Dec. 6, 2014

> Complete Results

AUSTIN, Texas -- After three days of tough competition, the Wisconsin swimming and diving program left the Texas Invitational with two school records, three first place finishes and even more confidence heading into the second half of the season. 

The men's team finished the meet in third place, while the women came in fourth place.

"We had a lot of great swims overall," UW swimming and diving head coach Whitney Hite said. "I was very pleased with the performances and we had a really excellent meet." 

With a time of 15 minutes, .71 seconds, sophomore Matt Hutchins broke the school record in the 1650-yard freestyle en route to picking up third place and an NCAA 'B' cut.

"Matt Hutchins was a superstar today," Hite said. "He broke the school record and is set for big things come conference and NCAAs." 

For the women, Jenny Holtzen touched sixth in the 1650 freestyle with her time of 16:34.18, which was the seventh-fastest time in program history. 

Drew teDuits posted a time of 1:39.72 to capture the victory in the 200-yard backstroke, which stood as an 'A' cut and the first individual victory by the men's team. The Fitchburg native recorded his fastest time since winning the event at the 2013 NCAA Championships and now holds the fastest time in the NCAA this season. 

"He was awesome," Hite said of teDuits. "Fastest time in the nation, NCAA 'A' cut - just an all-around terrific performance." 

Also representing the Badgers in the event were Austin Byrd, Brett Pinfold and Ryan O'Donnell. Byrd's time of 1:44.35 earned 10th place and is the eighth-fastest time in program history, while Pinfold touched 15th (1:50.72) and Ryan O'Donnell placed 16th (1:50.88). 

On the women's side, sophomore Madeline Hazle recorded a new personal best to capture 13th place in the 200 backstroke and a 'B' cut (1:59.20).

All three Wisconsin men's team finalists in the 100-yard freestyle earned 'B' cuts, and leading the pack was sophomore Cannon Clifton's 10th-place finish with a time of 43.52 - the second-fastest swim ever by a Badger. Damon Zito placed 21st with a time of 44.49, and Pinfold picked up a 27th place finish (44.18). 

Clocking in at 48.38, senior captain Ivy Martin finished runner-up in the 100-yard freestyle and recorded the third-fastest time in program history. Fellow captain Aja Van Hout came in fifth place in the finals with a time of 49.35, as the Madison native set a personal best of her own and the tenth-fastest time in Badger history during the morning preliminaries (49.29). Sophomore Chase Kinney rounded out the group with an eighth-place finish and 'B' cut time of 49.52. 

Senior Nick Schafer posted the second-fastest time ever by a badger in the 200-yard breaststroke, coming in at 1:54.92 to place third and pick up a 'B' cut. Jake Mandli placed 15th (2:01.25) and Josh Anderson touched 23rd (2:03.88).

Oconomowoc native Anna Meinholz captured sixth place in the 200 breaststroke and a 'B' cut time of 2:15.61, while Maria Carlson placed 19th in 2:15.96 to earn a 'B' cut as well. Holtzen placed 24th (2:23.95). 

In the 200-yard butterfly, senior captain Nick Caldwell placed third with a 'B' cut time of 1:44.75, a personal best and the second-fastest time in school annals. Sophomore Harrison Tran also collected a personal best and finished 27th (1:48.56). 

For the women in the 200 butterfly, Dana Grindall posted a 'B' cut time of 1:58.79 in finals to earn seventh place. It was the Orange, Connecticut, native's swim in preliminaries (1:58.13) that set a personal best and went down as the second-fastest time in program history. 

In the final event of the meet, Clifton, Zito, Pinfold and Caldwell combined to place fourth in the 400-yard freestyle with a 'B' cut time of 2:56.03. Martin, Van Hout, Kinney and Grindall teamed up for a second place finish with a "B" cut time of 3:17.04.

Wisconsin breaks before traveling to California to face USC for a dual meet on Jan. 10.