Discuss.

I'd like to see some significant improvement in our times -- not that there's anything wrong with what we've thrown up so far; the first meet was great especially against a team like Houston.

As far as the end result, I expect something similar to the past two seasons' dual meets due to previously mentioned states of training. I'd like to be proven wrong.

As long as our ladies battle them like warriors and put the fear of February in them, I'll be happy.

Sogar came back on the second day of their Indiana-Michigan tri-meet and broke the school record in the 200 breast AGAIN, despite not swimming quite as well on day 1 in the 100. Is her improvement for real??

Do I think she'll drop 4-5 seconds in the spring in the 200 breast from where she is now? Heck no. Just like I don't think Bispo will be dropping 4-5 seconds off her 1:46 200 free at Cal three weeks ago. If they can then more power to them but I just don't see it happening, especially in light of recent history.

I think we need big freestyle swims in the 50, 100, and 200. I am not concerned about the longer stuff. The sprints so far have been very unimpressive and if we don't swim better we are toast in two of the freestyle relays.

No Hersey is a bonus for us this year, but of course we don't have the awesomeness of Wilkinson and Atkinson any more.

No way Sogar and Bispo drop big this spring. Bispo is a maturing swimmer and her drops will be incremental. Sogar is on fire but again I expect she will be only slightly faster in the spring.

Add: I don't see how we win this considering the scoring. Unless tu has a drop off from the past few weeks and we swim really fast.

[This message has been edited by SpicewoodAg (edited 11/4/2010 3:01p).]

Spice -- There is only one freestyle relay and I expect we will be more than competitive in the medley relay regardless of the length. The diving should be a bonus too. I'd take Jaele over any diver in the country after watching her do one-meter against Houston.

I think we're good enough to at least give them a run no matter the rest levels. They have to have Bispo and Gingrich win twice (and maybe even one of them three times) or they could be in trouble. I'd love to see one of our girls to take it upon herself to make sure that doesn't happen.

LOB - that's good (one freestyle relay). I agree the medley relays should be competitive.

Race wins, not depth, will be key.

Diving will be huge. Gotta win the medley- Sogar/Bispo will take the even legs, Simpson should take the backstroke...will come down to a tight fly matchup...at this point of the season it would be a mild upset to win that race.

Depth will be huge in that in several of the races that Texas should win (50/100/200) it's a very tight matchup for second...gotta pull those out, or best we could do in the event is 13-6...which would be killer.

I understand the medley relay will be a 200, giving us even more of a chance in my opinion. Larson's popped some low 28's already this year on breaststroke and Sommer definitely has the ability to hold off Bispo if the Ags have a lead. I think the back and fly legs are key as we'll need to win both of these. This will be one heck of a race to start off the meet followed by by a likely McLaine-Gingrich battle in the 1000. Can't wait!

AgBlastoff - with the scoring skewed to first place, depth doesn't seem very useful to me.

If Texas wins a race, we MUST have 2-3 finishes. 4-5-6 doesn't do us much good at all, right?

Any 1-2 or 1-3 finishes are devastating whoever earns them.

No right, I fully agree. So I guess by depth, I mean "shallow depth"? If that makes sense? Because if you don't win, you really need 2-3 badly. But no, the 5th and 6th place swimmers aren't all that important.

Sixth doesn't matter at all as only the top five score. In addition, only three people per team can score. On relays just top three places score, and only two per team total are allowed to.

I agree if you lose a race, it is absolutely imperative to at least get second. First and third hurts but isn't insurmountable as long as it doesn't happen much.

Should you lose a race but go 2-3-4, you only lose one total point in the event. Tough to do that though obviously against a good team. Getting 1-2-3'd is a death knell.

Whelp...final score 163-137. McElhaney was well off of her 200 pace from the Houston meet (about 4 seconds slower) though Medrano looked really good there. Still surprised by how well Larson is swimming early.

I think the meet was about like I thought it might go. A few thoughts, looking at times:

Larson is a serious breaststroke sprinter. Her 50 relay split was terrific and she might beat Sogar in the 100 later in the season. Not the 200 though.

We dominated diving and 200 breast (though not 1st). Our breaststroke depth looks good. Most other races we split points. Horns dominated 100 free, 100 back.

A lot of races were very close for 2-3-4. The results could easily be better in the spring if we are ones two-tenths faster than a horn.

Our 50 free is OK, and so is our 200. But the 100s are not very fast.

What do you think will be Henry's best events as the season goes on? Will she stay in the 500?

I agree, Larson is the real deal and our breaststroke depth is better than its ever been under Bultman despite its extreme youth. Dittmer's 200 breast was a terrific swim and a LT best in just her second college meet. Three girls at 2:17 or better in early November is wonderful. If we can avoid the freshman jitters that many teams experience at NCAA's, there are many points to be scored in the breast.

Texas has two NCAA All-American divers and we dominated them. We are in terrific shape in the diving well. Jay Lerew and his kids are doing truly great things for this team and will all season long no matter the meet. It's so great to see this part of the team become a strength again. Our diving program -- from a depth standpoint -- is a giant that has been awoken thanks to the hire of Lerew. We almost had four girls qualify for zones in only the second meet - and a pressure-filled one at that -- of the season.

I'm not worried about the backstroke. Our girls will be there when it counts. I expected more out of Simpson based on how she had been swimming recently but I believe she will be ready when it matters most. We are as deep in back as we are at breast at the Big 12 level. Lindsey King deserves mention for a really great swim in that 200.

The fact that so many races were tight 1-4 bodes fantastically for the spring. Definitely what I was hoping to see and really pleased with that.

I agree that our 100 free's aren't as fast as we'd like them to be. We just don't have the depth we need there and it hurts because a relay is involved, especially at the NCAA level. That said, I'm pleased with the 200's -- more so than I thought I'd be and I think that relay and our medley will continue to be a point boon for us at NCAA's -- which they need to be if we are going to keep our top 10 streak going.

Not worried about McElhaney. Obviously something wasn't quite right for her to be four seconds off from last week. As long as it's not a long-term nagging injury, she'll be fine. She's simply too good and has already show us she's got the goods. Speaking of goods, Rita Medrano was SPECTACULAR. So happy for her. She has a warrior spirit in that tiny little body of hers. She's a true leader for this team and look to continue to see great things out of her.

I think they will swim Henry in as many things as they can to see what she seems to excel the most in. I don't think anyone knows the answer to that right now. The great thing about that is she's so good at so many things that you can't really know. I will say I was really impressed with her 500, when Gingrich went after McLaine and caught her I highly doubt Leah expected to see Sarah hawk her down like that. That was a great race to watch. If there truly was a rest factor for the Horns, we will work them in the 500 (and the mile) when it matters most.

"If there truly was a rest factor for the Horns"

Is anyone debating there wasn't?

Between McElhany, Medrano, and Adams whenever she gets healthy, our 200 fly crew is going to be a hell of a thing.

Wow, was Janie impressive or what?? She even pushed Jaele in I believe the 3-meter?? One or the other. She also does Platform. Those two are going to help cushion the slide at NCAA's a lot during this rebuilding season.

Henry is sort of indicative of this national class as a whole...Felicia Lee, Elizabeth Beisel, etc...there's a lot of swimmers who are so good at a lot of things, and coming from USS they haven't had to narrow themselves down to 3 events. My guess is that an IM and the 500 will be a part of her repertoire. Lest we forget, she's still sort of working herself back into shape after that nasty knee injury (obviously she's been back in the pool for a while, but hasn't gone through a full training cycle yet).

That 100 freestyle is going to be tough on that relay...Maria oughta be better there than she is. Hopefully that comes by Big 12's/NCAA's.

Great to hear such positive things about the ladies, especially considering how young they really are. All that they lost the past 2 years, and to have this kind of optimism about a young squad really shows how far they have come in the Bultman era. Steve has really changed the culture of this program. I know we've said it before, but it always deserves noting I think. Wish I could have seen the meet or at least followed it more closely. Its always good to see our girls hang tough against a usually rested (and could possibly be considered more talented?) t.u. squad early in the season, and then look forward to the revenge factor come february/march. Always makes me look forward to the spring, knowing that our girls will "BRING IT" and the sips will most likely underwhelm at the end of the season.