The NCAA Division I Men and Women’s Swimming and Diving Committee announced the swimmers who have qualified for the 2018 Swimming & Diving Championships tabbing three University of Houston swimmers. The Championships will be held March 14-17 at the McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion in Columbus, Ohio.
“We are excited for these three to have the opportunity to represent the University of Houston at the NCAA Championships and fight to put points on the board,” said Head Coach Ryan Wochomurka. “It is another upward step for the trajectory of our program.”
Fresh off of its second consecutive American Athletic Conference Championship and for the first time since the 2009 season, Houston will send three swimmers to the NCAA Championships. Zarena Brown, Peyton Kondis and Ksenia Yuskova will represent Houston in two events at the Championships. Yuskova and Brown will compete in the 200y Freestyle after posting the 42nd and 43rd best times in the NCAA ranks this season in the event at the Phill Hansel Invitational earlier this season. Kondis will compete in the 100y Breaststroke after shattering the program record in the event at the 2018 Conference Championships, clocking in at under a minute for the 27th best time in the NCAA ranks this season.
This is the first time under Wochomurka that Houston has qualified for the Championships and the first time since the Cougars sent former swimmer Sasha Schwendenwein to the NCAA’s in three events at the end of the 2009 season. Houston leads all non-Power 5 schools in qualifiers with three, followed by SMU with two.
WHERE TO WATCH The finals of each session of the 2018 NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships will be broadcasted live on ESPNU/ESPN3 starting Friday, March 16. All sessions not broadcasted by an ESPN entity will be streamed live HERE.
“I’m very proud of how we raced this morning,” said Head Coach Ryan Wochomurka. “It is exciting to measure ourselves against the very best in the country. We look forward to racing out primary events tomorrow and try to put some points on the board.”
Zarena Brown hit the water first for Houston, finishing second in her heat of the 500 Freestyle with the third-best time in program history. The American Athletic Conference Champion, touched the wall at 4:46.16, finishing 57th overall.
In the second event of the day, sophomore Peyton Kondis collected a third-place finish in her heat of the 200 IM. Kondis turned in the fourth-fastest time in program history after finishing the race in 2:00.86, finishing 60th overall.
Senior Ksenia Yuskova posted the tenth-best time in program history in the 50 Freestyle after finishing the race in 23.37. Yuskova finished the race 59th overall.
COLUMBUS – The University of Houston Swimming & Diving program continued to turn in top-10 program times on the third day of action at the 2018 NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships in Columbus, Ohio.
“We continued to race hard today and I am proud of how we executed this morning,” said Head Coach Ryan Wochomurka. “To represent our program and the University of Houston at the shortest course yards meet in the world is a great honor. The experience we are gaining here at the NCAA Championships will pay huge dividends for our entire program in the future.”
Zarena Brown turned in a fourth place finish in her heat of the 200 Freestyle after clocking the third-fastest time in Houston history in the event. The sophomore touched the wall at 1:45.68, finishing 30th overall in the event. Senior Ksenia Yuskova also competed in the 200 Freestyle, the event which she is the program record holder. Yuskova finished the event at 1:48.98, right outside the top-10 in the event at Houston. Yuskova finished the event in 55th-place.
Sophomore Peyton Kondis collected a 29th-place finish, her highest thus far, after posting the second-best time in program history in her signature event of the 100 Breaststroke. Kondis completed the race at 1:00.43, less than a second from her personal record and program record of 59.73.
COLUMBUS – The University of Houston Swimming & Diving program closed out its first appearance at the NCAA Championships under third-year Head Coach Ryan Wochomurka and its first since the 2009 season, Saturday afternoon at the McCorkle Aquatics Pavilion in Columbus, Ohio.
“Very proud of our effort today,” said Wochomurka. “We have gained valuable experience during our time here this week and look forward to utilizing that in the future. This experience is another step forward and up for our program. I’m excited to return to the NCAA Championships next year to play at a higher level.”
Zarena Brown. Peyton Kondis and Ksenia Yuskova finished out their third and final day of competition with two events.
The current program record-holder in the event, Brown turned in the fifth-best time in program history in the 100 Freestyle after touching the wall at 49.88. The sophomore closed out the event tied for 48th-place. Ksenia Yuskova finished less than a second later, finishing the race at 50.79 and finishing in 53rd-place.
Kondis competed in the final event for the Cougars, lining up for the 200 Breaststroke. The sophomore notched the third-best time in program history, clocking in at 2:12.25 for a 41st-place finish.
