The Cougars continue to get the most out of their tough schedule.
Last weekend they swam dual meets against Conference-USA power SMU and a well-rested North Texas squad.
This weekend the Cougars will swim against C-USA foes Rice and Tulane and top-25 team LSU. The meets will take place 5 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. Saturday at the Campus Recreation Wellness Center Natatorium.
The Cougars lost 141-101 to North Texas, and 136-98 to SMU, but head coach Mark Taylor said the team swam well despite the results.
“We swam great, we really did,” Taylor said. “We didn’t get the results we wanted, OK. Obviously we always want to beat SMU and North Texas. They caught us, it happens, but that’s why you swim the dual meets during the year — to get ready for the conference championships, to get ready for the NCAAs.”
UH did have some individual performers standout.
The diving team stood out from the rest, particularly Anastasia Pozdniakova, who earned her third C-USA Diver of the Week award this season, the 17th of her career. Pozdniakova swept both the 1-meter and 3-meter events.
“Our divers are so much better than the competition they face, it’s just night and day,” Taylor said.
“We had outstanding performances by Reka Kovacs, and Beccy Hillis. Kim Eeson did some superb performances.We had a lot of girls do best times.”
Kovacs won the 200-yard individual medley and the 100-yard backstroke against North Texas. Hillis won the 100-yard breaststroke against North Texas, and the 200-yard breaststroke against SMU.
This weekend the Cougars will swim against teams they’re familiar with. UH notched a home win against Rice in the Phil Hansel Duals on Oct. 9.
Tulane and LSU competed in the UH Cougar Classic from Nov. 20 to 22 at UH. LSU finished third in the competition and Tulane finished fifth.
Taylor said it’s a good chance to see where the team stands against good competition.
“This is going to be a good matchup for us,” Taylor said.
“It’s really nice to have Tulane back. Rice is coming in, and of course Rice always wants to beat us, and we always want to beat Rice. It’s also going to help having a team that’s nationally ranked, like LSU, coming in. That’s always exciting to see your team swim against the best competition.”
