Houston juniors Isabella Lojewski and Gigi Casten prepare to race against TCU sophomore Amanda Ulicny in the women’s 200 Free during an NCAA college swim and dive meet, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025 in Houston, Texas. | Raphael Fernandez/The Cougar
Houston’s swimming and diving team made a lasting impact at the Big 12 Championship meet, held Feb. 25 to March 1 at Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Wash.
The Cougars dominated the diving events throughout the five-day competition, ultimately clinching the title in the category. Their strength in the swimming lanes also played a crucial role in their success, securing Houston a third-place finish overall.
Houston’s bronze finish
The Cougars ended their championship bid with 1,211.5 points, just behind Arizona (1,240) and champion No. 14 Arizona State (1,695).
Houston held a 357.5-point lead over their fourth-place opponent, TCU.
The Cougars reached the podium once again in their second appearance at the Big 12 Championship.
With a strong foundation, standout talent and an big presence in the Big 12, Houston has put the rest of the conference on notice.
Houston’s silver streak
On the second-to-last day of competition, Houston’s winning streak was highlighted by multiple second-place finishes, sealing their podium finish.
Senior Adelaide Meuter finished in second place with a time of 1:56.85 in the A-finals of the 200-yard butterfly, improving her previous third-fastest record.
Sophomore Sydney Nethercutt (1:57.99) followed closely behind in third, while junior Noor El Gendy (1:59.22) earned sixth and senior Abbie Alvarez (1:59.22) took seventh.
Sophomore Nora Hetyei clocked in at 1:59.83 for 10th and freshman Kristina DiPietro finished 14th in the event for the Cougars, touching the wall at 2:01.66.
Senior Henrietta Fangli broke her own program record twice in the 100-yard breaststroke finals and preliminaries, earning second place in the A-finals with a 58.12, just .03 seconds away from first.
Also in the A-finals, sophomore Evelyn Entrekin clocked in at 59.69 for sixth. In the B-finals, junior Virag Peter won ninth overall with a time of 1:00.66.
In the 100-yard backstroke, freshman Lottie Cullen earned another second-place finish for the Cougars as she touched the wall at 52.28.
Sophomore Elizabeth Jimenez claimed fourth with a time of 53.17.
Junior Liya Goupil, freshman Sienna Bruner, junior Jenna Kerkman and Jimenez finished seventh in the 200-yard freestyle event, clocking in at 1:31.42.
Arizona State continued to lead the championship with 1,210 points. Houston rose to second with 926.5 points, while Arizona fell to third with 864.
Houston dominates day one
Houston’s swimming & diving team made a powerful statement on the first day of competition, racking up 170 points to take an early lead and put the rest of the Big 12 on notice.
Graduate Hedda Grelz, sophomore Michelle McLeod and graduate Emilia Waters worked together in team diving to score 306.00 and add 64 championship points to the Cougars’ total.
In the 800-yard freestyle, Goupil, Entrekin, Jimenez and Bruner raced to a third-place finish with a time of 7:11.96, securing the Cougars 54 points.
Cullen, Fangli, El Gendy and Kerkman came within reach of breaking a program record in the 200-yard medley relay. They finished in fourth with a time of 1:37.85, just .38 seconds away from rewriting the record books.
As the first day wrapped up, Houston sat atop the leaderboard, edging Arizona State (168 points) and Arizona (157 points).
Houston loses the first-place spot but remains in the top three
Houston lost their grasp on the competition’s top spot, falling to third as stronger performances from Arizona State and Arizona pushed them down the leaderboard. Despite the setback, the Cougars battled fiercely to stay in contention.
Grelz, Houston’s only top-ten finisher in the diving preliminaries, proved the Cougars weren’t backing down.
She placed eighth in the A-finals of the 1-meter event, scoring 280 points. McLeod, Waters and freshman Caroline Roelen placed 10th (275.15), 12th (264.70) and 13th (264), respectively, in the B-finals.
Goupil punched her ticket to the B-finals of the 50-yard freestyle after swimming the second-fastest time (22.59) in program history in the preliminaries.
She finished first in the B-Finals, taking ninth overall after clocking in at 22.47. Her time was just .05 off from the program record.
Entrekin led Houston in the 200-yard IM, placing eighth with a 2:01.90. Hetyei (14th) and Kerkman (16th) followed with times of 2:01.33 and 2:02.75, respectively. At the same time, Peter dominated the C-finals, taking 17th with a 2:00.36.
Kerkman also made history in the 200-yard IM preliminaries, posting the 10th fastest 200-yard IM time in program history, while Fangli set a personal record with 2:03.47
Freshman Mariana Cote led the charge in the 500-yard freestyle. After securing a B-final spot with a personal-best 4:52.52 in the preliminaries, she powered through to win her heat and claim ninth place with a time of 4:50.56.
Freshman Kaeli White followed in 16th (4:53.43) and Nethercutt took 23rd (4:57.16).
Arizona State led the competition with 544 points, followed by Arizona with 409.5 and Houston with 352.
The Cougars shatter records on third day of competition
The Cougars delivered another strong performance, setting new records and securing key finishes as the championship continued.
Cullen, Fangli, El Gendy and Goupil broke program records during the 400-yard medley relay, placing third at 3:31.95. Their B-Finals finish shattered the Cougars record for the second time this season.
Unfortunately, Goupil’s 1:47.06 time in the 200-yard freestyle kept her out of the B-finals. However, that time improved her fifth-fastest time in program history, resetting the record books.
Freshman Alexandra Curcan also swam her personal best in the 200-yard freestyle preliminaries at 1:52.81.
In the 100-yard butterfly, Meuter placed fourth, clocking in at 53.19. She was quickly followed by El Gendy, touching the wall at 53.32 for sixth.
Meuter and El Gendy also excelled in the 400-yard medley relay preliminaries, swimming 53.29 and 53.05, respectively. Their finishes punched their tickets to the B-finals.
Hetyei swam the ninth fastest time in team history during the 400-yard individual medley, finishing at 4:18.86 for 10th place.
In the 3-meter springboard finals, McLeod scored 283.30 to receive second place. Grelz secured eighth with a 270.30, Waters took 12th overall with a 269.05 and Roelen placed 13th with a 253.50.
Arizona State continued to lead at the end of the night with a score of 898, followed by Arizona (632.5) and Houston (616).
Houston wraps up the competition, securing a third-place finish
On the last day of competition, Houston sealed their podium spot by locking out any challengers with flashy final performances.
Fangli and Peter dominated the 200-yard breaststroke preliminaries, placing third (2:11:24) and fourth (2:11.44), respectively. Peter surged to second place in the final (2:09.92), while Fangli secured fourth at 2:10.74.
In the 200-yard backstroke, Jimenez qualified for finals with a 1:55.33 in preliminaries before finishing in fourth at 1:55.95.
Graduate Danielle Titus improved on her time (1:57.10), touching the wall at 1:56.22 for 11th place.
Cullen made the most significant jump, dropping from 14th in preliminaries (1:57.82) to a ninth-place B-finals finish with a blazing 1:54.28.
Distance swimmers also excelled in the grueling 1,650-yard freestyle. Nethercutt posted a 16:37.60, locking in a fourth-place finish. Cote followed in 10th place with a time of 16:43.37.
In the 400-yard freestyle relay, Goupil, Bruner, Kerkman and Jimenez combined for a seventh-place finish, clocking in at 3:22.18.
Goupil secured a spot in the 100-yard freestyle B-finals after scoring ninth overall in the preliminaries, but despite a strong effort, she slipped to 11th with a time of 49.84.
On the diving platform, McLeod earned second place in the finals with a score of 293.55. Waters added to Houston’s tally, taking 11th in the B-finals with 232.90.
Next, Houston will travel to Iowa City, Iowa, to compete in the NCAA Diving Zones. The event will be broadcast on ESPN+ from March 10 to March 12.
