North Texas Daily

Dave Carson / Staff Writer

The UNT swimming and diving team will host Southern Methodist University and the University of Houston today at the Pohl Recreation Center in double dual meet.

UNT is riding high going into the meet. The team is coming off its fastest time this season in San Antonio at the University of the Incarnate Word Invitational and spent time over the break in Puerto Rico training in the long pool building endurance and speed.

“I don’t think the times in this meet are going to be that great because everyone is coming out of their winter training,” Head swimming coach Joe Dykstra said.  “This is the first step of applying the speed that we need to have going into the conference meet.”

SMU has been a powerhouse in the pool for many years and its relay teams can compete with any nationally ranked team.  UNT already defeated SMU early in the season at the Arkansas Relays in a four-team meet.

“We have a good team aspect going for us now,” junior freestyle Alexis Widacki said.  “Coming off the training that we just had, I think we can give SMU a run for their money and this will be a good meet.”

Just like in the meet against Rice University in early November, UNT will be coming in with a 32-point lead due to an injury to the one SMU diver who cannot compete.

The UH Cougars bring two of the top divers in the nation in Julia Lonnegren and Natasha Burgess.  Houston has been the premier diving school for the last 20 years producing two Olympic gold medalists and three silver medalists.

“It does not intimidate us that they are really good,” diver Catherine Johnson said.  “They go face the same struggles in competition that we face and as a team we are diving really well.”

The swim portion of the meet will start at the Pohl Recreation Center at 2:30 p.m., and the diving portion will start at the Physical Education Building at 4 p.m. with the meet ending at 5.