Event: Texas Invitational
Teams: UC Davis at No. 1 Texas
Where: Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center – Austin, Tex.
When: Friday and Saturday; all day
Who to Watch: A native of Los Altos, Calif., junior Russ Underwood has been making an impact for UC Davis in each of his three seasons.
A natural sprinter from the 50-yard breaststroke to the 100-freestyle, Underwood leads the team with a 50-free time of 21.51. He hopes to better that number in Texas.
“My goal is to set a season best,” he said.
Did you know? Of the 31 swimmers on the UC Davis roster, 30 are from California. The lone Aggie born outside the Golden State is senior Trent Richardson, who’s from Waialua, Hawaii.
Preview: UC Davis won’t only be facing off with some of the top swimmers in the country; it’ll be taking on some of the best from around the world, too.
Texas has long taken pride in hosting this invitational to close out its season. The undefeated, top-ranked Longhorns have knocked off No. 3 Michigan and No. 5 Auburn this season.
UC Davis won’t be sending a full squad to Austin. Rather, the Aggies will only travel those looking to gauge the success of their training against the nation’s best.
The Texas Invitational gives the Aggies a chance to push themselves to a higher level in preparation for the Big West Championships in February.
Some of the competition they’ll face this weekend will include 2008 Olympic gold medalists Ricky Berens and Dave Walters, who is also the defending NCAA 200-yard free champion.
In the pool will also be three other Olympians from the Texas squad, as well as several NCAA Champion divers.
– Andrea Gutierrez
