Rice University
SMU
Schillinger Wins Two Individual Events Saturday at SMU
10/29/2016 12:00:00 AM | Swimming & Diving
Sophomore Marie-Claire Schillinger won two individual events and swam on the Owls' winning 200-yard medley relay, but longtime rival SMU rallied for a 154-126 dual meet victory over the Rice swim team Saturday afternoon in Southlake, Texas.
Steady as ever, Schillinger contributed to the scoring by sweeping both breaststroke events. The Orinda, Calif., native first swam the breaststroke leg of the winning 200-medley relay and where junior newcomer Lauren Rhodes blazed a sensational 50-free on the anchor to lift Rice to a final time of 1:44.41. Schillinger then swam a 1:04.03 to lead a 1-2 Rice finish with senior Shelbi Ragsdale in the 100-breaststroke. She returned to win the 200- with a 2:19.30 that was more than a full second ahead of second place.
The Rice distance racers had a big day as well. Sophomore Sydney Franzen came from behind to register a winning mark of 4:49.65 in the 500-freestyle. Hanna Huston meanwhile led a big 1-2-3 Rice sweep in the rugged 1,000, posing a 10:16.01 to take first place ahead of teammates Kaitlyn Swinney (10:23.14) and Claire Therien (10:28.44).
Even with SMU picking up a full 18 points from diving, events that Rice does not compete in, The Owls held a 107-100 lead on the Mustangs heading into the final stages of the meet. The Ponies won each of the final three events and held-off a Rice challenge in the final 400-free relay to take the team scoring.
Owl head coach Seth Huston, now in his 15th season at the helm of the program, said the team now has a chance to improve if it can learn from today's outcome. SMU is not only a nationally-ranked, but routinely in the hunt for its conference championship.
"This loss hurt," coach Huston said. "Our team felt like we let this one get away. We know that only a few close finishes going our way and the outcome would have been different. So this hurts… but I am glad it hurts. That just indicates to me our team is building confidence and is believing in themselves and each other."
The Owl swimmers next return home to host the annual Rice Invitational on November 4-5. The three-team, three-session meet features Rice, the U.S. Air Force Academy, and the University of Houston in an NCAA Championship style meet at the Owls' Competition Pool.
Players Mentioned
