Dear WETS,

It won’t be long until we gather on the Forty Acres, which now includes a few more weekend activities and the focus will be on Swimming and Diving when the football team will be taking on Baylor in Waco. Last year’s popular Eddie Reese/Pat Patterson Golf tournament makes a return and looks to be a great tradition! We already have lots of golfers signed up and would certainly love to fill up the course. We will be honoring the 96 (that’s right NINTEY SIX) UT Swimming and Diving Olympians, six new Frank Erwin recipients, and of course all past and present Longhorn tankers. We welcome all UT alums, parents of current or former swimmers and divers as well as those that just love Longhorn Swimming and Diving to any of these events.
Captain (’78) Darrell Fick along with the Texas One Fund Swimming and Diving Committee have done a lot of work in preparation for the best reunion weekend ever. Not competing with the huge football crowd in Austin helped secure a great location for our annual reunion dinner and some great hotels at a generous price. Reservations are being accepted now!

Eddie Reese/Pat Patterson 2nd Annual UT Swimming and Diving Reunion Golf Tournament Proceeds benefiting Texas One Fund
Morris Williams Golf Course – 3851 Manor Rd, Austin, TX 78723
8:00 AM Shotgun Start – Friday September 22nd, 2023
Registration deadline: Friday, August 25th, 2023
Individuals – $165 Foursomes – $660 Hole Sponsor -$1,000 (includes a sign on one of the 18 holes and four golfers) Title Sponsors – Gold $50K, Silver $25K, Bronze $10K Limited to the first 120 golfers!!
Here is the link to reserve your spot for golf or sponsor opportunities! Once you are there Click Get Tickets to see the options to reserve your place!

Erwin Award Dinner

Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium 405 E 23rd St, Austin, TX 78712
Reception: 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM Frank Denius Family University of Texas Athletics
Hall of Fame Dinner and Olympian Celebration and Erwin Awards: 6:30 – 9:00 PM Touchdown Club
Attire: Black Tie Optional (Dressing it up a bit this year)
Reserve your place Here!
Dinner Tickets are $75.00 each and include two drink tickets.
Remember that our WETS donor year began July 1st and that’s when Legacy donors ($200) are entitled to two complimentary tickets. Century Donors ($100) may receive one ticket. Kris Kubik will be back in his role as MC of this fun event honoring six great Longhorn Legends and of course all of you that have contributed through the years to the greatest aquatic program in the world! The Men’s and Women’s teams will be there in full force for a great evening

2023 Frank Erwin Recipients

Marty Hubbell (1992-1996) Prior to coming to UT, Marty Hubbell was a four-time Ohio State swimming champion for Waynesville High School and while swimming for Countryside YMCA won a total of 27 Y National titles. At Texas, he was a 12-time all-American and served as captain of the 1996 NCAA champion team. He also represented the United States in the 1994 Goodwill Games and is a proud member of the United States National Team Alumni. Marty is currently the sitting judge of the Lebanon Municipal Court, in Lebanon, Ohio (elected in 2021), where he lives with his wife Megan, and their daughter, Henley. He is most proud to be recognized by his teammates twice for the Bob Cone Spirit Award, and once for the Leadership Award.

Ricky Berens (2006-2010) Arrived at Texas from his hometown of Charlotte NC where he was named Swimming World’s National High School swimmer of the year. He continued his career at Texas where he was a 20-time all-American, member of two NCAA champion relay teams, and a huge contributor to the Horns 2010 NCAA team title. He served on numerous USA Swimming International teams throughout his career including the 2008 and 2012 US Olympic teams. Ricky was a member of the gold medal-winning 800 free relay with Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte, and Peter Vanderkaay, setting a new world record at those games, and also won silver medal as a member of the 400 free relay in 2012. After a brief retirement, in 2013, he broke the American record in the 200-yard free and earned another gold medal at the World Championships as a member of the 800 free relay. Ricky serves as the treasurer on the Texas Swimming and Diving Hall of Fame and lives in Cuero, Tx, with his wife Elizabeth, their son Beau, and their daughter Sunny.

Tanica Jamison (2000-2003) An 11-time all-American and two-time NCAA Champion at the University of Texas under then-head coach Jill Sterkel, Jamison was the 2000 Big 12 Freshman and Newcomer of the Year, earned the Leadership Award in 2001 and 2002, was a two-time team captain and was selected as the team’s MVP in 2003. She was also a five-time Big XII champion. Jamison has a long-time association with the National Diversity Select Camp, which began when she was a three-time participant in the mid-1990s and continued when she was invited to serve as a National Team athletic representative in 2007 and head coach 2011. Coaching career: served as the associate head coach for the women’s program at Texas A&M since 2016 and as an assistant coach since 2011 for the Aggies. During her time in College Station, Texas A&M won five conference titles (2012, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019). In May of 2021 she was named head coach at the University of Houston.

Laura Sogar (2010-2013) Came to Texas via Exeter, Rhode Island, and started her Longhorn career as the 2010 Big 12 Newcomer of the Year and finished as the school record holder in the 100 and 200 breaststroke and 2013 NCAA champion in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:05.41). Along the way she was a five-time Big 12 champion, twelve-time all-American and member of the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll in 2011 and 2012. Sogar was a 2011 U.S. Nationals finalist, 100m and 200m breaststroke and 2008 and 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials finalist in the 200m breaststroke. She is a former American record holder in the 200 breaststroke. Competing for Team USA, Sogar earned a silver medal in the 200m breast and a bronze medal as part of the 400 medley relay at the 2012 FINA Short Course World Championships. Out of the water, Laura currently lives in New York City where she is a stand up comedian and entertains by means of the Risqué Business podcast.

Kathryn Kelly LaRocca (2005-2009) Wrapped up her Texas career as a four-time all-American after placing sixth in the one-meter diving event at the 2009 NCAA Championships. She also won the one-meter event at the 2009 Big 12 Championships. The Big 12 Conference selected Kelly as the Women’s Diver of the Year in 2008 after she registered two all-America finishes at the 2008 NCAA Championships. Kat lives in Ft. Lauderdale, Fl. with her husband Nick and children Lucas and Brooklyn. She works for Stryker medical devices and stays current with UT swimming and diving through her freelance work with ESPN and the Longhorn network.

On Deck Hero Jack Roach: Served our country in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1966-1969. Presented with a Purple Heart and Presidential Citation. Served as head age group and assistant national team coach at Mission Bay Aquatics from 1986-1990 alongside legendary coach Mark Schubert. Together they won nine national team titles. Jack served as an assistant coach at the University of Texas women’s swimming team from 1990-1992 and 1997-2000 helping the team win the 1991 NCAA title and runner up in 1992. Simultaneously, he served as head coach and director of Texas (Longhorn) Aquatics, winning a USA Swimming Jr. National Combined Team Title and three USA Swimming Junior National Men’s Team Titles. Jack coached from 2003-2008 in Mexico. He coached the Mexico National Team and was head coach for the Mexican Olympic Team in 2004. In 2008 Jack was named the National Junior Team Program Director at USA Swimming and a staff member on the 2008, 2012, and 2016 US Olympic Teams. Talk with any of the top U.S. coaches, and they will point to the creation, administration, and execution of this National Junior Team concept as a key to the United States success in London and Rio. Jack and his wife Dr. Meredith Roach returned to the Austin area for her to practice medicine near her mother and father (Kathleen and Jack) and their shared love for the area.

World Aquatics Championships Results

Five Texas swimmers combined to earn seven total medals across five events at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships, with one gold, five silvers and one bronze. Jacoby and Carson Foster each won a pair of medals, while Luke Hobson, incoming Longhorn Erin Gemmell and Texas-ex Drew Kibler collected one each.

Texas Medalist – 2023 World Aquatics Championships

GOLD
Lydia Jacoby – Women’s 4×100-meter medley relay
SILVER
Carson Foster – Men’s 400-meter individual medley; Men’s 4×200-meter freestyle relay
Erin Gemmell – Women’s 4×200-meter freestyle relay
Luke Hobson – Men’s 4×200-meter freestyle relay
Drew Kibler – Men’s 4×200-meter freestyle relay
BRONZE
Lydia Jacoby – Women’s 100-meter breaststroke In addition to these medalists,

Carol Capitani, Eddie Reese and Matt Scoggin were coaches for team USA. Casper Corbeau (Netherlands) finished 5th in the 200 breast. Anna Elendt (Germany) finished 12th in the 50 breast. Jillian Cox finished 6th in the 800 free. Hailey Hernandez placed 6th on three-meter and 7th on one-meter while teammate Paola Pineda (Mexico) finished 7th in three-meter syncro. Texas Ex Matt Cooper became the first Longhorn to compete at the World Championships in high diving and made the finals, finishing 9th. Here is a nice article about Matt and his wife Ginni who also competed at the Worlds in the same event. Dare to dive 90 feet? Adrenaline isn’t the only lure for professional high divers (thetandd.com)

WETS is officially on FACEBOOK and INSTAGRAM Sign up and check out some great posts and pics and more good stuff to come.

Another fun source for all UT sports history is the TLSN website created by Billy Dale The History of Longhorn Sports.

Swimcerely, Bill Robertson ’81 bill@camplonghorn.com