Freshmen led the way for No. 3 Texas as the Longhorns opened their 2026-27 season Friday at the Dust Off Your Boots Invitational in the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center.
Mena Boardman and Audrey Derivaux each collected two individual wins, while Sydney Schoeck added another freshman victory and turned in a time good for No. 9 on UT’s all-time top performers list.
Boardman was sharp in the sprint races, taking the 50 free in 23.12 and later winning the 100 fly in 53.11. Derivaux delivered NCAA-qualifying marks in both of her wins, going 1:55.91 in the 200 fly and 1:54.41 in the 200 back. Schoeck won the 1000 free in 9:46.36, with junior Kate Hurst right behind her in 9:50.35.
Texas also got strong work from its upperclassmen and a few more fast freshmen. Senior Erin Gemmell posted an NCAA-qualifying time of 1:45.36 to win the 200 free, while junior Lillie Nesty finished second in 1:45.85 and sophomore Nikolett Padar was third in 1:45.89. Padar also claimed the 100 free in 49.30.
Sophomore Sarah Rodrigues took the 100 back in 53.60, and junior Piper Enge was busy all over the pool, winning the 100 breast in an NCAA-qualifying 1:00.28 and the 200 breast in 2:15.07. Junior Campbell Chase added a win in the 200 IM with a 2:01.34.
In the distance and mid-distance races, sophomore Inez Miller won the 500 free in 4:49.28, with Schoeck again in the mix as runner-up in 4:52.03. Freshman Audrey Derivaux and Nesty were the top two in the 200 back, and Nesty’s 1:54.72 also met NCAA-qualifying standards. Boardman and sophomore Eva Okaro went 1-2 in the 100 fly, with Okaro touching in 53.79.
The Longhorns also opened with a relay win. The A quartet of senior Emma Kern, Enge, senior Campbell Stoll and sophomore Eva Okaro won the 200 medley relay in 1:38.19. Later, the Texas B trio of Nesty, Derivaux and senior Lucy Mehraban took the 3x100 free relay in 2:28.58.
Diving action brought more first-place finishes for Texas. Senior Caroline Kupka won the 1-meter with 320.7 points, and senior Bayleigh Cranford took the 3-meter at 352.05.
Texas is back in the pool Friday, Oct. 9, when it heads to Bloomington, Ind., for a tri-meet against Northwestern and host Indiana.
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