FORT WORTH, TX – University of the Incarnate Word men's and women's swim and dive programs began their 2021-22 season in the Texas Christian University (TCU) meet on Friday, September 24.
 
Brenda Diaz Martinez led the women's 100-yard freestyle event placing first with a 10:30.96 final time. Erin Tilley led the Cardinals in the women's 200-yard freestyle event with a final time of 1:59.30. Kristen Straszacker led the Cardinals in the women's 100-yard backstroke where she placed second in her heat with a final time of 57.15. Mariana Ruvalcaba Cruz came in second in her heat in the 100-yard breaststroke swimming a 1:05.56 for her final time. Diaz Martinez also came in first in her heat of the 200-yard butterfly with a final time of 2:08.66. Magda Vega Vidal came in third place in her heat of the 50-yard freestyle where she swam a 24.93 final time. Summer Taylor and Anna Lucia Garza competed in the 1-meter diving placing third and fourth. Taylor scored a 247.20 where Garza scored a 245.62. Straszacker also placed first place in her heat of the 200-yard backstroke where she swam a 2:02.82. Ruvalcaba Cruz came in first place in her heat of the 200-yard backstroke with a final time of 2:21.98. Ximena Conde Merlos competed in the 500-yard freestyle where she came in second in her heat swimming a 5:06.12. In the 100-yard butterfly Phoebe Browne came in first place in her heat swimming a 59.66 final time. Ana Lucia Garza competed in the 3-meter dive where she scored a 279.82 securing nine points for the Cardinals. The women's 400-yard IM was led by Cone Merlos where she swam 4:30.56 placing first in her heat. Ruvalcaba Cruz, Straszacker, Nyssa Benta and Vega Vidal came in second place in their heat during the women's 200-yard freestyle relay, swimming a 1:38.11.
 
Through 31 events the women's team collected 123 points. "I'm very excited about this season based on how we performed on Friday," said head coach Phillip Davis. "These women woke up at 5:30am, got on a bus at 6am, drove to Ft. Worth, Texas. Walked to lunch, and then 2 hours later swam their first meet of the season against a Power 5 program. I was blown away by Brenda Diaz's performance. She won the 1,000-yard free, then 15 minutes later won the 200 Butterfly. That is about as hard of a double as you can have. Then later she finished second in the 400IM with a great time for any time of year! I am so happy for Imanee Yates, she seems to have a best time every time we swim a meet. But she is starting to believe in herself, and that is the key. The sky is the limit for her. Ana Garza was the big winner on 3Meter. A very good way to start off her senior campaign."
 
The men also competed in the TCU meet over the weekend. The Cardinal's 400-yard medley relay started the day off on a high note. This team, that consisted of Fernando Ruvalcaba Cruz, Spyros Kranias, Matt Hardy and Fabio Fasolo, finished second in their heat. Sergio Duran Marta placed second in his heat in the 100-yard freestyle where he swam a 9:34.73. Panos Vlachogiannakos and Botond Ulrich placed second and third in the 200-yard freestyle swimming a 1:44.54 and 1:45.23. Fernando Ruvalcaba Cruz came in first place in his heat of the 100-yard backstroke where he swam a final time of 50.40. Jorge Cardenas Reyes and Spyros Kranias placed second and third in their heat of the 100-yard breaststroke where they swam a 57.84 and a 58.08. Alvaro Ibarra Reyes came in first place in his heat of the 200-yard butterfly where he swam a 1:50.49, followed by Matt Hardy's 1:51.71. Fabio Fasolo placed first place in the 50-yard freestyle when he swam a 20.94. Dawson Mozisek placed third in the 1-meter diving event where he scored a 287.40. Fasolo placed first in his heat of the 100-yard freestyle where he swam a 45.04 final time. Ruvalcaba Cruz placed first in 200-yard backstroke where he swam a final time of 1:50.06. Cardenas Reyes placed first in his heat of the 200-yard breaststroke where he swam a 2:05.39. Vlachogiannakos followed behind placing third with a swim time 2:07.59. Ibarra Reyes placed second in his heat of the 500-yard freestyle swimming a 4:38.47. Hardy and Ashton Moser placed second and third in the 100-yard butterfly swimming a 50.24 and 51.54. Mozisek placed third in the 3-meter dive scoring a 282.30. Cardenas Reyes and Vlachogiannakos placed second and third in the 400-yard IM swimming a 4:01.40 and 4:06.36. The UIW men's 200-yard relay team, consisting of Fasolo, Moser, Kranias and Hardy, placed second with a 1:24.49 final time. The men's team tallied 135 total points on the day.
 
"Much like the women, they drove here from 10:00 a.m. until around 4 p.m. however, they got to sleep in," said Davis. "We lost a lot of close races, but we competed with fire the entire meet. [I] Loved it. [I] Love this team. Newcomer Fabio Fasolo swam lights out in the 50 free and 100 free and on both relays. He is going to break some records for us this year."
 
UIW men and women combined for 258 total points, coming up short against TCU who combined for 342 total points.
 
"It felt like we were winning a lot of races, but in the end, we came up short with points. We will see this team again in November and at home in January," said Davis.
 
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