Nicol named Swimmer of the Week

SMU swimmer Rachel Nicol, a freshman breaststroke specialist, was named Conference USA Swimmer of the Week.

The Longhorns won the meet 155-139 but Nicol, who came to SMU from Alberta, Canada, took first place in two races.

In the 100-yard race, she finished ahead of freshman teammate Erica Donadon by just one-hundredth of a second with a time of 1:03.74.

Nicol clocked in at 2:15.28 in the 200-yard breaststroke.

Other top-finishers at the meet include All-American senior Therese Svendsen and senior Denisa Smolenova.

Svendsen proved she deserved an All-American title during the match by taking home two first-place finishes in the 100 and 200-yard backstrokes.

Along with her top placement, the senior also rallied in a second-place title by swimming the opening leg of the 200-yard medley relay squad. During the relay, the Mustangs finished with a time of 1:42.02.

Also having an impressive match against the Longhorns, Smolenova had a pair of first-place titles in the 100-yard butterfly in 54.87 seconds.

Her second title came from her 1:59.26 finish in the 200-yard butterfly.

Sopohomore Nina Rangelova also joined top ranks with a top title in the 200-yard freestyle and a second place title in the 500-yard freestyle (4:49.75).

Rangelova also took part in the Mustangs second place finish in the 200-yard freestyle relay team. The team finished the relay in 1:32.77.

The loss to Texas Saturday in Perkins Natatorium moved the No. 13 women's swim team to 5-2 this season. Both losses were from top-six teams.

The Mustangs will compete at the C-USA Championships in Houston Feb. 15 to Feb. 18.