Women:  ARIZONA vs. Northern Arizona, Oregon State, New Mexico State
When:     Fri. Jan. 6 at 12 p.m. MST
Where:    Tucson, Arizona
 
Texas Invitational Recap
Arizona women's swimming last competed in the first week of December at the Texas Invitational where the women tallied a total of 53 NCAA cuts. The individual cuts came from 19 swimmers, leaving only five without an NCAA cut from the invitational. The women then tallied an 'A' cut in each of the five relay events. Overall, the Cats had 13 top-three finishes, with one relay and one individual victory.
 
Sophomores Annie Ochitwa and Taylor Garcia led the team with four individual 'B' cuts each. Ochitwa earned 'B' cuts in the 50 free, 100 fly, 100 back and 200 IM. Garcia notched 'B' cuts in the 50 free, 100 fly, 100 back and 200 back. There were nine swimmers that tallied three 'B' cuts each.
 
Arizona women's diving also last competed at the Texas Invitational in November. The Cats had a stand-out performance in the platform where seniors Karolyn Loftus and Sally Hackett went 2-3, respectively. Loftus took third in the 1-meter while Hackett placed fifth. Hackett also finished fifth in the 3-meter followed by junior Kaitlin Costello in sixth. Loftus took eighth in the event.
 
Looking at the Competition
Earlier this season, the women traveled to NAU for the first meet of the season. The Cats dominated the Lumberjacks, 222-77. Arizona won 13 of the 16 events in the meet and had multiple swimmers in the top three in 11 events. In three of the 11, the Wildcats swept the podium (50 free, 100 fly, 100 breast). Since then, NAU is now 2-5 on the season, dropping the most recent meet to Arizona State, 114-172.
 
Oregon State has a season record of 2-7, splitting its most recent meet in Hawai'i. The Beavers fell to Hawai'i (102-189), but picked up a win over Dartmouth College (172-111). New Mexico State is 3-4 on the season. The Aggies dropped their most recent meet to NAU, 127-168.
 
Konopka: Setting Records
Sophomore Katrina Konopka had a December for the books. On the first day of the Texas Invitational, Konopka was a member of the relay team that broke a school record in the 200 medley relay. Taylor Garcia, Kennedy Lohman, Annie Ochitwa and Konopka finished a time trial in 1:34.63 for a new Arizona record and NCAA 'A' cut.
 
Individually, Konopka won the 50 free with a time of 21.90 for a 'B' cut, keeping her win streak in event. The sophomore has won the 50 free in all four meets she has competed in it. She later finished third at the Texas Invitational in the 100 back with 52.02 for another 'B' cut. In the prelims of the 100 free, Konopka earned a 'B' cut with a second-place finish (48.13).
 
The sophomore also earned a victory as a part of the 200 free relay team, tallying an 'A' cut with 1:27.67. Konopka also helped the team to an NCAA 'A' cut in the 400 free relay and 400 medley relay.
 
Later in December, the swimmer competed at the FINA Short Course World Championships. Konopka earned her first international gold medal after swimming the prelim of the 4x100m free relay. She finished seventh in the prelims, but won gold when team USA took first in the final.
 
On the second day of the championships, Konopka helped her 4x50m medley relay team set a new world record with a time of 1:43.27 and won her second gold medal.  
 
Freshman Impact
The Arizona freshmen made a splash at their first Texas Invitational as all five freshmen earned at least one NCAA cut.
 
Hannah Cox had strong performances in multiple events. She was runner-up in the 500 free with a time of 4:38.38 and later placed third in the 400 IM with 4:10.00, earning 'B' cuts in both events. The freshman then took eighth in the 1,650 free (16:16.43) for a 'B' cut. Cox was also a member of the 400 free relay and 800 free relay teams to help notch 'A' cuts.
 
Kennedy Lohman finished second in her best event, the 100 breast, with 59.97 for a 'B' cut. Lohman was also a part of the 200 medley relay team that set a new school record and tallied an 'A' cut. The freshman later helped her 400 medley relay team to finish third in the event for another 'A' cut.
 
Follow Arizona Swimming and Diving: For further coverage of Arizona swimming and diving, visit ArizonaWildcats.com and follow the team's Twitter (@ArizonaSwimming) and Instagram (@ArizonaSwimDive) accounts.