1993-2015 Sterkel , Brackins, and Capitani
1993-2006- COACH JILL STERKEL
1992-1993 Coach Jill Sterkel – 3rd at the NCAA meet
Jill was an Olympian and assistant coach under Richard Quick and Mark Schubert. Jill says, “Last year was tough because of the Olympic Trials and then coming back two weeks later..” However, Jill did not plead poverty in 1993. This was one of the best-balanced teams ever at Texas. The backstroke is one of the strongest events for the Horns. The diving coach Mike Brown says that he has had three of the best divers in his 17 years as a coach at Texas.
Front- Terri Seipal, Megan Kleine, Sherry Wigginton, – middle row- Incira Allick, Tobie Smith, Kristi Busico, B.J. Bedford- back row- Whitney Hedgepath
Top of the Chart
Diving Coach Mike Brown is National Coach of the Year
Kristi Busico is an Academic All-American.
1993-1994- Coach Jill Sterkel 12 SWC title and runner-up at the National meet.
1994- 16 Texas swimmers and all three divers qualified for the national championship meet at the Indiana University Natatorium. This was Coach Jill Sterkel’s 2nd year as head coach and the 18th year for Diving coach Mike Brown. The team was 7-1 in dual meets and won the SWC for 12 consecutive times.
Overall, the Longhorns are a balanced team. “We don’t have any major deficits as a team,” Sterkel said.
B.J. Bedford set two SWC records in the 100 and 200 backstroke.
There are three members of this team who win national championships, two silvers, and 5 bronze. The team is led by Whitney Hedgepeth and B.J. Bedford. 18 members qualify for the NCAA meet. Bedford set two SWC records in the 100 and 200 breaststroke, and Kristi Busico won the 200 breaststroke. Robin Carter was high point diver.
An NCAA individual champion, 10-time All-American , and Hall of Honor inductee, Tobie Smith is one of the top distance freestyle swimmers in program history. During her four seasons in Austin, she helped the Longhorns to four-consecutive Southwest Conference titles and four-straight Top-3 NCAA team finishes.
1994- 1995- Coach Jill Sterkel Horns placed 3rd at the NCAA Tournament.
The team was 5-3 in dual meets. The Horns placed third at the NCAA tournament. Texas had 13 qualify for the NCAA Tournament, including eight underclassmen. Darby Chand and Michelle Schrader received 3 All-American honors. Texas scored 1,002 points to win the SWC crown.
Coaches Sterkel, Bedford, Ridall and Scoggin
1995- 1996- Coach Jill Sterkel 8th in the NCAA tournament.
On February 17, 1996, the Longhorn women’s swimming and diving team became the only SWC team to sweep every team crown in their sport—14 in a row. The Horns finished a disappointing 8th place finish at the NCAA meet, but the team added 16 All-America honors. Diver Sherry Wigginton led the individual scoring with 24 points.
1996-1997- COACH JILL STERKEL
1997- This was Texas 19th consecutive top 10 finish. Divers led the way with point production. 12 Horns qualified for the NCAA tournament. Texas finished second to Nebraska in the inaugural Big 12 tournament.
Jennifer LeMaster, Lisa Dubbe, Megan Kleine, Tara Leach, Danielle StraderMake it stand out
1997-1998 – Coach Jill Sterkel 9th at the NCAA tournament
1998- It was Texas’s 16 consecutive top-10 finish in the NCAA tournament. Ilyina earns her 2nd NCAA National Women’s Diver of the Year award.
Darby Chang, Laura Wilkinson, Vera Ilyina, Tammie Spatz
Texas beat Nebraska for the Big 12 championship. There are 11 All-American designations. The team peaked against Nebraska, and many career highs and personal bests were accomplished. The team was 3-6 in dual meets, clearly a sign that the UT swimming discipline was declining. Eight seniors graduated this year.
1989-1999- Coach Jill Sterkel- 13th at the NCAA Tournament
Half of the team is composed of freshmen. The Horns won the Big 12, unseated Nebraska as the best in the Big 12, and the Horn swimmers were 13th in the NCAA Tournament. With the help of divers Wilkinsons, Idea, and Persinger, Coach Scoggins was named the 1999 NCAA National Women’s Diving Coach of the Year. A total of 10 swimmers and divers were named to the Big 12 Conference All-Academic first team.
11 Longhorns ( 8 swimmers and three divers) qualified for the trip to the NCAA tournament in Athens, GA.
1999 womens diving Laura Wilkinson, Kelley Persinger- swimming Aridane Legendre, and Erin Maher
Jill Sterkel is an Assistant Coach for the 1999 Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Canada.
2000
2000- The team was mathematically unbeatable at the Big 12 championship at the Texas A & M Student Rec Center Natatorium. It was Texas 16th title in 18 years. Horns broke 5 Big 12 meet records.
2001 – Co-Head Coach Jill Sterkel and Mike Walker
2001- Texa claimed its 3rd consecutive Big 12 Championship by winning 16 of 21 events. finished 3rd at the NCAA tournament. Team was led by Colleen Lanne’. It was the 17th top 10 finish nationally for the Horns.
Sterkel was in her 10th season . Jill as of this year directed the Horns to 8 top-10 finishes, 7 conference titles. This includes 4 top-three finishes at the NCAA championships in 1993, 1994, 1995, and 2001. Sterke was Big 12 conference coach of the year in 1998-1999, and 2001.
Sterkel is an assistant coach at the 2001 World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan. It is the first time a female serves in a coach’s capacity for Team USA.
2002 – Co-Head Coach Jill Sterkel And Mike Walker(pENDING)
2002- Transfers flourish at Texas. 5 athletes transferred to Texas . Thies a 6 time All-American transferred from Stanford. The team this year was comprised of 1/3 transfers, and 1/3 freshmen.
The Lee and Joe Jamail swim center underwent a 3 million dollar renovation so the team was forced to swim in a pool north of campus.
2002 womens swimming Tanica Jamison, Ally Hartzell, Erin Phenix
2002- This teams strength was in the relay races. 6 Horns participated in the relay events earning 12 All-American honors. This was Yeo first year at Texas after transferring from the University of California. Diver Nicole Pohorenec placed 3rd in the platform competition. Yeo was Big 12 swimmer of the meet. Horns had a 6-3 record in dual meets. Texas ended up as 6th in the nation this year.
TOP OF THE CHARTS 2002
2002-2003 -Co-Head Coach Jill Sterkel And Mike Walker 7th in the NCAA Championships
In 2003, Sterkel served as the head coach for the World University Games in Daegu, Korea.
bottom- Joscelin Yeo, Ashlee Fotinakes, Summer Mitchell, top- Erin Phenix, Emily Ballenger, Tanica Jamison, Jennifer Cray.
Texas won 17 of 21 events to capture the Big 12 championship. Texas qualified 4 divers for the NCAA championship. Summer Mitchell , Nicole Pohorence , Ally Hartzell, and Melanie Panek were the qualifiers. Team finishes 7th at the NCAA championship. This was the third year that Jill Sterkel and Mike Walker worked together as co-head coaches. This teams record was 8-3 in dual meets beating SMU, Southern Cal, Arizona, Arizona Stated and Texas A & M. 8 members captured 19 All-American honors .
2003-2004 -Co-Head Coach Jill Sterkel And Mike Walker(PENDING)
2004- Horns finish 8th at the national meet earning 14 All-America honors in four events . Pohorenec is crowned NCAA champion in diving.
Laura Jo Leininger, Ally Hartzell, Lacey Elliot, and Jenna Bridges.
Alisa Schuknecht is an Academic All American. (no picture)
2004-2005 – Co-Head Coach Jill Sterkel And Mike Walker
2005-2006 Sarah Wanezek won a gold medal at the 2005 World University Games.
2005 – Wanezek is Big 12 swimmer of the year; Monica Maxwell qualified for her 4th trip to the NCAA championships. Hayley McGregor receives an All-American status. Sarah Warner earned 5 All-American honors.
2005 media guide women’s swimmiing back- Michelle Molina, Monica Maxwell, Nicole Pohorenec, Sarah Wameze (team MVP) l– front – Kaela Humphries, Alisas Schuknecht, Elizabeth Hoffman, Paige Nath (academic MVP)
A class of brains! Joscelin Yeo was the first Longhorn women’s athlete to be a Rhodes Scholar.
In the photo below
Swimmer and intellect Alisa Schuknecht
2004-2005 Joscelin Yeo women’s swimming- Rhodes Scholar
Kim Brackins 2006 – 2012
2005-2006 Kim Brackins
2007 – Brackin completes her first season as head coach. 10 members of the team qualified for the NCAA tournament. Team finished 2nd in the Big 12 by one point to Texas A & M. Horns finished 6th at the national meet. Swimmers Elizabeth Tinnon and Alexi Spann and diver Livingston, Mary Yarrison , and Kathryn were the leaders at the national meet with Livingston winning the NCAA platform diving title. The Horn divers swept the Big 12 tournament.
Kacie Gaskin is team MVP
2006-2007 Coach Kim Brackin(PENDING)
Horns missed the Big 12 title by one point to A&M. Mary Yarrison won the diving title in the Big 12 and is an academic all-American.
2007- 2008 Coach Kim Brackin- 14th at the NCAA championships.
Ken Brackin has had a successful year, placing second in 13 of 16 events at the Big 12 meet: Laura Wilkinson, Jessica Livingston, and Yarrison were qualified for the Olympic trials.
The Texas women placed second in the Big 12 tournament. At the NCAA meet, Mary Yarrison placed second in the one-meter dive and first in the three-meter dive.
Kathryn Kelly is an Academic All-American.
2008 media guide women’s swimming Susana Escobar, Tracey McFarlane, Betsy Mitchell, Kathryn Kelly, Vera Ilyina, Hee-Jin Chang.
2008- 2009 Coach Kim Brackin
Women’s swimming won the Big 12 championship. Hersey, Bispo, Chang, and Riefenstahl were All-American. This year, the team attributes its success to aerobic training, which emphasizes strength, power, and mental toughness. Texas women dominated the middle-distance races.
2009- 2010 Coach Kim Brackin
2010 Front- Leah Gingrich, Shelby Cullinan, Kierstin Thornhill, –
Back_ Katie Riefenstahl, Becca Tomlin, Kathleen Hersey, Karlee Bispo, Lauren Caldwell
Karlee Bispo is an Academic All American.
Laura Sogar broke the school record in 200 breast stroke.
Laura Sogar says in 2023 “Honored and humbled to be chosen as one of the Frank Erwin Award recipients at The University of Texas at Austin this year. A beautiful evening in Austin reflecting on my time swimming for the Longhorns and sharing stories with other alumni and current team members.
I had the opportunity to share advice with current team members on how to get the most out of their experience as student athletes. I’ve been out of the water for a number of years now and realized the advice I’d share with them applies to almost every part of my life and community I’ve been a part of.
People matter. It’s very easy to get caught up in the day-to-day grind of goals, metrics, accomplishments, and, yes, those things are absolutely critical to success.
However, when I look back at the things that impacted me long term, I can truly say my relationships are the memories that fill me with happiness and nostalgia.
I don’t remember many of the times I swam or medals I won, but I do remember laughing with my teammates before a hard workout or crying together from a tough loss. Those are the moments that I’ll treasure into old age long after any records I achieved are wiped away.
So today, while I continue to go after my personal and professional goals, I’m going to take some of my own advice and reemphasize the importance of the relationships I have with my teammates in all areas of life.
I’d encourage everyone in my LinkedIn community to do the same; it’s just a lot more fun that way. ????”
2011 Coach Kim Brackin won the 10th Big 12 championship.
The team finished 6th in the NCAA Championship. Katharine Riefenstahl won the 200-yard backstroke.
Kelsey Amundsen
• Six-time All-American
• Three-time honorable mention All-American
• Six-time Big 12 Champion
• School record holder, 400 medley relay
• 2011 Academic All-Big 12 (first team)
• Three-time All-American
• Honorable Mention All-American
• Big 12 Champion
• 2012 Academic All-Big 12 (first team)
2012 Coach Kim Brackin(Pending))
2011-2012 – women place 2nd at the Big 12 Championships with 873 points. 12 lady Longhorn swimmers and two divers qualified for the NCAA tournament. Women finished in 9th place at the NCAA meet. 20 members of the swim team were recognized as All-Americans
It has been 25 years since Texas Women won a National Championship
Coach Carol Capitani 2013 to 2016
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Has led Texas to NCAA top-10 finishes in five of her six seasons with the Longhorns (5th in 2017 and 2019, 6th in 2018, 7th in 2015, and 9th in 2013 & 2014)
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Has led the Longhorns to seven straight Big 12 team titles (2013-2019)
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Molded Madisyn Cox into a bronze medalist (200m IM) at the 2017 FINA World Championships and Laura Sogar into an NCAA champion (200-yard breaststroke) in 2013
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Head Coach for Team USA (women) at the 2017 World University Games and the 2013 Mutual of Omaha Duel in the Pool
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Assistant Coach for Team USA at the 2013 World University Games
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Five-time Big 12 Conference Women’s Swimming Coach of the Year (2013, 2015, 2017, 2018 & 2019)
Information is from Texassports.com
The 2019-20 season marks Carol Capitani’s eighth season as the Texas women’s swimming and diving program head coach. She became the 10th head coach in the history of the Longhorns program in June 2012.
In 2018-19, Capitani led the Longhorns to their seventh-straight Big 12 title and a fifth-place finish at the 2019 NCAA Championships. Eleven Longhorn swimmers earned All-American honors at the 2019 NCAA Championships, and UT won 19 events at the Big 12 Championships.
Capitani led the 2017-18 Longhorns to a sixth-place finish at the 2018 NCAA Championships in Columbus, Ohio. Coupled with UT’s fifth-place national finish in 2017, Texas produced its best back-to-back national finishes since the 2001 & 2002 seasons. In addition, Texas swept the Big 12 Championships for a third straight year and won its sixth straight league crown.
The Longhorns finished the 2017-18 dual-meet season at 9-0, which marked their first unblemished regular season since 1988 and their third such 9-0 mark in program history. Under Capitani’s tutelage, Joanna Evans shattered UT’s 32-year-old school record in the 1,650-yard freestyle with a winning mark of 15:51.74 at the Texas Invitational.
Capitani built the Longhorns into a top-five finisher at the NCAA Championships in 2017, her fifth season on the Forty Acres. Under Capitani, Texas placed fifth at the 2017 NCAA Championships, which marked the Horns’ top finish at the national meet in eight years (2009). Notably, Texas finished just one-half of a point shy of fourth place at the NCAA Championships.
Under Capitani in the 2016-17 season, Joanna Evans rewrote a 30-year-old school record in the 500 freestyle, and she produced the fastest 1,650 freestyle swim by a Longhorn in over 30 years. Rebecca Millard shattered an eight-year-old school mark in the 50 freestyle. Taija Karosas rewrote both of her school and Big 12 records in the 100 and 200 backstroke events, and Madisyn Cox followed suit in the 200 IM while toppling the eight-year-old school mark in the 400 IM, as well. Additionally, Texas rewrote its school and Big 12 marks in three of five relays (800 freestyle and 200 & 400 medley relays).
Capitani’s second season on the Forty Acres ended with a ninth-place finish at the 2014 NCAA Championships. Nine Longhorns swimmers earned All-America honors, and Big 12 Conference swimming coaches selected Lily Moldenhauer as the league’s Women’s Swimmer of the Year.
Texas broke the school and Big 12 records in the 200-medley relay and the 100 backstroke under Capitani’s guidance in year two. Capitani also led the Horns to their 12th Big 12 Conference title in her second year on campus.
Capitani’s first season with the Longhorns culminated with a ninth-place finish at the 2013 NCAA Championships and Texas’ first NCAA individual swimming title in 12 years. In addition, UT tallied 11 All-America swimming honors at the NCAA Championships.
Capitani molded Laura Sogar into an NCAA champion in the 200-yard breaststroke, as Sogar became UT’s first NCAA swim titlist since Colleen Lanné in 2001. Under Capitani’s tutelage, Sogar went on to win a silver medal in the 200m breaststroke and bronze medals in the 100m breaststroke and 400m medley relay at the 2013 World University Games, where Capitani served Team USA as an assistant coach.
The Big 12 Conference selected Capitani as the Big 12 Championships’ Women’s Swimming Coach of the Meet after her Longhorns collected their 11th Big 12 Conference title. Texas totaled 1,051 points at the 2013 Big 12 Championships and outdistanced its nearest competitor by nearly 500 points.
Capitani spent 14 years at Georgia during two different stints. She was an assistant coach for 12 years (1996-2008) before returning to Athens in 2010 and serving as associate head coach for the last two seasons. In addition, Capitani worked as the assistant head coach for the Singapore National Team from 2009-10.
While a member of the Georgia staff, Capitani was a part of four NCAA team titles (1999, 2000, 2001, and 2005) and seven NCAA second-place finishes (2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2011, and 2012) with the Lady Bulldogs. She was also a part of six top-10 NCAA finishes with the men’s team and helped the Bulldogs garner five Southeastern Conference titles. Georgia finished second at the NCAA Women’s Championship and 11th at the NCAA Men’s Championship this past year. Capitani worked primarily with the main group and also worked closely with the breaststrokers.
Before her time at Georgia, Capitani had a three-year stint from 1993-96 as associate coach for the men’s and women’s programs at Villanova University. She helped lead the Lady Wildcats to three consecutive Big East Championship team titles. Several men and women at Villanova scored at the NCAA Championships in each of those three seasons.
Along with her experience with the Singapore National Team, Capitani has served on several national team staff. She was an assistant coach for the U.S. National Team during the 2011 World University Games in China. In addition, Capitani was the Singapore head coach for the 2009 Southeast Asian Games in Laos and the 2009 Asian Youth Games in Singapore. She also served as an assistant coach for the U.S. National Team at the 2007 Japan International Grand Prix in Tokyo and the 2005 World University Games in Turkey.
Capitani spent her collegiate swimming career at the University of California, where she accumulated eight All-America honors in the individual medley and breaststroke events. She graduated from the University of California in 1991 with a B.A. in English and completed her master’s degree in English at Villanova University in 1999.
2013 – Big 12 Champs and Capitani is Big 12 Coach of the year.
Karice Bispo
2014 history stops here – information to be added in the future
2013-2014 – swimming- Sogar won the 100 and 200 yard breaststroke in a school record time at the NCAA meet. Team finished 9th at the NCAA tournament
2004 Joscelin Yeo swimming Rhodes Scholar
Names to follow-up Shelby Cullinan, Diana Wilcox , Maren Taylor, Kathryn Kelly , Mary Yarrison
2016 history stops here – information to be added in the future
