July ‘25 WETS News
Dear WETS,
It won’t be long before we gather in Austin for our annual WETS reunion, Friday September 26th! The Fourth Annual Pat Patterson/Eddie Reese golf tournament starts off the big day at 8:30am. Our current teams will kick off the season with the Dust off your Boots/Sam Kendricks Orange/White Meet at 2:30pm and then the big event….
We will be honoring six new Frank Erwin Recipients, 1990s Swimmers and Divers, a special presentation of the 42 individual and relay national champs from the “Decade of Champions,” and of course all past and present Longhorn tankers and coaches (especially our Men’s NCAA victory and another top-3 finish for the women) at our annual banquet.
Frank Erwin Awards Banquet and ‘90s Decade of Dominance Celebration
Friday September 26th; 6PM Social, 7:15PM Dinner and Awards
Frank Denius Longhorn Hall of Fame and Touchdown Club
If you were a swimmer, diver or coach in the ‘90s, you will not want to miss this reunion remembering and honoring you! Six great Longhorn Legends will be bestowed the Frank Erwin Award. Kris Kubik will be back in his role as MC of this fun event celebrating the greatest aquatic program in the world!
RSVP for the Banquet HERE Remember: Legacy Donors are entitled to two Erwin dinners and Century donors may receive one dinner.
2025 Erwin Award Honorees
John Eisler - (1997-2000) 4X Junior National Champion. 3X SWC Champion and All-American diver. Diving MVP of the 2000 NCAA Championship team.
Jimmy Feigan - (2010-2013) 24x All-American and 3X NCAA Champion. Outstanding Sprinter and 2X USA Olympian (2012-Silver 400 Free Relay and 2016 Gold 400 Free Relay).
Kara McGrath Chavey - (1984-1987) Helped Texas to four consecutive NCAA Team Titles in 1984-’87. 11 Time All-American. Gold Medalist 200m Fly 1987 Pan Am Games, Fourth 200m Fly 1986 World Championships.
Dave Walters - (2007-2010) 2008 National Champion in the 200 Free. As a Senior, Dave helped secure the NCAA team title in 2010. Former World Record Holder in the 4X 100 Medley Relay, 2008 Olympic Gold in the 4X200 Free Relay.
Sarah Wanezek - (2002-2005) 16 X All-American. 9X SWC Champion in five different events and 2003 US National champ in the 100 Free.
On Deck Hero: Leo Flores - Vital part of the success of the Lee & Joe Jamail Swim Center since 1996 as technology and facility manager. Leo is the backbone of the TSC, running high profile meets with almost never a hitch.
Off Deck Hero: Chris Del Conte - Since arriving at UT, Athletics Director CDC spearheaded the construction of the Eddie Reese Outdoor Pool in record time and has been a champion for our Swim and Dive Programs as well as the best collegiate athletics department in the country!
WETS Dews are Due $$$ It’s a NEW Year for WETS starting July 1st. We count on all former swimmers, divers, coaches, parents and friends of Longhorn Swimming to send us a little splash of cash each year to help us put on our reunions, provide team awards, keep the website running and so much more. Click Here to pay your 2026 Dews. Limit your payments to the Legacy category as larger donations should go to the true providers of Longhorn Swimming and Diving - The Longhorn Foundation
This year, WETS will be providing dinner for our current teams… we have added the ability for you to help with this cost by sponsoring our athletes and Coaches @ $50 pp.
A great crowd came out to congratulate Longhorn Legend Colleen Lanné Cox at the 13th and best TSDHOF induction ceremony and dinner. She was inducted along with Donn Boyd, Janet Gabriel, Richard Sybesma, John Webb, and the FLEET Cy Fair Swim Team. If you missed the event or were there and want to relive it, we have posted lots of photos and bios of each of our inductees as well as the Full Video of this outstanding event! Class of 2025 — Texas Swimming & Diving Hall of Fame. Consider nominating a worthy individual or a donation to the TSDHOF to honor great contributors to Texas Aquatics.
WETSPOTS…. Make plans on attending our best reunion ever. It will be a great time to meet and greet the coaching staff, swimmers and divers and congratulate the great Longhorn success. It will be a full day of activity starting with the Pat Patterson/Eddie Reese Golf Classic, then the action starts at the pool with the intra-squad meets and finally our Banquet — WETS (wetswim.org) As always… follow our Texas swimmers and divers through the brand knew URL: TexasLonghorns.com It’s a clean, modern design and improved site navigation to help our fans find precisely what they’re looking. Plus, access LHN (Longhorn Network) directly from our website. I also see the Longhorn Network is alive and well as a streaming service…. WETS congratulates this year’s team awards and happy to provide the handsome plagues for the following:
Women
MVP: Emma Sticklen
Most Improved: Jillian Cox
Spirit Award: Brooke Adams
Leadership Award: Olivia McMurray
Most valuable diver: Alejandra Estudillo
Most improved diver: Bayleigh Cranford
Men
Most Valuable: Hubert Kos
Most Improved Swimmer: Rex Maurer
Eddie Reese Leadership Award: Luke Hobson
Most valuable diver: Nick Harris
Most improved diver: Jacob Welsh
And let’s get ready to watch our Longhorns at the World University Games (July 17-23) in Berlin and the World Aquatics Championships: (July 25-Aug. 3) in Singapore…And how about our Divers… Matt reports: Bayleigh Cranford won the American Cup for Team USA on 10m synchro June 15th. June 30-July 7 Bayleigh Cranford and Taylor Fox compete at the Italian Grand Prix in Bolzano for Team USA and coach Scoggin will be coaching Team USA in Bolzano. Then in July Taylor Fox and Jacob Jones head to The World University Games in Berlin and their coach for team USA will be our new assistant dive coach, Reed Merritt. Then later in July Hailey Hernandez, Nick Harris and Bayleigh Cranford compete in Singapore for The World championships and Coach Scoggin will be coaching with the Team USA staff….
Another great email list I am sure you will enjoy is Billy Dale’s excellent The History of Longhorn Sports (squarespace.com) website and sign up for his newsletter……
In case you haven’t heard, the T-Association has launched the T-Association Network! This network serves as a hub for Texas letterwinners to connect with former teammates, coaches and staff, as well as to stay updated on news and upcoming letterwinner events. If you haven’t signed up yet, get off the block! If you are one of the members on the network, please help spread the word and encourage your teammates to sign up.
Texas Athletics is tops again! And for the fourth time in the last five years, Texas Athletics has clinched the NACDA Directors' Cup for being the nation's top overall athletic department!
CDC and company sure do a first class job. Follow the official Longhorn Instagram Men’s Swimming or Women’s Swimming and of course, join our WETS Facebook and WETS Instagram to keep up with alumni events and news.
See you in September!
Bill Robertson ‘81
WETS News