Texas won its 11th men’s NCAA swimming title on March 28 in dominant fashion, but there were several other story lines from the meet.
On hosting the meet
Iowa head coach Marc Long said the NCAA Championships marked an excellent chance to showcase Iowa City and the pool at the Campus Recreation & Wellness Center, which opened in 2010. He said he hopes the meet broke people’s stereotypes of Iowa and Iowa City.
“It’s like Field of Dreams,” Long said. “People don’t know this is here.”
The meet went off without much of a hitch, and the reviews of the facilities were generally positive. The meet was sold out roughly six weeks in advance, and that attendance was palpable all weekend.
Boschult places 10th on the 10 meter
Junior Addison Boschult finished second in the consolation finals, and 10th overall, in the platform diving on March 28.
Boschult, a former walk-on, had never been on a platform prior to coming to Iowa. He garnered honorable mention All-American honors in the event. Boschult, however, had higher expectations; he believes he is talented enough to be diving at night for All-American status.
“It feels really good to score points for the team, but just the experience was awesome,” he said. “I wish I could be in the final, and I feel that I have the ability to be there. That’s kind of rough, but I guess I can use that as motivation for next year.”
Texas wins number 11
Head coach Eddie Reese, who has coached the Longhorns to all of their national title, won’t have to worry about what to do now that he has run out of fingers.
“I’ve got 10 rings from winning 10 championships. I have no clue where they are,” Reese said. “My grandchildren know where they are because they play with them or used to.”
Reese credited the number of titles he has won to his age, not to any secret as a coach.
“The number of titles just means I’m old,” he said.
There may be one secret the coach isn’t sharing, however. The Longhorns dominated the 100 butterfly at the meet, placing six swimmers in the championship final of the event.
Texas swimmers finished first, second, third, fourth, sixth, and eighth in the event to score 92 points, almost the full points difference between the Longhorns and the second-place California.
Arizona senior Kevin Cordes, the American record holder in the event, won his fourth-consecutive 100 breaststroke title, making him just the third swimmer ever to four-peat in the event. He joins Brendan Hansen of Texas and Steve Lundquist of Southern Methodist in doing so.
“I went out and raced, did what I had to do tonight,” Cordes said. “I knew it was going to be difficult. I knew I was going to have to give it my best and just go out there and race and compete.”
Cordes touched out in 50.25 to win the title. Nic Fink of Georgia was second in 51.08. Cordes later lost to Will Licon of Texas in the 200 breaststroke. Had he won the 200, Cordes would have completed his NCAA breaststroke career undefeated in title races.
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