The Rice University women’s swimming and diving team needed a few factors to align in the final stages of the American Athletic Conference Championship in order to come home with the trophy. Thanks in large part to the efforts of the newly added diving team and a fifth-year senior looking to stamp her name in Rice history, everything fell into place and made victory a reality Feb. 22 at Southern Methodist University.
Heading into the final event of the meet, Rice held a first-place lead by 5.5 points but needed a particular set of circumstances to go in its favor to secure the win. The Owls not only needed Tulane University to win the 400-yard freestyle relay, but they also had to finish no more than two places behind Florida International University to stay ahead of FIU in the final team standings.
“I knew what we needed to do,” head coach Seth Huston said. “I put the people who are our best racehorses up there for the last event, and I knew we could do what it took to win with that group.”
Fifth-year senior Mimi Filkin swam the anchor leg for Rice.
“I had 2 1/2 minutes to prepare while everyone was going, and I wasn’t watching at all,” Filkin said. “I was thinking, ‘They’re gonna do their jobs, and I’m gonna do my job.’”
Tulane handled its part of the bargain, and Filkin rallied to chase down the University of North Texas by just over two-tenths of a second to take fourth place and secure the overall championship by just over a point. The four-day meet ended with Rice outscoring second-place FIU 1,475.5 to 1,474.
“(Mimi) wanted to anchor, and she got no argument from me — she’s a finisher,” Huston said. “She laid it on the line and raced it home, and the rest is history. The team went nuts. It was awesome.”
Immediately after finishing, Filkin remained in the water waiting on a score estimate, unaware that she had just secured Rice’s first swimming and diving conference championship since 2014.
“I was actually kind of pouting because we didn’t medal,” she said. “But then my teammates come over and start pulling me out of the water. I’m kind of looking around, and then it’s hitting me, ‘Oh my God, we actually did it. We won.’
“It means everything. I’ve known that we were capable of having a championship team the whole time that I’ve been on this team. And that’s been our mindset.”
Rice being in position to win the tournament in the final relay was largely due to the 136 points scored by the diving team, which the Owls just added this season. In previous years, the swimming team competed while compensating for the lack of diving points. Led by diving coach Gabi Chereches, Rice’s two-person diving team of Megan Phillip and Rylee Coyne more than held their own in the squad’s introductory year.
Phillip, a fifth-year senior from the University of Minnesota, said she transferred in with one goal in mind: to help push Rice’s squad over the top to a championship. But this goal didn’t come without adversity.
Phillip broke her foot and leg about a year ago and had no idea what her athletic future held.
“I hadn’t dove for like eight months up until I came here,” Phillip said. “I thought I was done with my diving career until Gabi gave me a phone call and believed in me and gave me a chance.”
In order to set her team up for success last weekend, Phillip created the most difficult dive list she has attempted all season in platform diving, using a higher platform than usual. The extra points scored from these dives resulted in her making the finals, proving to be crucial down the stretch as the extra two points for reaching the finals ultimately helped Rice claim the overall team title.
“I knew this meet was going to be close, and every single person was giving it their all, so I knew I had to step up my game,” she said. “I was scared, but I wanted to help out the team. We came in here to do one job. There was a much bigger goal than just our individual goals.”
While swimming is largely viewed as an individual sport, Phillip and the rest of her teammates agree that this achievement came as the result of elite team chemistry and comradery.
“Swimming and diving are two very different sports and are usually just kind of thrown together, but I’ve really never been a part of a team where the swimmers and the coaching staff are so supportive of us and are there to cheer us on,” Phillip said. “It’s just absolutely amazing to be a part of this team.”
“Obviously, the times we get and the races we win — that’s ultimately what we’re training for,” Filkin said. “But we’re not able to do that if we don’t have this established culture, and I think that’s something that’s really special about our team. I don’t think there’s anyone on the team that I wouldn’t consider my close friend.”
Members of the squad will now look to compete in Texas A&M University’s Last Chance Meet Feb. 27-March 1 as they make one final run at advancing to the NCAA Championships.
“You always hope everybody can have the experience of winning a championship,” Huston said. “Our seniors have been through a lot of highs and lows, so for all the pieces of the puzzle to come together like this, I’m really happy for them. I’m just really proud of this team.”