Hetland guides SMU to title

The No. 20 SMU men’s swimming and diving team won its 12th straight Conference USA championship on Saturday.

Ten SMU swimmers notched career-best times, and eight qualified for the NCAAs with sufficient “B” cut times.

The Mustangs finished with a score of 968.5, followed by Hawaii with a distant 819.

Senior Alex Hetland was named the Men’s Swimmer of the Meet on Saturday, and head coach Eddie Sinnott was named the conference’s Coach of the Year.

Hetland won the 200-yard breaststroke with a career-best time of 1:58.81, setting a meet record. Mitchell Johnson swam a season-best 2:02.12, earning him bronze in the same event.

Nate Clark earned an NCAA “B” cut with his victory in the 200 butterfly. His time of 1:46.08 was a career-best. Brett Denham swam a personal record-breaking time of 1:51.92.

Pontus Renholm finished first in the 200 backstroke, swimming a career-best time of 1:45.36. Maverick Smalley finished third in 1:51.36.

The Mustangs placed three swimmers in the 100 freestyle. Luka Vrtovec won the event, followed by Thomas Fadnes and Shane Milu.

Fadnes, Vrtovec, Milu and Clark teamed in the 400 relay and finished with a season-best time of 2:55.94.

In the long-distance events, Chris Ginder recorded a season-best time in the 1650 freestyle with a 15:56.23, placing him in fourth.

Matt Culbertson took bronze in the diving events. His final dive earned him a score of 328.40.

SMU will be back in action in the Zone Swimming and Diving Championships on March 14-16. Then the team will head to Seattle, Wa. for the NCAA Championships on March 27-29.

Women win third consecutive championship

The No. 14 SMU women’s team set four new conference records Saturday night as it captured its 12th consecutive Conference USA title.

SMU tallied the most points ever in the conference meet (926). Rice, the second-place team, had only 635.

Anja Carman earned an NCAA “A” cut when she finished the 200 backstroke in 1:55.09. That was her personal best time.

The Mustangs swept first through fifth places in the 100 freestyle, as four swimmers set career records. Petra Klosova took first with a season-best 48.76, followed by Jennifer and Candace Blackman in second and third, respectively. Angela San Juan Cisneros swam a career-best 49.81, earning her fourth place.

Jennifer Basel qualified for the NCAAs with a season-best time of 2:14.04 in the 200 breaststroke.

Justine Clark set a new career best in the 200 butterfly with a time of 2:01.15.

The 400 relay team of Sascha Van den Branden, J. Blackman, C. Blackman and San Juan Cisneros earned an NCAA “A” cut time of 3:18.30. That was also a season-best time.

J. Blackman earned Women’s Swimmer of the Meet and coach Steve Collins took home Conference USA’s Coach of the Year.

The Mustangs will have a few weeks to practice before competing in the NCAA Championships in Columbus, Ohio, on March 20-22.