coast, Northern Colorado, Washington State, North Texas, Nebraska Omaha and New Mexico.
Courtesy: Rice Athletics
HOUSTON — Senior Kate Nezelek posted the fifth-fastest 50-yard freestyle in school history to highlight the Rice swim team’s opening round of action Thursday at the annual Phill Hansel Invitational across town at the University of Houston.
After five swimming events and the first of three diving events, Rice holds second place in the team standings with 307 points. Meet host Houston owns a commanding lead in the 12-team meet with 537 points. Pac-12 power Washington State is third with 270 points, Tulane is fourth (205 pts.) and Colorado State fifth (162). The Owls also lead UC-Davis and Northern Colorado (both 157), Nevada (150), Florida Gulf Coast (148), Air Force (143), North Texas (37) and New Mexico State (2).
Nezelek zoomed to a third place finish among a starting field of 94 entries in the 50-free with a time of 22.85 that is the fifth-fastest in school history. The 50-free proved to be a big scoring event for the Owls as true freshman Madison Howe placed seventh (23.11) while Becca Evans (23.45) and Harper Gillentine (23.57) were 11th and 14th, respectively.
With so many Owl sprinters registering season-best marks on the night the team was looking forward to another chance to compete in Thursday’s 4×50 relay — where the Blue & Gray held the best mark in Conference USA. The night’s 200-free relay was a bit of good news/bad news. The bad news was that the Owls’ top (A) relay was disqualified for leaving the starting block early. The good news was that Rice’s B relay of Marta Cano-Minarro, Hannah Sumbera, Gillentine and Lindsay Mathys stepped-up to record a steady 1:32.55 that was the second-fastest time in the meet as well as the new fastest 200-free relay in C-USA this season.
Rice’s Zoe Spitz, Phillis Range, Brittany Bui and Minarro likewise posted C-USA’s new fastest time in the 400-medley relay (3:43.07) that placed third in the Invitational. The Owls registered a big scoring night in the 500-yard freestyle. Junior Ellery Parish was fourth among a starting field of 67 competitors in the 500 with time of 4:52.49. Senior Sarah Nowaski was sixth with 4:54.94 in the finals after a season-best 4:53.08 in the morning prelims. Shannon Campbell (4:57.10), Virginie Qian (4:53.35) and Claire Therien (4:54.33) also scored for the Blue & Gray by finishing 8th, 11th and 13th, respectively, out of the 67 total entries.
Cano-Minarro (6th, 2:00.79), Bui (11th, 2:01.89) and Sumbera (16th, 2:03.43) closed out the Owls’ top three scorers in the 200-individual medley. There are still two more full days of Invitational events scheduled through Saturday. Preliminary races begin at 10 a.m. each day. Event finals are set for 6 p.m. on Friday and for 3 pm on Saturday.
Courtesy: Washington State Athletics
HOUSTON Texas – Washington State did not hold back on their first day in Houston. There were many WSU All Time Top 10 times posted and ten Cougars advanced to the final rounds. WSU finished third overall out of 12 teams looking to continue with the strong swims tomorrow morning.
The Cougars started the day with an early start time for the prelims. In the first event of the day the 500 free, Sierra Ortiz, Kieana Fountaine, Same Howell, and Maia Petride came out firing on all cylinders each posting new in season best times. Michee van Rooyen, a freshman, recorded a WSU All Time Top 10, 4:51.56, landing her in seventh in the record books. In the finals Ryan Falk took second overall in the B Finals with a time of 4:51.35.
Following the 500 free in the morning, Mia Zahab, Jewel Springer, Kate Laderoute, Mackenzie Duarte, and Lauren Burckel all got new in season personal best times. Taylor McCoy shined as well moving up in the WSU All Time Top 10 ranks from ninth to fourth. Later on in the day in the 200 IM B Finals Lauren Burckel won it all and is now placed third overall in the WSU All Time Top 10, Mia Zahab time landed her in the sixth place overall spot in the WSU All Time Top 10.
In the last event of the prelims the 50 free, Chloe Larson matched her in season best and career time, while Paige Gardner shaved ten seconds off her in season best time to finish with a 24.14. Fountaine and Corinne Pelzer could not let Larson and Gardner have all the fun and were able to take a couple seconds off of their personal best times as well. Coming later in the day Larson beat her top 10 time from the relay race earlier in the finals to stay in the fourth place position but getting closer to that third place slot.
WSU stayed consistent in their relays during the finals placing second overall in the 200 free relay beating all of their previous times from the 2018-2019 season. Chloe Larson started the team off swimming a 22.86 split placing her in the fourth overall spot in the WSU All Time Top 10 records. In the last race of the day the 400 medley relay Kate Laderoute started off strong as well with the backstroke, swimming a 55.11 split giving her the seventh spot overall in the Top 10 times.
“We came into this meet having swam well at Wyoming, and we have set some high goals and the girls have step up to meet them. Today in prelims and finals we had a total of seven All Time Top 10 swims,” Said Coach Matt Leach “I am excited for tomorrow morning, we have strong swimmers in all the events tomorrow and hopefully we can get some more top ten times. Go Cougs!”
Courtesy: Tulane Athletics
NEW ORLEANS – The Tulane University women’s swimming and diving team opened competition on Thursday at the 2019 Phill Hansell Invitational and currently sit in fourth-place with 205 points.
The three-day event is beginning held at the University of Houston’s Campus Recreation & Wellness Center Natatorium.
“All around, we had a good first day,” head coach Leah Stancil said. “A lot of the training we had done over the past three weeks really served as a race rehearsal and you can tell that really worked out. I think it really helped our team fine tune some things.”
Freshman Lilly Byrne highlighted day one action, as she took runner up honors in the 500-yard freestyle, as she closed in a time of 4:47.98. Byrne’s finishing time smashed her personal-best mark of 4:53.99 and nearly set the school record, which teammate Olivia Johnson set last season at the American Athletic Conference Championship.
Sophomore Noa Heron posted the top time in the ‘B’ Final race of the 500-yard freestyle (4:48.22), which earned her a spot in the Toyota U.S. Open in Atlanta.
Sophomore Anne Marie Kenny was the top Tulane diver in the one-meter event, as she placed fifth in the consolation standings (17th overall) with a score of 227.70.
“We had some inconsistent dives during our preliminaries, but I was happy with the way we closed things out today,” Tulane diving coach John Sirmon said. “We’re really looking forward to tomorrow.”
LAGNIAPPE
The Green Wave opened the day by taking eighth in the 200-yard freestyle relay finishing in a time of 1:34.54…Junior Kate McDonald took eighth in the 200-yard IM (2:03.75)… Junior Courtney Barker placed 15th in the 50-yard freestyle (23.60).
UP NEXT
Tulane returns to action tomorrow morning with preliminary competition, beginning at 10 a.m. with the 400-yard IM.
Live results can be accessed by clicking HERE or via the Meet Mobile App.
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Courtesy: Colorado State Athletics
HOUSTON – Heading into the meet, the Rams knew there was still the majority of the season in front of them. Diver Skylar Williams made hers a bit longer on the opening day of the Phill Hansel Invitational at the CRCW Natatorium on the University of Houston campus.
Colorado State’s junior diver placed second in the 1-meter competition with a career-best score of 269.10, clearing the NCAA Zones qualifying mark by 4.1 points. Now a three-time Zones qualifier under three coaches, Williams beat her personal best on the board by 3.2 points.
“That was huge. She dove really, really well, as did Rachel Holland,” CSU head coach Christopher Woodard said. “Skylar is a stud. To her credit, she’s adapted each time there’s been a change. Two things this year: One, the result of being healthy has allowed her to be more consistent in practice. Two, her relationship with (diving coach) Chris Bergere, she had a goal of increasing her degree of difficulty and throwing some new dives, and her relationship with Chris, she trusts him and that’s allowed her to explore those things.”
Holland added points for the team in the event, placing 15th at 240.65 as the Rams closed the day in fifth place with 162 points in the 10-team field.
The swimmers took advantage of being at sea level, qualifying for 11 finals swims, three of them in scoring position. Of those 11 swims, eight of the times were faster than in the preliminary round from the morning.
Freshman Sydnee Whitty placed 10th in the 50-yard freestyle in a season-best time of 23.38, while the 500 free produced points from Madison Hunter (19th, 4:57.21) and Abbey Owenby (24th, 5:0159).
Both relays scored well for the Rams, as the 200 free team of Whitty, Sarah Mundy, Andrea Basile and Julia Box played sixth in a season-best time of 1:34.07. The Rams placed fifth in the 400 medley relay, with the quad of Elsa Litteken, Maddie Ward, Box and Whitty coming in at a season-best 3:44.25.
The A, B and C finals are the scoring races, with the D and E heats providing second chances for others, with the Rams taking advantage. In the 500 free, Mundy (4:59.40), Madison Gordley (4:58.53) and Hannah Sykes (5:01.98) all dropped time. In the 200 individual medley, Caroline Perry (2:04.93), Kate Meunier (2:06.07) and Jennae Frederick (2:06.83) earned bonus swims, with the first two dropping time. Box (23.98) and Mundy (24.39) competed, Box dropping time.
Woodard felt the team started out a bit slow in the morning, but the encouraging part was the number of finals swims and what they did with them. Whitty wasn’t healthy in the prior meet, and Thursday showed a glimpse of what she can achieve her inaugural season.
“She can move,” Woodard said. “She’s coming along. There’s some things technically we need to clean up, but if she’s rested, not stressed and healthy, she’s dangerous.
“I think that’s the one thing we’re going to hammer on. Maybe it wasn’t the best morning, or even night, but if we have a lane, we have an opportunity to improve, and doing it in eight of 11 swims is a good sign.”
On Friday, the event schedule consists of the 400 IM, 100 butterfly, 200 freestyle, 100 breaststroke and the 100 backstroke, as well as 3-meter diving and the finals in the 200 medley and 800 free relays. The preliminaries begin at 9 a.m. MT, the finals at 5 p.m.
Courtesy: UC Davis Athletics
Houston, Texas – UC Davis swimmers established new team-best marks for the season in every event on Thursday as the Aggies kicked off the first day of the three-day Phill Hansel Invitational in Houston.
The Phill Hansel Invite features 11 teams from across the country.
Thursday’s program included prelims and finals in the 500 Free, 200 IM, 50 Free, 1-meter diving, as well a finals in the 200 Free Relay and 400 Medley Relay.
Nine Aggie swimmers and three divers advanced out of Thursday morning’s prelims while both UC Davis “A” relay teams established new season’s bests.
In the 500 Free, Olivia Smith established a new lifetime PR by swimming 4:56.42 in prelims, only to improve by another three seconds to 4:53.83 in the evening’s “C” final. Kathryn Bockman added a second PR for the Aggies in the 500 Free finals, finishing in 4:59.99 for a new lifetime best.
Kyla Leacox began the day by shattering the team-best mark in the 200 IM by over six seconds in the prelims and improved again in the finals with a lifetime best 2:00.45. She was joined in the 200 IM finals by Sophia Sebastian, who improved her time this season by over four seconds with a 2:06.95 in Thursday morning’s prelims.
The Aggies advanced four swimmers to the evening’s finals of the 50 Free with all four going under the previous team-best mark of 24.31set by Mia Cunnan on Nov. 1 during prelims.
Jamie Pincin finished just off her lifetime PR during prelims, going 23.67 for a new team-best mark on the season. Cunnan also finished just off her PR time of 23.34 in 23.79 for a new season-best. Anna Lee also dipped under the previous team-best with a 23.82 in prelims and Cora McClelland’s 24.01 finals time was a lifetime PR by .04 seconds.
Pincin, Leacox, Cunnan and Dani Fasan teamed to set a new team-best mark in the 200 Free Relay with a 1:33.69 that betters the previous team-best by over two seconds. UC Davis’ “B” relay team of Lee, Sophie Murff, Ashley Ma, and Jessica Larson also got under the previous team-best by going 1:35.28.
The Aggies finished out the day in the pool by setting a new season mark in the 400 Medley Relay with McClelland, Lee, Fasan teaming with Ashleen O’Brien to go 3:46.90.
On the 1-meter board, Syndey Wren improved from 226.40 in prelims to 255.25 in “A” final. Taylor Hornberger improved from a 219.05 in prelims to 247.50 in the “B” final and Katie Truong finished at 219.25 in the “B” final.
The Aggies will return to the University of Houston tomorrow morning for prelims and finals in the 400 IM, 100 Fly, 200 Free, 100 Breast, 100 Back and 3-meter diving as well as finals in the 200 Medley and 800 Free Relays.
Full results from Thursday can be found here as well as by visiting the swimming and diving schedule page on ucdavisaggies.com.
Courtesy: Nevada Athletics
HOUSTON, Texas – The Nevada swim team is currently sitting eighth after wrapping up the first day of the meet. There are two more days of competition at the Phill Hansel Invitational, wrapping up Saturday afternoon.
In the 500 free, the Pack saw three top 25 finishers with Caitlyn McHugh finishing fifth with a time of 4:53.79 and adding 25 points to the team score. Alexa Markl came in 22nd with a time of 5:01.24 for an additional three team points while Destiny Kling took 25th and a win in the C final with a time of 4:58.45.
Nevada showed up strong in the 200 IM, placing four in the top 20. Cholodovskis took fourth with an NCAA “B” standard time of 1:59.82 and an individual point high of 26. Donna dePolo came in 10th and scored 17 points with a time of 2:01.83. Wiktoria Samula finished 13th and Julia Adamczyk in 18th. The Pack raked up 65 points in just one event.
The final individual event of the night was the 50 yard free. Newcomer, Ileah Doctor took fourth with a time 22.86 while Josien Wijkhuijs finished eighth with a time of 23.39. Colette Berkenfield won the C final with a time of 23.44 and 17th overall.
The Pack continues competition tomorrow, Nov. 22 at 8 a.m. with prelims and finals beginning at 4 p.m. PT.
Courtesy: FGCU Athletics
HOUSTON, Texas – The FGCU swimming & diving team (6-4, 4-0 CCSA) opened up Houston’s Phill Hansel Invitational with a successful day of competition on Thursday at the CRWC Natatorium. The first day of the invitational, which is set to run from Thursday, Nov. 21 through Saturday, Nov. 23, featured the 200 Free Relay, the 500 Free, the 200 IM, the 50 Free, the 1m dive and the 400 Medley Relay.
“I’m really excited about how the team performed today,” head coach Dave Rollins said. “It’s important for our young team to get the experience of a collegiate championship meet and they are doing great. It’s always important to think about the team race, but ultimately the experience we are ggaining from swimming this weekend will serve us well come CCSAs.”
The prelims for the 10-meet invite, which began at 10 a.m., saw six Eagles qualify for finals. Freshmen Reese Wakefield and Delaney Nelson each made it through on the 1m board, sophomore Wiktoria Czarnecka secured a spot in the A Final in the 50 Free and the trio of junior Petra Halmai, senior Elizabeth Zeiger and freshman Anna Hogan earned spots in the finals for the 200 IM.
Czarnecka (Lublin, Poland/Liceum nr 10 w Lublinie) had the highest individual finish of the day for the Green and Blue, touching the wall fourth in the 50 Free final. After swimming a personal best earlier today in the prelims, she outdid herself once again in the finals, posting a time of 22.94. That time is good for eighth all-time in the FGCU record book.
The Eagles were represented by three athletes in the 200 IM, as Halmai (Dombovar, Hungary/Lanczos Komel Secondari Grammar School), Zeiger (Cumberland, R.I./Homeschool) and Hogan (Louisville, Ky./DuPont Manual HS) all punched their tickets to the A, B and C finals. Halmai collected 23 points after finishing seventh in the A final, Zeiger added 13 points by finishing 14th overall and Hogan rounded out the scoring with four points after a 21st-place finish. Halmai’s time of 2:01.68 is good for fifth-all time in program history, while Zeiger’s 2:02.45 checks in at 10th.
On the 1m board, Wakefield (Guelph, Ontario, Canada/Bishop Macdonelle CHS) and Nelson (Cincinnati, Ohio/Ursuline Academy) combined for 31 points. Wakefield’s 249.35 points were good for a sixth-place finish, while Nelson came in 18th after earning 225.60 points.
In addition to the high individual finishes, the Eagles had a strong showing in the 200-yard freestyle relay. The team of Czarnecka, freshman Hailey Jerew (Miami, Fla./Cutler Bay Senior HS), senior Cassidy Fry (Oakwood, Ohio/Oakwood HS) and senior Madison Jean (Parrish, Fla./Lakewood Ranch HS) edged a UC Davis quartet by 0.02 seconds to finish fourth overall.
“Congratulations to Petra, Tori (Czarnecka) and Liz (Zeiger) on earning new all-time top 10 times,” Rollins said. “We have a very rich history, so those don’t come easy. Reese continues to be a dominant diver and Delaney came up huge making her first final. We had a fantastic first day and I can’t wait to get everyone going tomorrow.”
Up Next
The Eagles will be back in action at 10 a.m. tomorrow morning to compete in the prelims for the 400 IM, 100 Fly, 200 Free, 100 Breast and 100 Back events. Tomorrow’s competition will also feature the 3m dive, the 200 Medley Relay and the 800 Free Relay.
FOLLOW ALONG
For up-to-date coverage of FGCU women’s swimming and diving, follow us on Twitter @FGCU_WSWIM and visit www.FGCUAthletics.com where full recaps and results will be available.
Courtesy: Air Force Athletics
HOUSTON, Texas – The Air Force Academy women’s swimming and diving team concluded day one of the Phill Hansel Invitational, Thursday evening, Nov. 21, on the campus of the University of Houston. The Falcons competed in six events, and saw some season bests in each of them.
As a team, AF has compiled 143 points, placing them in 10th place in a loaded field.
Air Force’s highest swimming finish came in the 50 freestyle, as freshman Sefilina Maile took sixth in the C final, good for 22nd overall. Her prelim time of 23.73 is her fastest of the season thus far.
On the diving board, freshman Gabby Peltier took eighth place out of 43 competitors, while sophomore Krystal Irwin placed 10th overall.
The other two individual events contested, the 500 free and 200 IM, had top finishes for the Falcons by freshman Gina Jenkins in the 500 free and junior Lexie DuChene in the 200 IM. Both achieved season-best times. Finally, in the two relays, the 200 free and 400 medley, AF swam to season-bests in both.
The Phill Hansel Invite will pick back up tomorrow, Friday, Nov. 22 with eight more events. Prelims wil begin at 9 a.m. MT, with finals at 5 p.m. MT.