The UH women’s swimming and diving team got several standout performances from some of its newest members at last weekend’s dual meets. | Daily Cougar file photo
The UH women’s swimming and diving team hosted its first meet of the spring season last weekend and came away with a bag of mixed results.
The Cougars defeated Tulane 213-134 in a dual meet, but fell to Rice 197-144 and LSU 207-138.
Head coach Mark Taylor said he wasn’t concerned with the overall results of the dual meets and likened them to preparation meets for the Conference USA tournament.
“We had a lot of positives that came out of the weekend, and the girls looked sharper,” Taylor said in a release. “We have two hard meets coming up against Texas A&M and Texas in the next two weeks, so the girls are focusing and sharpening their kills to prepare for conference.”
Freshman diver Julie Lonnergren, who joined the team for the spring season, won her debut event, scoring a 299.75 in the 3-meter competition. She also took second in the 1-meter event with a score of 249.05.
For her performace, Lonnegren was honored as the C-USA Diver of the Week and has now qualified for the NCAA Diving Zones.
Fellow freshman Reka Kovacs claimed first-place honors in the 400-yard individual medley with a finish of 4 minutes 23.56 seconds, and Becky Hillis earned third place in 4:32.60. Kovacs wasn’t done, as she took first place in the 1,000-yard freestyle.
UH will be back in action this weekend as it hosts Texas A&M at 5 p.m. Friday.
Track and field
The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association ranked the UH women’s team No. 7 in the South Central Region. In their only four meets of the spring season, the Cougars have earned three provisional marks and won 12 events. They are the only C-USA women’s squad to crack the rankings. Texas A&M leads the six-team group with a national ranking of No. 1.
UH continues its season when it travels to New York for the New Balance Collegiate Invitational on Friday and Saturday.
