Texas men’s swimming coach Bob Bowman spent the summer in Paris.
A summer in Paris is enough to invoke the envy of many. A summer in Paris as the coach of French swimming sensation Leon Marchand who swam to four gold medals and one bronze in front of the home crowd will turn even more people green.
But Bowman is used to coaching elite swimmers to Olympic glory [see Michael Phelps record 28 medals].
What truly earned the envy of others in the swimming world, and what set this past summer apart from the others, was that Bowman was doing so as the newly announced men’s swimming and diving coach at the University of Texas.
“Very different. I have a lot less friends now, but that comes with the territory,” Bowman joked back in August prior to the first practice of the season.
Bowman said his move to UT sparked a lot of interest from others at the pool.
“A lot more people are interested in coming here and training,” said Bowman. “They know it’s the best place to be. It’s going to be the epicenter of swimming, we hope, in a very short period of time. But yeah, it was quite different being the Texas coach versus another.”
When Bowman said a short period of time, he meant it. Like, in his first season in Austin kind of timeframe.
Texas has jumped out to a big lead in the NCAA swimming and diving championships currently going on in Federal Way, Washington, just outside of Seattle.
CURRENT STANDINGS AFTER DAY THREE:
1) Texas – 368
2) California – 312.5
3) Indiana – 304
4) Florida - 233
5) Georgia - 177.5
6) Arizona State - 172
7) Tennessee - 162.5
8) Stanford - 162
9) NC State - 128
10) Michigan - 83
The Horns are led by Rex Mauer and Hubert Kos. Mauer has already won the 500 free title and Kos won the 200 individual medley event. Both of whom transferred to Texas after Bowman became the new coach.
It was that swimming epicenter that Bowman talked about that lured them to Austin.
“It really starts in training,” Mauer told SwimSwam.com after setting the American record in the 500 yard freestyle event with a time of 4:05:35. “Training with the guys I’m training with is absolutely ridiculous. Being able to hang with them in practice really shows me that I’m doing the training it takes to go 4:04 or 4:05 and win NCAA’s. Luke [Hobson] won this 500 before and so just being able to be in that environment is really what propelled me to this result.”
Kos is no stranger to success. He swam for Bowman last season and was part of the Sun Devils NCAA championship team. He was also in Paris where he won gold for Team USA this past summer. But coming to Austin, and seeing the 15 national championship trophies in the case (the most of any school), has its own kind of pressure for Kos.
“There’s an outside expectation that I feel, like we all sort of feel, that the eyes of Texas are upon you the whole time,” Kos told swimswam.com. “There’s a real expectation that when you come here, you come to win.”
OTHER LONGHORN SPORTING EVENTS THIS WEEKEND:
The 97th Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays are underway for the men’s and women’s track teams. The Texas Relays bring in the best from around the country to compete in the college meet, as well as the best high school track athletes competing in the high school events (which ends up making it a good time for football recruiting).
In addition to watching some of the best athletes in the world compete in Austin, fans can attend the FanFest at the Mike Meyers Stadium. The event will include an autograph signing with UT athletes who won Olympic medals in Paris this past summer; Julien Alfred, Rhasidat Adeleke, Leo Neugebauer, and Ackelia Smith.
Oh, and if that wasn’t enough to tempt you, Texas will also roll out “Big Beertha” to the fanfest – which features more than 10 different beers on tap.
The Texas women’s rowing team kicks off its spring season with the San Diego Crew Classic in – you guess it – San Diego, California.
The Horns have won three of the last four national titles and they come into this season ranked number one in the preseason polls.
The San Diego Crew Classic is one of rowing’s biggest regattas and a good early test for the Horns. Washington and Cal, two other highly ranked teams, will also be competing, as will Notre Dame, USC, Washington State and UCLA.
The Horns are rowing for their fourth straight title in the featured event, the Jessup-Whittier Cup on Sunday morning.
Texas beach volleyball is back on the sandy beaches of Baton Rouge, Louisiana this weekend for the Death Volley Invitational.
The Longhorns will compete against some of the best teams in the country beginning with a match against number 5 ranked Stanford before taking on ninth ranked Long Beach State later in the day. Then on Saturday, the Horns will take on the number one ranked UCLA Bruins followed by their cross-town rivals, the fourth ranked USC Trojans.
The Texas men’s and women’s tennis teams are in action this weekend.
The women are on the road to Tennessee for a match against the Volunteers today (Friday) before going to Lexington to take on Kentucky on Sunday.
While the men are looking to remain perfect in conference play when they host Kentucky in Austin for the very first time on Sunday.
The Texas softball team is looking for its third consecutive SEC series victory this weekend. The Horns travel to #StarkVegas to take on Mississippi State. It’s their first ever trip to Starkville.
Texas will look for its third consecutive SEC series victory this weekend as the top-ranked Longhorns travel to the Magnolia State for a three-game conference series at No. 18/18 Mississippi State beginning on Friday, Mar. 28.
GAME SCHEDULE:
Friday, Mar. 28 – 6 PM CT (SEC Network+)
Saturday, Mar. 29 – 2 PM CT (SEC Network+)
Sunday, Mar. 30 – 1 PM CT (SEC Network+)
The baseball team is also on the road taking on Missouri this weekend. The Horns are by far the better team, but as Texas baseball coach Jim Schlossnagle said this week, baseball is a sport where the better team doesn’t always win, it’s the team that plays better that wins each day.
The Horns are fresh off a series victory over LSU and then a ten-run rule victory over Sam Houston. That makes this weekend’s series a good test of how the Horns handle success.
#7 TEXAS vs. MISSOURI
Time: Friday at 6 p.m.; Saturday at 4 p.m.; Sunday at 1 p.m.
TV: SEC Network+ (Friday & Saturday) / SEC Network (Sunday)
Radio: The Zone AM-1300/103.1 FM
Live stats: texas.statbroadcast.com
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS:
FRIDAY – Texas LHP Jared Spencer (2-1, 3.13 ERA) vs. Missouri LHP Ian Lohse (0-3, 6.18 ERA)
SATURDAY – Texas LHP Luke Harrison (2-0, 2.45 ERA) vs. Missouri RHP Kaden Jacobi (2-2, 7.71 ERA)
SUNDAY – TBA vs. TBA
And last but certainly not least, Madison Booker and the gang look to continue Texas’ run in the NCAA tournament when they take on Tennessee in the Sweet 16 Saturday.
The Horns beat Tennessee back in January in a close fought battle that saw 15 lead changes before the Horns prevailed 80-76. But that was at the Moody Center, this will be in Birmingham, Alabama (which for you geographically challenged people is a lot closer to Knoxville than Austin).
The Horns are the odds-on favorite to win Saturday, but this will definitely be a tough test as they look to win a couple of games this weekend and make it back to the Final Four for the first time since 2003.
