Tannenberger strikes gold
Texas-bound senior’s record-setting year included pair of individual championships
Matthew Tannenberger is welltraveled — he’s visited more than 50 countries — but he knows Austin will be home for the next few years.
Tannenberger, the All-Greater Houston boys swimmer of the year from The Woodlands, signed with the University of Texas after a strong senior year featuring two individual state championships.
Tannenberger won the 200-yard freestyle at 1 minute, 37.14 seconds and set a school record in the 500-yard freestyle at 4:21.64 to take the gold. Tannenberger, Tyler Hulet, Jasper Van Lier and Zach Bentley led The Woodlands’ 200-yard medley relay team to a state championship with a time of 1:31. It’s a huge turnaround from his junior season where he won bronze in the 500-yard freestyle. But he also competed in the 200-yard individual medley as a junior before swapping for the 200-yard freestyle in 2020 and everything else fell into place.
Q: What was the biggest motivation for your success this year?
A: “I really wanted to go out with a bang. My past year really wasn’t what I was expecting so I was really trying to end it with everything I had. It was just to see the progress that I made through the season, knowing that all my hard work was paying off.”
Q: What made the difference in your performances this year?
A: “I think the main difference this year was my mentality. Going into these big meets, I think I was much more mentally strong and able to come at it with a clear mindset and attack and focus on each race as it came to me. Also, the fact that I worked a lot harder this year in and out of the pool. That made me trust myself a little more to the point I was able to execute each race pretty well.”
Q: What led you to your commitment to Texas?
A: “To be honest, it was always my dream school since I was 11 years old. The first time I ever swam in that pool, I was like ‘I want to go here.’ I just told myself I’m going to make it my goal by the end of my senior year to be able to say I’m going to the University of Texas. I worked for it really, really hard. When it came time to decide, I knew in my heart that it was the school I was going to choose.”
Q: Does swimming for Texas bring your career full circle?
A: “Yeah, I was in Austin for one of my first-ever state championships. That was also the first meet or the first time that I really had a breakout swim. It showed me how much I could do. At that pool was the first time it ever happened for me so it’s a really special place for me already.”
Q: You also had the flu leading up to the state meet. What were the days leading up to the event like?
A: “When I got it, I was like ‘Oh my God, will I be able to swim at state?’ My whole team was relying on me.I really didn’t know if I was going to be able to swim at state or not. I tested positive that Sunday before so I knew I had time to recover, but I knew it would be close. The day that I actually fully recovered was the first day of the state meet.”
Q: Where all have you lived before The Woodlands?
A: “My dad and my mom moved to the United States when they were in their 20s. My mom is from the Philippines, born and raised, and then my dad is from South Africa, born and raised there. When I was born in Boston, we moved to the San Francisco area, we moved to Miami and then we moved back to the San Francisco area and then we moved to South Africa and now we’re here.”