Present, past Horns excel at swim event
UT representatives finish in top four in men’s competition.
Four former and current Longhorns notched top-five finishes at the USA Swimming National Championships in Indianapolis on Thursday.
A trio of UT representatives finished in the top four in the men’s competition.
Jack Conger took third place in the 100-meter butterfly, just missing out on qualifying in the event for the FINA World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, this month. His time of 51.33 seconds was just 0.03 behind Tim Phillips. Conger, a former Longhorns swimmer, won the 200 butterfly Tuesday in 1:54.47, earning a spot on Team USA.
Sam Pomajevich, who will be a freshman at UT next season, placed fourth in the consolation final of the 100 butterfly with a time of 53.33.
Johnathan Roberts, who will be senior at Texas in the fall, finished the 400 individual medley in 4:15.50 to take fourth place.
John Shebat, who just completed his sophomore season for the Longhorns, took fourth place in the 50-meter backstroke with a time of 24.88.
Madisyn Cox, who was a three-time All-American while at Texas, took fifth place in the 400-meter individual medley with a time of 4:40.39. Though she came up short of qualifying in the event for the World Championships, she’ll have another opportunity in Saturday’s 200 IM.
Lauren Case, who will be a sophomore at UT in the fall, tied for fourth in the 100 butterfly consolation final with a time of 59.58. Remedy Rule, who will be a junior at Texas this fall, finished eighth with a time of 1:00.08.
Olivia Anderson took third place in the 50 breaststroke consolation final with a time of 31.61. She’ll be a junior next season at Texas.
Rowing: Gia Doonan, a graduating senior rower at Texas, was nominated for the 2017 NCAA Woman of the Year award Tuesday.
Doonan is the first Texas rower to earn first-team All-America selections for three years from the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association.
Doonan, who earned AllBig 12 honors for four years at Texas, is one of 229 nominees for the award in Division I. The NCAA Woman of the Year will be announced Oct. 22 in Indianapolis.
Texas took fourth place at the NCAA Championships with the varsity eight boat in the grand final.
It’s easy to get lost in recruiting hype. Rankings and stars tend to dominate the headlines at events like the Opening. The focus is less on the process and more on the future. At the end of the day, the goal for the athletes is to learn and improve.
“It’s a great experience with legends helping us learn the game. I just try to take their advice, soak it all in and have a great experience,” said Bush, No. 55 on the Fab 55. “It’s not about proving I belong as much as learning new things. I have a chance to do something a lot of athletes don’t get to do, and I want to enjoy it and come back to school with new routes and a mindset.”
Texas wants at least four receivers in the 2018 class, and there’s a chance those four might all be in Oregon at the same time. Moore is committed. Woodard and Eagles are considered heavy Texas leans, with Woodard around.”
Moore will play slot receiver for the Longhorns, more specifically a position Texas calls the H. It’ll allow Moore to line up in the slot or in the backfield and to go in motion on jet sweeps and fakes. The position calls for a versatile player with game-changing speed who can catch like a wide receiver and run like a running back.
“I’m very versatile. I believe with the jet game I can help get other people open because defenses get so focused on the jet game. It leaves verticals open by moving the safeties and linebackers,” Moore said. “And the return game, which is something I specialize in.”
Moore is one of 166 prospects set to announce July 15 and Eagles two days later.
“Building relationships with people here is important because you can know how it would feel to play in college together,” Woodard said. “Texas has recruited me well with coach Drew Mehringer and Tom Herman.”
Moore said Thursday that he, Eagles and Woodard chat multiple times a day in a group text, which is another from around the nation competing in the weeklong Opening Finals. The first two days consisted of just quarterbacks, wide receivers and tight ends. Eventually the groups split apart and compete in seven-onseven games starting over the weekend and concluding Monday.
The state of Texas is well-represented with 14 players. Moore is one of three prospects set to participate, along with elite safeties B.J. Foster and Caden Sterns. Herman’s program is also pursuing four-star wide receivers Al’Vonte Woodard and Brennan Eagles. Moore, Eagles and Woodard are already building a bond, and it started before the three arrived Wednesday in Oregon.
“They are the two dudes I talk to the most. We talk good sign for Longhorns fans.
The wild card becomes the fourth receiver spot. Texas could opt for a second slot option like Jaylen Waddle, or it could concentrate its efforts on an outside player in Bush. It’s likely the Longhorns would find room for both, if necessary. Bush received a UT offer June 17. It was his 44th.
“The late offer didn’t hurt Texas’ chances. Now that it four or five times a day on a group message,” Moore said of Woodard and Eagles.
Texas lost one slot receiver when Florida’s Justin Watkins decommitted. Longhorns fans are sure to worry about the same for Moore. He wants to put them at ease.
“I’m 100 percent committed,” he said. “Before I committed I heard from Ohio came, we have to take Texas a lot more serious,” Bush said. “We visited there with Heat Wave, and I talked with the coaches. It was more of a family-type talk at first, but then it got down to business. They explained the situation and why it took so long. It’s a big offer for us because it is right down the road.” State every day. After I committed, I called all the teams in my top six and thanked them for offering me a scholarship and believing in me.”
Moore plans to visit Austin with his parents before the season, but he’s not sure about the dates.