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2022-23 Top Times

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The SMU women's swimming and diving team is set for triple-dual action Friday and Saturday at the Robson & Lindley Aquatics Center and Barr-McMillion Natatorium. The event features American Athletic Conference foe Tulane, and newly added AAC affiliate members North Texas and Rice.
 
Friday action begins at 5 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m., with results available on the Meet Mobile App and Dive Meets. The event will stream on PonyUp TV.
 
Event Schedule
 

Friday 400 Medley Relay 1,000 Freestyle 100 Butterfly 100 Backstroke 100 Breaststroke 1 meter 200 Freestyle 50 Freestyle 400 IM 400 Freestyle Relay

Saturday 200 Medley Relay 500 Freestyle 200 Breaststroke 200 Backstroke Platform 100 Freestyle 200 Butterfly 200 IM 200 Freestyle Relay

 
Scouting the Opponents
Rice - Rice is 1-1 in dual action this season, with a victory over Tulane and a setback against then-No. 16 Texas A&M. The Owls finished third at the midseason Phill Hansel Invite and also took home the title at the CSCAA Open Water National Championship.
 
UNT - UNT is 3-1 in dual action, with wins over New Mexico, UIW and Little Rock. The Mean Green finished fifth at the Phill Hansel Invite.
 
Tulane - Tulane is 0-4 in dual action in 2022-23. The Green Wave finished fourth at the Phill Hansel Invite.
 
Last Time Out
SMU vs. TCU - The Mustangs won 11 events in a 158.5-139.5 victory over Metroplex rival TCU on Dec. 2. Lucrezia Napoletano won all three of her individual events, while Nicole Stambo swept diving action.
 
CSCAA Open Water National Championship - Annabelle Corcoran led the Mustangs with a top-10 finish at the CSCAA College Open Water National Championship on Dec. 18. As a team, the Mustangs finished sixth overall of 21 teams.
 
Georgia Diving Invite - Nicole Stambo finished in the top half of two of three event finals at the Georgia Diving Invite, earning her highest finish of the week on platform, coming away with a fourth-place performance. She was sixth on 1 meter.

Conference Favorites
Lucrezia Napoletano and Nicole Stambo swept American Athletic Conference weekly awards after leading SMU to a 158.5-139.5 win over TCU. The duo combined for five of the Mustangs' 11 wins at the event, winning every individual event they competed in.

2022-23 AAC Weekly Honors
Dec. 6 Lucrezia Napoletano, Nicole Stambo
Nov. 22 Nicole Stambo
Oct. 11 Jenna Watson

The Mustangs swept AAC weekly awards three of four possible times in 2021-22, picking up eight of nine possible honors. Gabi Grobler had a conference-leading three honors.

Feb. 1 Gabi Grobler
Jan. 18 Ilektra Lebl, Nicole Stambo
Nov. 23 Ilektra Lebl, Nicole Stambo
Nov. 2 Gabi Grobler, Johanna Holloway
Oct. 12 Gabi Grobler

Around The American
The Mustangs hold 10 times in the top three of American Athletic Conference events, while two relays enter this weekend atop the rankings and two are second.

50 free | 1. Gudmundsdottir (22.83), 3. Napoletano (23.01)
100 free | 1. Gudmundsdottir (49.45), 2. Napoletano (49.46)
200 free | 2. Napoletano (1:47.81)
100 back | 3. Leguizamon Leal (54.23)
200 back | 3. Leguizamon Leal (1:57.60)
100 fly | 1. Becerra (52.90), 3. Alonso (53.59 c)
200 fly | 3. Parkinson (1:59.71)
200 free relay | 1. Napoletano, Vandenbussche, Ruan, Gudmundsdottir (1:31.08)
400 free relay | 1. Napoletano, Vandenbussche, Ruan, Gudmundsdottir (3:18.79)
800 free relay | 2. Napoletano, Vandenbussche, Gudmundsdottir, Watson (7:20.96)
200 medley relay |2. Leguizamon, Lewis, Becerra, Gudmundsdottir (1:40.53)

Diving Into Postseason
Nicole Stambo has already posted NCAA Zone Diving qualifying scores on 1 meter, 3 meter and platform this season. The NCAA Zone D Diving Championships take place March 7-9 in Minneapolis.

Making The Cut
Valentina Becerra posted an NCAA B cut in the 100 fly at the SMU Invite. It is her second consecutive cut in the event.

In 2021-22, seven swimmers produced a total of 12 individual NCAA B cuts.

Valentina Becerra | 100 fly
Gabi Grobler | 100 breast, 200 breast, 200 IM, 400 IM
Olivia Grossklaus | 200 fly
Johanna Gudmundsdottir | 50 free, 100 free
Ilektra Lebl | 500 free, 400 IM
Frederica Kizek | 1,650 free
Valentina Becerra | 100 fly
 
On the diving side, all four Mustangs – Hannah Craley, Jaclynn Fowler, Johanna Holloway, Nicole Stambo – qualified for the NCAA Zone D Diving Championships.

Leaders Of The Pack
The Mustangs selected Jenna Watson and Julia Yakushi as captains for the 2022-23 season.
 
Top Transfer
Paraguayan Olympian Luana Alonso joined the Mustang roster for the second half of the 2022-23 season. A transfer from Virginia Tech, Alonso finished 30th in the 100 fly at the 2022 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships. Alonso competed in the 100 fly at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, finishing 28th in the opening heats.
 
Welcome To The Hilltop
The Mustangs welcomed 10 student-athletes to the program for the 2022-23 season. The 2022-23 signing class included student-athletes from three different countries and four different states across the U.S.

Anne Lauren Bellah | Maryville, Tennessee | Maryville | Backstroke/Freestyle/IM
Avery Fuhr | Spring, Texas | Klein Oak | Breaststroke/Sprint Freestyle
Jimena Leguizamon Leal | Bogota, Colombia | Maria Inmaculada School Colombia | Backstroke/IM
Hannah Lockyer | Danville, California | Monte Vista | Breaststroke/IM
Lucrezia Napoletano | Bisceglie, Italy | Leonardo Da Vinci | Sprint Freestyle
Natalie Neugent | Wichita, Kansas | Andover | Sprint Freestyle
Sophia Rivas | Leander, Texas | Rouse | Sprint Freestyle
Carlotta Scarpitti | Rome, Italy | San Giuseppe del Caburlotto | IM/Butterfly
Kirsten Schlortt | San Antonio, Texas | Saint Mary's Hall | Backstroke
Caroline Sullivan | Austin, Texas | St. Andrews Episcopal School | Breaststroke
 
All-American Returners
Eight members of the SMU women's swimming and diving program, including four returners, earned College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Scholar All-America honors for their work in the pool and the classroom last season.

To be selected as a member of the CSCAA Scholar All-America first team as an individual, swimmers and divers must have achieved a grade-point-average of 3.50 or higher and have participated in their respective NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships. Honorable mention selections have similarly achieved a GPA of 3.50 and achieved a "B" time standard or competed at their respective qualifying meets.

2021-22 CSCAA Selections
Valentina Becerra // Major: Spanish; Minor: Educational Studies
Johanna Gudmundsdottir // Major: Applied Physiology and Sport Management (Sport Performance Leadership)
Frederica Kizek^ // Major: Biological Sciences; Minor: Chemistry, Neuroscience 
Nicole Stambo^^ // Major: Biological Sciences; Minor: Chemistry, Neuroscience

^ Previous HM Selection

The Mustangs also earned Scholar All-America Team honors, boasting a 3.6 GPA for the spring, up from a 3.45 GPA in the fall. The GPA also placed the Mustangs in the top 30 of the 172 DI women's programs that earned the honor, and was the highest mark in the American Athletic Conference.

Same Conference, New Faces
Effective July 1, 2022, the American Athletic Conference welcomed four affiliate members to the league to compete at the 2023 AAC Championships. FAU, FIU, UNT, and Rice join the five AAC members - SMU, Cincinnati, ECU, Houston and Tulane.

Holt Hickman Outdoor Pool Is Coming To The Hilltop
With a $2.5M gift from the Hickman family, SMU broke ground on a new eight-lane, 50-meter by 25-yard outdoor pool, with 1- and 3-meter diving boards. The $11M project will also include a 20-foot by 40-foot instructional pool that will be used for lessons and rehab/therapy. The addition of the outdoor pool will complete the Robson & Lindley Aquatics Center, making SMU the only University in the country with both indoor and outdoor Olympic pools in one facility, further cementing SMU's swimming and diving facility as one of the finest in college athletics.

Standing In The Hall Of Fame
SMU and SMU Athletics, in conjunction with the SMU Lettermen's Association, inducted the newest SMU Athletics Hall of Fame class on Nov. 4 in Armstrong Fieldhouse at the Indoor Performance Center.

Berit Puggaard – Women's Swimming & Diving 1992-96
Puggaard was a four-time NCAA Champion, 13-time Southwest Conference Champion and 25-time All-American and from 1992-96. She helped the Mustangs finish in the top four at the NCAA Championships all four seasons, including a runner-up finish in 1996. Puggaard was a two-time Olympian for Denmark, competing in Barcelona in 1992 and Atlanta in 1996. She also won a bronze medal at the European Championships in 1991 and 1997.

Read about her time at SMU here.

SMU Athletics Launches New Student-Athlete Success Department
As part of its goal of Shaping Champions and preparing students for life, SMU Athletics proudly announced the creation of a new Student-Athlete Success Department. This new department encompasses all student-development-centered efforts such as Life After Ball, SAAC and community service initiatives. Additionally, it will house NIL Education and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programming. Due to a generous donation from Suzanne and Glenn Youngkin, SMU Athletics will be able to grow staffing in these critical areas in our support of our student-athletes.

SMU Athletics Celebrates Record Fundraising Year
The SMU Mustang Club broke the all-time fundraising record with $73 million in gift receipts and new commitments for the 2022 fiscal year, which ended May 31. The totals represent an increase of nearly $47 million from the previous fiscal year. It is the first fiscal year in which cash donations and commitments have eclipsed $70 million since the Mustang Club was founded in 1935. Through the generosity of Mustang donors, cash gifts rose 71% from fiscal year 2021 and totaled $36 million. The best-ever performance resulted from the contributions of 3,105 donors.

Mustang Student-Athletes & NIL
SMU student-athletes benefit from Name, Image, Likeness (NIL) opportunities through SMU Athletics' conference-leading BOLD NIL program. SMU topped the AAC for NIL Deals among INFLCR partners, ranking No. 1 in Total Transactions, Total Transaction Value and Average Transaction Value. To date, SMU student-athletes have over 300 total transactions totaling nearly $760,000 with an average transaction value of over $2,400.

Up Next
The Mustangs host No. 15 Texas A&M for Senior Day on Friday, Jan. 27.